Fear Triangles Future

by MacRiley4ver

The Phoenix is called in for a mole hunt but the mission serves up more than the team bargained for. Another way post-5x15 the show could have gone.

Haunted Bel Air Mansion (Supposedly)

Bozer enters the once glitzy-but-now-in-disrepair ballroom and heads straight to where Russ is setting up radio equipment, primed for a confrontation. 'All right, Taylor. You've had your fun – stop moving my cameras or we'll never get the proof we need that this house is not infested with paranormal activity,' he demands.

Russ wears a slightly annoyed look as he responds, 'I've been here the whole time, darling, listening to you ramble on about the tragic demise of the Hylands.'

'Rylands,' Bozer corrects.

'Whatever,' Russ dismisses with a wave of his hand, 'the point is that I didn't do it. It must've been Mac.'

'Wasn't me,' Mac says over his shoulder as he fiddles with their other gadgets.

'Oh, I get it,' Bozer drawls, 'Riley, Desi and Matty are trying to have some fun with us.'

'No,' Mac responds offhandedly, 'they've been sending us a steady stream of pics of them at the spa.'

'Well, if it wasn't them….' Bozer stops mid-sentence, the implication looming large in the room.

All three men nervously look at each other as thunder and lightning crash outside…

Phoenix War Room

Russ enters the room, his swagger more obnoxious than usual. The team all trade looks, knowing that Russ has big news to share.

Matty rolls her eyes. 'Out with it, Russ,' she orders, 'what's got you preening like a peacock?'

With a twinkle in his eye and a smug look on his face, Russ pauses for dramatic effect before adopting a more business-like demeanor. 'I just got off the phone with NASA,' he reveals, pleased at how the room perks up at this announcement, 'turns out they are in need of our services,' he finishes with a grin.

'Hell ya, 'bout time the big boys came knocking on our door,' Bozer exclaims with a smile a mile wide.

'What's the job?' Desi asks as she watches Bozer and Mac fist pump.

Russ turns to the wall screen to bring up photos of two scientists, a man and a woman, both early-forties. 'We'll be providing extra security for two of their top scientists, Doctors Hoyle and Herman, while they attend an embassy dinner right here in Los Angeles tonight. At least, that is the cover story,' Russ outlines.

Mac is visibly impressed. 'Hoyle and Herman? I've heard of them. They've done remarkable work in propulsion theory,' Mac says admiringly.

'Not to mention guidance systems,' Riley chimes in as she and Mac share an excited, about-to-meet-their-heroes look.

'Back it up a minute,' Matty brings the full attention of the room to her, 'what's this about a cover story?'

'Ah, yes,' Russ continues, 'it appears that one or both of these scientists may be selling secrets. Not only does NASA not know which doctor is the traitor, they also do not know how they are getting the information out. So our real mission is to discover which one it is and how they are doing it. Chatter is that the embassy dinner will serve as the buy location.'

The mood in the room takes on a more serious undertone as each understands the stakes are much higher than they thought.

'Ok, then here's how we'll play it. Mac, Desi – you'll tag along with Hoyle and her husband to the party. Do a good house call with them beforehand though. Check out their home and get a read on them,' Matty instructs. She turns to their resident hacker, 'Riley – get into both Hoyle's and Herman's home networks. Let's see what their digital lives tell us. Once you're done with that, you'll pair up with Herman at the dinner.'

Matty finishes up the assignments by telling Bozer to dust off his BE skills to check out what skeletons Herman may have in his physical closets in his home.

'Get to it, team. Let's show NASA that they've come to the right place,' Matty smirks, ending the briefing.

Doctor Hoyle's Residence

Mac and Desi are making short work of their assignment. After introducing themselves and explaining why they were there – the 'need for heightened security based on a threat alert' cover story - Doctor Alexandra Hoyle and her husband, Tim Sutton, willingly opened their house to them. Prior to stepping over the threshold however, Mac and Desi had decided to split the couple up to surreptitiously question them separately.

