A/N: This entire chapter is a flashback, enjoy.

Strings

Chapter Two- YesterYear

It was one week before Nova's thirteenth birthday. She couldn't stop talking about, being an official teenager. Riley hoped it would live up to her expectation and was planning a rager kid's party for her. She was hunched over their kitchen table with a pen and a notepad going over her checklist for the party. Navigating between guests, and food allergies and decorations was a lot. She didn't remember parties being this complicated when she was Nova's age. While racking her brain to remember what Ryan's food allergy was, she felt a pair of arms around her waist.

She jumped in surprise but then his smell surrounded her and she knew exactly whose arms were around her. When had he come in?

"You're back," she grinned. He kissed below her ear in response and she melted into him. He'd been gone a week and she had missed the feel of him. His arms winded around her waist tighter while the other hand slipped under her thin, satin night gown. She jolted at his touch and tried to squirm out of his grasp but he only allowed her enough room to turn around and face him before his iron clad grip latched back around her waist.

"Nova is right upstairs," Riley said.

Mac shrugged leaning into her again, "she sleeps like a log." he said, he kissed up her neck and felt her relax in his arms. He returned to his mischief and snaked a hand up her night gown. He ran his hand slowly up her thigh then up the curve of her ass, resting there and cramming their bodies together.

"I've been thinking about this all week," he said into her ear. Riley got wet just from the husk in his voice. As if sensing her, he dipped his fingers passed her lace undies slipped two digits into her yearning heat. Her legs buckled from the pressure and he bit down on her earlobe increasing her pleasure. As he moved in and out of her in varying speeds whimpers and mewls sputtered from her lips making Mac's lips cover hers in a bruising kiss to silence her. It was always like this, whenever he got back from a mission, he always returned with a ravenous appetite for her. It made the sex amazing, but Riley wasn't sure if it were all a ploy to get her to forget his absence.

He knew she was getting close to climax the way she dug her nails in his forearm, the guttural noises at the back of her throat and the way she tightened around his fingers. Just as he was about to speed up his pace to drive her over the edge, thunderous knocking came from the living room. It didn't relent and only got louder. The couple were startled apart. Mac dropped his hand from under her gown and they ran to the door. Riley fastened her robe in place and was livid when she opened the door, who had stopped her from finishing.

"What do you-" she froze as the men in black all but barged through her door with tablets in hands.

"Excuse you," Riley said. Mac was just entering the living room after washing his hands.

"What's going on?" Mac said, stopping the men from going any further.

"Federal agents, please step aside sir, we tracked an illegal implementation coming from this address."

Mac looked at Riley with questioning eyes. She shot him back an incredulous look. Like she would ever get caught besides moments ago he'd had her spewing madness, hacking was the last thing on her mind. The realization hit them at the same time.

"Nova," they yelled in unison. Their soon to be teenager came downstairs with bedhead but an otherwise apologetic face. Mac turned back to the men who still wanted answers. He sighed and called Matty.

"Matty, we have a problem….yes again…ok, thanks." When Mac got off the phone the lead agent's phone rang moments later.

He listened intently for a few moments before his face hardened into a grim line. When he got off the phone he said, "Sorry to bother you."

The agents piled out of the house in single file. Mac shut the door behind them and Riley pinned Nova down with a deathly stare.

Frustrated, she raked her hands over her face and said, "we talked about this," Riley said.

"What do we say?" Mac said.

Nova folded her arms, looking defeated, "Don't hack NASA."

He woke to warm kisses on his shoulder. It covered his arms and then moved lower. He shot awake when she planted a kiss on his abs. He reached under the sheets for her and pulled her up to face him.

"I told you wake me up at four not get me worked up." He panted as he still couldn't see her face. Just a mass of curls on his chest and her warm kisses on his neck and shoulder.

"I'm multitasking," she whispered. She straddled him and found his lips again.

"Why don't you give me something to remember you by." she said into his ear. She leaned back down to capture his lips and this time he showed no gave up protesting. Her kisses were hot and breathless and sent jolts of pleasure straight to his groin. She tore his own shirt that she'd stolen off her, leaving her naked and worked his own boxers down his waist. It gave her enough space to wrap her hand around his length making him hiss with want as she pumped his entire length. She looked down on him with full power knowing she could make him do whatever she wanted in that moment.

With a devilish smirk she aligned him with her entrance and impaled herself on his hardened length. She yelped deliciously as she sank down onto him, taking his full length. Mac's mouth hung open, not sure if sound was coming out or not as she moved her hips in delicious motions riding him like she would a mechanical bull. With one hand on her hip in a bruising grip and the other on her right breast squeezing and teasing her nipple she shuddered from the sensation, vibrating under his grasp. They moved together, hips rolling with every thrust. She leaned down over him to capture his lips once more as he neared his climax. If he didn't quiet down he wasn't only going to wake Nova but the whole neighborhood. He rocked into her with a forceful thrust, reaching his climax. He convulsed inside her, tipping her toward her own peak until she rode out the waves of pleasures that spread throughout her entire body.

They collapsed in a pile of sweaty limbs, breathless and lethargic.

"That was your wake up call," Riley said lazily.

Exhaustion must have taken over but they were only allowed to doze off for a few moments before his phone buzzed on the night table. Riley's heart sank. She knew what it meant.

Mac picked up the phone and read the message with a disappointed sigh.

"I have to miss her birthday party. I should go tell her." Mac said.

"No, let her sleep. I'll talk to her when she gets up later."

Mac rubbed lazy circles on her back. He knew what she was doing. Whenever he had to leave, she never let him break the news to Nova. She'd rather face the disappointed green eyes than have him do it.

With heavy limbs he got up and headed for the ensuite to get ready. Riley grabbed his discarded t-shirt from the floor and threw it over her naked body. When he emerged from the bathroom dressed, she had his to-go bag next to her on the bed.

"I have to go Riles," he said.

"I know." She kneeled on the bed and hung the bag over his shoulder. She then reached up and captured his lips in a searing his. His hands cradled her face as his tongue slipped between her lips to tangle with hers. "Come back to us." she said.

"Always."

He left home before five am. Riley was a mess when he left. Like she always was. Hoping that this wasn't the mission that would leave Nova fatherless. It was different when she could be in the field with him, watching his back. But now that she wasn't there, anything could happen.

She reached for her rig still jacked into the Phoenix servers. She always did it to learn about the mission he was being sent on. But something caught her eye. Matty was logging in a new case file, most of it was redacted and she was embedding it behind a lot of encryptions. It sparked Riley's curiosity too much so she dug into it. When she finally plucked the file out from all the code she gasped as she browsed the contents. She covered her mouth with her hand as the realization set in. The gist of the redacted file, Mac had missed a bomb on his last mission. Long after he left the compound it detonated. Three people were injured, two were killed. Matty was trying to bury the file but not successfully. Riley blinked away her tears and covered Matty's tracks better, truly burying. Mac could never know.

She now had the harrowing event tucked away in her chest and now she had to entertain a hoard of preteens and teens in a butterfly utopia theme party. She did some burying of her own feelings and hoped she was again successful in burying the truth.

She took a bath and had already eaten breakfast by six. Nova wouldn't be up until seven but perhaps birthday excitement would spring her early. There was a lot to do for Nova's birthday party.

After seven her mom showed up with a car full of helium balloons that spelt Nova's name.

"I told you keep it lowkey." Riley said.

"This is lowkey for my only granddaughter."

Riley slapped her forehead. She didn't want Nova to be spoilt but she also could not control the lot of them from showering Nova with gifts. Between Diane, Jack and Bozer she had to work overtime to ensure Nova wasn't growing up a brat.

"Oh, stop fretting and help me get them out." Diane said. Riley did as she was told and together, they brought the balloons in and tied them to a post in the backyard.

"Where's the birthday princess?"

"Still sleeping." Riley said.

"And Mac?"

"He had to go to work." Riley said with a sigh, knowing what was coming next.

"Again? This is what? The third birthday in a row he's missed."

"Not this again," Riley said. She left her mother in the hallway, but she followed her to the kitchen.

"Yes, this again. You didn't sign up to be a single parent."

"Stop, mom please. His work is-"

"Important yes I know. So is Nova."