'Well,' Sutton turns towards Desi, 'as a security professional myself, I'm sure that you would like a tour of the house?' When she nods in agreement, he leads her towards the stairs, 'We'll start upstairs, where three of the four bedrooms are currently unoccupied,' he pauses for a moment to give a wink to his wife, 'but maybe not for long.'

When Desi and Sutton leave, Hoyle escorts Mac into the kitchen. 'Want some coffee?' she asks.

Mac grins as he sits down at the breakfast bar, 'Would love some, Dr. Hoyle.'

'Please, call me Alex – formality doesn't live in this house,' Dr. Hoyle smiles as she sets a cup of coffee in front of him. Mac thanks her and then starts his questioning.

'So you've had no strange phone calls or people hanging around when they shouldn't be?' he asks innocently.

Hoyle shakes her head, 'No, nothing,' she declares. 'To be honest though, when I'm at work, the rest of the world basically fades away for me, so I might not be the right person to ask, just ask Rafe,' Alex smiles for a moment before becoming serious again. 'Tim leads our security detail – he should be able to let you know if someone or something is out of place,' she elaborates.

Mac gives her a conspiratorial look, 'I know what it's like to get lost in the lab. Scientific discovery is its own kind of intoxication.'

'EXACTLY!' Hoyle agrees wholeheartedly and then a look of contemplation settle on her face, 'I can lose days in the lab. I think that's one reason why all those bedrooms upstairs are empty.' She dons a self-deprecating expression, 'Not sure my passion for science provides me with the right credentials for motherhood.'

'I believe, Alex, that passion in one thing is a good predicator of passion in other things, and since children are walking, breathing, living experiments – I think scientists are well-qualified for parenthood,' Mac soothingly advocates.

Alex nods and softly chuckles, 'Thank you, Mr. MacGyver,'

'Call me Mac – remember, formality doesn't live in this house,' Mac smiles.

Upstairs, Desi isn't having any better luck than Mac at detecting anything that might be amiss.

Sutton opens the last of the bedroom doors. 'This is the smallest of the bedrooms, so I've taken it over as a hobby room of sorts,' he mentions as Desi walks through it. When she is inside, she is immediately taken back by the number of display cases packed into the room.

'You sure do like playing cards. I don't think I've ever seen such a large collection of decks before,' she observes, plastering a fake smile on her face to cover up the awkwardness she feels.

'Yeah, I get it's a bit over the top but everyone needs a passion, right?' Sutton comments as he shrugs. 'And they are trading cards, not regular playing cards,' he corrects her. 'Shall we go see the rest of the house?' he asks as he looks at her expectantly.

Desi follows him out of the room, 'Okay…'

Mac's Truck

Mac and Desi are on the phone checking in with the rest of the team.

'Seriously, Matty, the only thing weird is Sutton's adolescent obsession with the trading card game Magic: The Gathering,' Desi reports, 'I saw no red flags that either Hoyle or Sutton are behind, or even aware of, the security breach.'

'I concur,' Mac adds, 'Hoyle is in it for the science, not a payday.'

Back in the war room, Matty nods her head at their report then calls out to Bozer. 'Bozer, did you find anything of interest at Herman's condo?'

Bozer weaves past a small family on the sidewalk before responding. 'Herman's place is a bust too. I mean, other than scientific journals and a pile up of pizza boxes, the place is devoid of human presence – it's like a ghost lives there,' he informs them.

Matty grimaces at the lack of headway.

'Riley, how about you? What did you find?' Matty asks as she turns to Riley.

Riley's fingers pause as she provides her update. 'Plenty to support Desi's claim that Sutton is WAY too much into trading cards than any grown man should be. Herman, on the other hand, has interesting cell phone history. From what I've found out, around two thirds of his contacts are short-term interactions, where there are only a few texts back and forth, and then all activity goes dark. The pattern has also been escalating over the last year. Could indicate meet-ups or dead drops,' she concludes.

Matty has heard enough. 'Ok, let's make Herman our focus. Riley, stick to him like glue at the dinner and if he makes one step out of line, grab Mac and interrogate him.'