"I'm not saying that she isn't. She's a strong kid, she knows her dad loves her."

"Was that enough for you?" That hurt. She was about rebut but she heard Nova's door opening.

"Grandma," Nova leaped into grandmother's opened arms.

"There she is, you get more gorgeous every time I see you." Diane said, holding Nova's cheeks.

Nova looked around and said, "Where's daddy?"

Diane looked at her with a pointed gaze as well.

"He had to work sweetie. Emergency."

Nova's face sunk and without a word she ran back to her room. Diane's judging gaze sliced right through her. Riley couldn't take much more and the day hadn't started yet.

"Don't be upset pudding, wait till you see the gift I got you." Diana called, running up the stairs after her.

Riley ran to shut herself into their bedroom before the tears rippled through her. She slid down the back of the door and heaved quietly. She pulled out her phone and hovered her fingers over the keypad. Defcon 1-5 was a system of emergency she and Mac had concocted from least urgent (defcon5) to drop everything and come (defcon 1). She could summon him home now if she wanted. She could tell him quit, he was needed at home. And he would. But how would she live with herself after the fact?

An alert on her phone buzzed to life and it made her almost drop the phone in her hands. The firewall she had placed on hers and Mac's private network had been alerted. Her budding hacker was trying to get onto their private network again. Riley realized the jig was up. Nova knew she was looking for something, she just didn't what.

Taking some calming breaths, Riley wiped her eyes and pulled herself together.

Ten minutes later she was flipping pancakes in the kitchen like she hadn't just had a mental breakdown in the next room. She stacked three pancakes on a plate then made a dollop of whip cream on the top. She plucked two strawberries from the bowl she had on the counter and placed them at the base of the pancake stack. Once satisfied with the placements she placed it on the breakfast tray with a glass of juice and diced pineapples. She then took the tray up to Nova's room. Her grandmother was just leaving the room. Riley passed her without a word in the hallway and knocked once before she entered the room. Nova was sat up in bed with a giftbag pushed to the side.

"Grandma's gift," Nova said pointing to the stack of books on her lap and the silver necklace on her neck.

"I'm glad you're feeling better. Do you have room for birthday breakfast?" Riley asked. Nova nodded and shifted the books off her lap for the breakfast.

"My favorites." Nova squealed. Her face fell as Riley sat next to her feet on the bed.

"I'm sorry about before. I think the older I get the harder it is to keep the brat at bay."

Riley laughed, Nova was thirteen going on thirty.

"You don't have to apologize. You have every right to be upset." Riley said. "You wanna talk about your failed hack just now?"

Nova froze, "If you would just teach me, I wouldn't keep getting caught."

Riley shook her head, "How will you learn if I give you all the answers. What were you trying to do?"

"I just wanted to find out where dad had gone that was so important that he had to leave again."

Riley's heart broke.

"Sweetie your dad is not a business man." Riley said.

"I figured that one out all on my own," Nova said. She folded her arms, "What's Phoenix?"

Riley arched an eyebrow, Nova had certainly gotten farther than she had imagined.

"Well, it's a government agency that helps saves lives…." Riley ran her through the general idea of the job, stressing that Mac was helping people in need, people in way worst situations than her.

"I know he's saving lives and his work is important…"

Riley nodded, "Even so, I know you wanted him here. You know he wouldn't miss it unless it was really important."

Nova nodded, she forced a small smile for her mother.

"Eat up. You need your energy for your big party."

Nova grinned and dug into her breakfast.

Downstairs reinforcements had arrived. Bozer and Leanna shuffled in with presents and decorations in both hands.

"Thanks for coming," Riley said as Bozer enveloped her in a bear hug. "Pancakes in the kitchen," she called after them, but they were already out of earshot on the patio helping her mom with streamers.

The party began at midday and was in full swing. The back yard was filled with screaming teenagers, colorful decorations, and a star shaped pinata. Riley was in the kitchen plating some pigs in the blanket when Bozer rushed into the kitchen.

"You have to see this," he said pulling her from a half-filled platter of pigs in a blanket. Outside was a woman in overalls pulling along a pony with a clipboard in her hands. Nova and her friends were freaking out and already fighting over who got to ride it first.