'Yes ma'am,' Riley acknowledges while she closes her rig.

Embassy Ballroom

Mac and Desi, appropriately dressed for a black tie event, enter the room alongside Hoyle and Sutton. The foursome make their way to the bar, with Hoyle saying hello to colleagues on the way. They are on their second round of drinks when Rafael Herman and Riley make their appearance. Hoyle is the first one to see them and she immediately draws their group's attention to them.

'Well, that's Rafe,' Alex comments wryly but with a soft look in her eyes, 'fashionably late with a beauty on his arm.'

All four sets of eyes turn to the arriving couple.

In an instant, Mac deduces that Rafael Herman is a suave, womanizer that could easily put Casanova to shame, the polar opposite of the 'nerd scientist' stereotype. He's the type to collect hearts and panties as easily as air miles, he surmises darkly, his opinion no doubt influenced by seeing Riley draped on his arm. Turning his attention to Riley, he is mesmerized by her yet again, and he temporarily loses the battle to stomp down his attraction to her.

Likewise, Alex Hoyle is entranced by Rafael and she wears a similar pining expression as Mac. As for Desi and Sutton, they notice that their respective partners are staring longer then they should but both choose to ignore it.

Moments later, Riley spies Mac and the others in the crowd, and she steers Herman towards them. Once there, the three couples go through the motion of pleasantries, all silently hoping to get the night over quickly as possible. Another round of drinks later and the couples find themselves at their assigned table for the promised five courses of culinary delight.

Throughout the dinner, Mac, Desi, and Riley keep a watchful eye on the trio, especially Herman. Three courses in, and no hint of illegal activity, they are all on edge. Their patience finally pays off when they notice, at last, Rafael discretely passing the particularly attractive server that collects his plate a note. Mac then catches Riley's eye and nods. She nods back and then makes the move to separate Rafael from the crowd.

'Raf,' she whispers leaning into him, 'I think I've reconsidered my stance on mixing business with pleasure.' Riley seductively places her hand on his upper thigh underneath the tablecloth. 'How about we find a quiet place for some alone time?' she breathes into his ear.

Despite the roar of jealousy that leaps to life, Mac sees that Riley's moves have the desired effect – Herman practically drags her out of the room at the promise of a quickie. Mac and Desi similarly excuse themselves from the table to follow them out. Once out of sight from the dinner guests, Mac instructs Desi to track down the server as he follows Riley and Herman. When he turns the corner, he pulls up abruptly when he sees Herman knocked out cold on the floor. He looks expectantly at Riley.

'What?' Riley simply shrugs, 'He got a little too handsy.'

Embassy Basement

Mac tosses a glass of water on Herman's face to wake him up. Herman's eyes slowly start to open but immediately start to squint in the bright light of the room

'There you go. Wakey, wakey, Herman,' Mac prods.

'What are you two doing? Why am I tied up?' Herman exclaims, dumbfounded.

'You're tied to a chair because we find that suspects squirm less when we administer the sodium pentanol when they are,' Mac smoothly replies as he taps a fluid-filled syringe.

Herman's eyes widen at the sight of the syringe, 'Truth serum?! No, no, no, you don't need to do that – I'm an open book. Ask me anything. What do you want to know?'

Mac and Riley smirk at each other.

'What intel did you pass to the server? Mac probes.

'Intel?' Herman asks, confused. He then shakes his head, 'I only gave her my number.' Riley perks up at this piece of information.

'Hold up,' she grabs Herman's attention from Mac, 'for all intense purposes you are on a date with me and yet you're giving out your number to someone else in front of me?' Riley looks back to Mac, 'You better get what you need from him fast since I think I'm going to lay him out cold again.'

Mac is about to respond when Desi appears. Both he and Riley huddle around her. He nods, signalling her to give her update.

'Turns out Lothario here was only hoping to get lucky. All he passed her was his name and cell number,' Desi relays. Mac sighs and shares a look with Riley before turning back to Desi, 'That corroborates what he told us.' He looks momentarily over his shoulder at Herman, making a decision.

'Des – go back and watch Hoyle. I think Herman still may have some insights to share, so Riley and I are going to question him a little longer,' he instructs.

'You got it,' Desi acknowledges before leaving the room.

Riley draws nearer to Mac. 'You really think he has anything of interest to say?' she ask with eyebrows raised.

Mac hems and haws for a bit. 'We still don't know why in the last year he has had so many short-term interaction contacts on his cell phone. And with him being so compliant with us right now, it's the perfect opportunity to dig a little deeper.'

'Speaking of which, when did you whip up the sodium pentanol? Riley asks curiously.

Mac smirks and holds up the syringe, 'This? It's only sugar water but HE doesn't know that. Often the power of suggestion is WAY more potent than any drug from a lab.'

Riley grins at Mac, once again impressed by his ingenuity. Mac gestures back to Herman, 'Shall we?'

'Let's,' Riley replies as she moves past him. 'Ok, Rafael, we believe that you were only trying to get together with the server, but there is the matter of over two thirds of your phone contacts being short-term interactions only. What's up with that, and don't even try to sell us that they are all hook-ups,' she says derisively.

'But they are,' Herman responds in a quiet voice.

'Really?' Mac asks dubiously, 'I know a man's got needs, but come on, none of them ever turned the least bit serious?'

Herman closes his eyes, heartbreak now written all over his face. 'I can't give what I don't have,' he sighs resignedly.

Mac and Riley share a bewildered look.

'What do you mean?' Riley probes curiously.

Herman's morose demeanor noticeably dissolves into pent-up rage. 'You have no idea what it feels like to work side-by-side with the love of your life, knowing that you can't have them, can't even tell them how you truly feel,' he explodes, 'THAT'S why I take solace a few hours at a time every so often, to momentarily delude myself that I'm happy, that seeing Alex happy is enough for me.'

With that outburst, Herman's bravado once again crumbles and Mac and Riley see the broken man he become. Riley in particular is rattled. Mac seemingly does not notice her discomfort and instead moves closer to Herman.

'But why so many in the last year?' Mac asks reluctantly, not wanting to leave any stone unturned but still feeling sorry for the man.

'Sutton,' Herman virtually spites out the name, 'every chance he gets he reminds me that he and Alex are trying to start a family,' Herman says despondently, 'I just needed to escape more than before.'

Mac relaxes as he sees that Herman is telling the truth. He asks one last question, 'If it is so painful to be around them, then why do you stay?'

'The work we do is too important,' he replies. At that assertion both Mac and Riley are jolted, experiencing déjà vu.

Herman sees that Mac and Riley are caught up in their heads and seizes the opportunity to get a few answers himself.

'The questions you're asking – you think I'm a spy. Why? What's going on?' Herman demands, realizing that they're not going to harm him.

Mac shares a quick look with Riley before addressing Herman. 'Someone has been selling secrets from your project,' he outlines matter-of-factly, 'we're here to find out who it is.'

'My work is all I have – why would I sabotage it, especially since it the only thing keeping her in my life?' Herman asks rhetorically.

Riley steps in, 'We get that but can you think of anyone who would benefit from selling you out?'

Herman gives her a perplex look, 'I can't think of anyone. Everyone connected to the project is loyal to Alex and I, and have been for years. Nothing has changed to put that loyalty under question.'

Riley and Mac both turn their backs to Herman. 'I believe him,' Riley intones to Mac. Mac nods, 'I do too.'

'But if it's not him, and you say Hoyle is in the clear, then who the hell is our mole?' Riley asks as she looks questioningly at Mac.

Satellite NASA Laboratory

Mac makes his way through the lab facility Hoyle and Herman are temporarily using while in LA. With last night a bust, the team reconvened in the morning to come up with a new game plan. They determined that, in addition to widening their search for the mole, they needed to look into how the Intel was getting out. So they decided to divide and conquer – Desi and Riley would interview the rest of the lab team while he would get up close and personal with the lab's procedures.