"I'm guessing you didn't order a pony," Bozer said. Riley shook her head. She headed over to the woman with the clipboard.

"There must be some kind of mistake," Riley said. The woman handed her a card that read 'To Nova, from Uncle Jack.'

"Oh my gosh," Riley fumed. The woman put the leash in her hand and left.

Bozer was staring at her with a questioning look when she turned back to him and the eager party-goers.

"Is it mine?" Nova said beaming. Riley gave the leash to Bozer and ran inside for her phone. She called Jack eager to verbally assault him.

"Kinda busy here," she heard his labored breathing and possible gunshots in the back.

"Is that Riles?" she heard Mac say in the background, equally as breathless.

"Why is there a fucking pony in my back yard Jack?"

"Does she love it?"

"Jaccckkk, you can't get her a pony."

"Already did. You're welcome." Jack said.

"You maniac. What do I do with it?"

"Riley we're gonna have to talk about this later…" the phone went dead.

Riley could scream. She heard a loud thud from outside and rushed back to the backyard to see the pony trampling over the snack table.

She didn't have energy for this.

"I had the best time," Nova said. She wrapped her arms around Riley's waist and hugged her tightly.

"I'm glad you did." Riley kissed her forehead only to taste glitter on her lips.

"Now go wash all that glitter off. I'll be up in a bit." she said. Nova skipped off. With a moment to herself Riley took the time to just breathe. The day crashed over her and she was brought to tears again. She held it in and closed the doors behind her, the house was a mess. She couldn't begin to think about cleaning up. She softly padded up the stairs and heard Nova singing to herself in the tub. Riley slipped into the bathroom and damped a cloth then sat at the edge of the tub and wiped all the glitter Nova had missed.

"I'm going to be finding glitter around the house for weeks aren't I." Riley said. Nova laughed and made a mohawk with the bubbles on her head.

"Do you miss dad?" Nova said.

"Why would you ask me that? Of course I miss him."

Nova shrugged, "You don't act like you do."

Curse this observant kid of hers. She didn't want Nova to see her crying. But she didn't realize she was interpreting it wrong.

"I want to be strong for you," Riley said. "But just because you don't see it doesn't mean I'm not feeling it."

"It's okay mom. You don't have to always be strong. Maybe I can be strong for you sometimes? And dad too?"

She was an emotional wreck today and Nova wasn't helping.

"Thank you baby, I would like that." She finished wiping her face and left her to finish her bath. When she got back to her room she all but collapsed onto the bed. She fought back sleep and tried to keep her heavy eyelids open. Her phone buzzed to life on the dresser she shared with Mac. She answered quickly when she saw his name.

"Hey, how'd it go?" he said.

"Not counting the pony disaster? Amazing."

"I still can't believe Jack." Mac said.

"He's your best friend."

"He's your pseudo father."

They laughed then Riley said, "Nova had a blast. I'll take her to the stables to see her beloved pony next weekend."

"I guess we have a new family pet."

Riley smiled to herself. "You tired mama?"

"I'm okay." Lies but…

"I thought I would be able to get back before midnight, but I don't think it's happening. Can you give my present to Nova?"

"You sure you don't want to wait?"

"No…no, it's okay. I want her to have while it's still her birthday." Mac said.

"Okay."

"I'll be home soon." he said. They said their goodbyes. Riley reached over to his bedside table and retrieved the gift. She then climbed the stairs to Nova's room. Nova was already tucked into bed with wet hair.

"Hey there NovaScotia."

Nova looked up from her book and smiled.

"I have your gift from dad. He insisted you get it while it's still your birthday."

Riley tossed her the scrambled rubik's cube.

Nova squealed and caught it. She plucked the post it that was attached to it and read it aloud.

"Dear SuperNova when I was your age, I solved this cube in two minutes. Let's see how long it takes you."

Riley wasn't sure Nova heard her saying goodnight as she was already engrossed in the cube. They were so alike. She loved them so much it hurt her heart a little. When she looked back, Nova was shuffling the cube around she might as well have been looking at Mac.

Finally retired for the night Riley fell into bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next time she opened her eyes it was morning and Mac's blue eyes were staring right back at her. Sleepily she said, "I think I want a divorce."