As he approaches the lab, Mac catches sight of Hoyle and Herman working together through the wall of glass. Instead of entering right away, he pauses to watch the two scientists interact with each other. After a few moments he can clearly tell that Herman is not alone in the feelings-for-my-partner department.

Mac opens the door to the lab. 'Good morning, doctors,' he says as he enters. Both Hoyle and Herman stop what they are doing, surprised at the interruption.

Hoyle recovers first. 'Mac, what are you doing here?' she asks.

'I'm here to figure out how someone may be getting information out of this lab,' he explains. 'I'm hoping that you can walk me through how things work here,' he requests politely.

Herman can't wait to get away from Mac. 'Well, it doesn't take the two of us to do that. I'll get started on priming the next test run,' he declares before he makes a quick exit

Hoyle, not knowing about Mac's interrogation of Herman the night before, is caught off guard at Herman's speedy departure. She dismisses it quickly however and for the next 30 minutes she walks Mac through all of the lab's protocols and data management processes.

Mac notices Hoyle watching as Herman passes by the lab.

'I'm sorry, but I have to ask. You and Herman seem to have a strong bond that seems to go beyond friendship and respect for a colleague. Did you not want to mess up your professional relationship by beginning a personal one?' Mac tentatively inquires.

Hoyle reddens and then gives Mac a wistful expression, 'I think that may be one of lies I told myself in the beginning.'

She looks away for a moment and then back at Mac with a mocking expression. 'Ever heard the saying – can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with? Well, it hits a little too close to the mark for me,' she shares sadly. She takes a deep breath, 'I had a choice to make – stay with Tim or risk it all with Rafael. I knew Tim loved me but I didn't know what Rafe felt.' She chuckles nervously. 'Tried to ask him once before I walked down the aisle – pre-wedding jitters, I guess,' she says with a self-deprecating smile. She pauses for a moment, as if caught up in memories. 'He said that our partnership was too important to risk and that he was not able to give me his heart,' she relates bluntly. She turns around to hide her pained expression from Mac. 'So I chose Tim,' she announces over her shoulder, closing the subject.

The lab goes quiet after that, with both Hoyle and Mac reflecting on their love lives. Moments later, Hoyle returns to her review of some calculations on a nearby whiteboard while Mac peruses the lab's procedures manuals again.

A thought occurs to Mac. 'Does Tim tour the lab at the start of each day?' Mac asks.

'Of course,' she answers openly, 'part of his duties as head of security is to do a sweep of the lab at both the start and end of each day.'

'And he is also responsible for monitoring for the data logs,' Mac states, a light bulb going off in his head. Hoyle nods her head to confirm.

'What are you getting at?' Hoyle asks, already suspecting the answer.

Before Mac can answer, heavy smoke starts to pour in from the room's ventilation. As Hoyle pulls the nearest fire alarm, Mac tries to open the lab's main door but it is locked from the outside.

'We're trapped,' Mac announces grimly.

After dousing some rags with water for him and Hoyle to cover their mouths, Mac sets to work building a shape charge to blow the lab door. Minutes later, he and Hoyle are outside, heaving from coughing fits.

'Alex, where's Tim now?' Mac manages to get out.

Hoyle struggles to take a couple of deep breaths, 'In the Security Office doing interviews,' she coughs out, 'with Desi and Riley.'

She takes a few moments to let everything sink, 'Tim is the leak, isn't he?' she asks forlornly.

Mac meets her gaze and nods sympathetically.

Security Office

'Look, this job means everything to me,' the latest lab assistant asserts, 'I mean, I work for NASA, why would I want to screw that up? And if you look at how much I owe in student loans, you know that I haven't had a big pay day.'

At this pronouncement, Desi looks over to Riley, who is busy working her keyboard magic. She nods, letting Desi know that this interview was a waste of time like all the others.

Desi looks back to the lab tech, 'You can go,' dismissing him. As he scampers away, Desi turns to Riley, 'So, what now?'

Riley is about to respond when she notices something in the back corner. She ignores Desi's question and moves towards the corner.

Desi sees her preoccupation, 'Ok, I know that look. It's the same as Mac's when he's figured something out.'

Riley checks out the equipment and some plastic scraps around it. 'This laminator has been doing extra duty,' she comments, 'and for items not the size of their regular ID badges.' She checks out the dimensions of the scraps. 'They're more the size for playing cards,' she observes. At that realization she races back to her rig to check on something. Moments later, she's got a gleam in her eye when she gives Desi a wide grin.

'We got him,' Riley smirks but before she can explain further, alarms from the lab start blaring and blinking in the room. The disturbance is all Sutton needs to get the jump on Riley, grabbing her from behind.

Desi looks Sutton in confusion, 'Sutton, what the hell do you think you're doing?'

Riley answers for him, 'He's realized that he's about to be exposed as the mole. He knows I've caught on that he has been using his Trading Cards as mules for transferring microdots full of data to sellers. I've analyzed his card sales to comparable transactions, and his are way above the norm, to the tune of 500K more. And now he's trying to find a way to get out of this mess.

'And you think taking a hostage is the way to go,' Desi says scornfully, moving to get into position to take him down ever so slightly.

'I'll do anything I need to do to survive! And as for the money, I think it's owed to me for having to watch my wife and her lab partner moon over each other for years,' Sutton rants.

Desi tries to keep him talking while she prepares to make her move, 'What are you talking about? You're happily married, trying to have a family…'

Sutton laughs bitterly. 'Like that would ever happen. It was the final straw,' he retorts harshly, 'Alex can't let herself build a life with me, much less a family, so I figured it was only a matter of time before she checked out of our marriage entirely and left me with nothing. So I started building my own nest egg and was getting away with it before the Phoenix got involved.' At this remark, he tightens his hold around Riley's neck.

At Riley's pained expression, Desi holds her position. 'You're done, Sutton. There's no need to hurt anyone else and get more time added to your sentence,' she tries to reason with him.

'Why do you care about her anyway? I think I'm doing you a favor, with her gone, maybe he'll finally look at you the way he looks at her,' he says savagely.

Both Desi and Riley look at Sutton, stunned by the comment.

The trio hears the facility's regular security team coming closer. Sutton realizes that he needs a quick exit. Deciding that the need for speed outweighs the need for a hostage, Sutton slams the butt of his gun into Riley's temple. As Riley crumbles to the ground, Sutton takes off.

'Riley!' Desi screams, as she moves towards her fallen teammate but Riley wearily waves her off, 'I'm fine, go after him… don't let him get away.'

With a resolute nod, Desi chases after Sutton down the corridor. Sutton tries to slow her down by shooting some shots her way. Soon he is out of ammo and he throws the gun away.

Sutton makes a beeline for the fire exit door, but before he can get there, Desi tosses a pipe at his legs and he tumbles to the floor. He gets up in time to ward off Desi's first attack. After they trade a number of blows, Sutton tries to throw Desi off her game.

'Don't think I haven't noticed – you're caught in the same fantasy as I was,' he sneers, 'I know all the signs of two people trying to make a doomed relationship work. But it can't be done if they aren't in love with each other. No amount of mutual love and respect can fix that. Trust me – I know.'

His comments only serve to infuriate Desi more and she lunges at him. 'You and I are nothing alike,' Desi charges vehemently. The two of them battle furiously, with the upper hand switching back and forth until Sutton manages to get Desi into a headlock.

'You think so? Let's see what happens to you when you realize all you'll ever have is his body, never his heart,' he grounds out bitterly, 'you'll want your payday too, for years served as a replacement for the one he truly wants.'

The blaring of the fire alarm abruptly stops. Desi uses the distraction to get out of the headlock and to land her shot, knocking Sutton to the ground. As she kneels on his back to bind his hands, the satisfaction she normally feels at nailing the bad guy is diminished by the awareness that Sutton's ramblings have pierced the veil on her relationship with Mac.

Phoenix Medical Facility

Bozer looks over at Riley as EMT finishes taping up the cut on her forehead, concern not only for her physical injuries but also her emotional ones etched in his face.

'Boze, seriously, I'll be fine,' Riley tries to placate him, unsuccessfully. 'If anything, this mission brought some clarity to the situation,' she continues.

Bozer remains dubious. 'What are you gonna do?' he asks worriedly.

Riley hesitates, knowing that he is not going to like her response.

Mac's Truck

Mac and Desi pull into his Phoenix parking spot, the toll of telling Hoyle and Herman about Sutton's betrayal weighing on both of them. A silence hangs in the air when neither of them attempts to get out of the truck.

'We need to talk,' Mac and Desi say simultaneously. At that, both know that they are on the same page. They exchange sad smiles, knowing that the end of their relationship is a forgone conclusion.

Phoenix War Room

With a certain pep in his step, Mac makes his way into the war room, immediately looking around for Riley. Instead, his attention lands on Matty.

Mac narrows his gaze, frowning, 'Where's everyone?'

Matilda Webber is nobody's fool. 'Don't you mean Riley?' she asks frankly but with kindness in her eyes.

Mac knows the gig is up and silently nods. Matty nods her head too and then walks over to him. When she reaches him, they stare momentarily at each other before Matty sighs.

'Riley has requested a leave of absence,' she tells him simply. Before Mac can ask for more details, she hands him a letter from her tablet folio. 'She asked me to give you this,' she adds. She gives him a sympathetic smile before leaving him alone to read his letter.

Mac stares momentarily at the letter, a dreadful sense of foreboding invading his thoughts. He carefully opens it, both hesitant and eager to read its contents.

Mac,

"Forgive me for not doing this in person but I don' think I would have the strength to walk away if I did. I thought all I needed was time, time to get over my feelings for you. But I was wrong, my feelings for you are still as strong as ever. I think the only way to get over you is to put some distance between us. So I'm going away for a while – not forever but long enough for me to get my head and heart straightened out. And while I'm happy for you to have found love with Desi, I can't be a witness to it anymore and have it eat at my soul, like it did with Herman. Besides, you two deserve to live your joy without the spectre of me hanging around.

I know I promised you that I would never leave you, and I'm not – we are, and always will be, family. I'm just taking some time to heal and become me again, and not the lovesick shell of the best friend I've become. I'll be back when my heart is whole again.

Riles

Mac is frozen in place. When his mind finally comprehends everything revealed in the letter, a look of fierce determination takes hold as he swiftly leaves the room.

Outside Riley's Apartment Building

Riley exits her building and heads towards her car, juggling her backpack and keys, not paying much attention to her surroundings. She pulls up short when she sees that the GTO already has a passenger.

'Mac?' Riley exclaims, stunned at seeing Mac comfortably sitting in the passenger seat, 'What are you doing here?' she continues, alarm overtaking confusion in her voice

'If you are going to run away, then I'm going with you – we're a packaged deal, remember,' Mac remarks as he nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders.

Riley can't hide how infuriated she is. 'Didn't you get my letter? I need to get away from you,' she fumes, 'get out of the car.'

Mac obeys and slowly gets out of the car. 'Oh, I got your letter, and that's why I can't let you run away,' he says as he slowly approaches her, 'not when you say you still have strong feelings for me.'

Riley stares at Mac disbelievingly, not understanding how he could want her to live in pain.

'Did you not see what Herman became? Watching the love of his life be with someone else destroyed him. I can't let that happen to me.' She looks pleadingly to Mac, 'I need you to let me go.'

'Not gonna happen,' Mac shakes his head resolutely.

Riley loses it. 'Don't you get it, Mac? I'm IN LOVE with you! And I CAN'T be!' she yells at him, 'Not when there is no future for us! I need to move on, and that means you need to leave me alone.'

Mac can see the be-strong-at-all-costs mask fall firmly into place on Riley's face, right before she turns around and starts marching back to her building.

'You know what I learned from them?' Mac shouts at her retreating back. 'That you have to follow your heart, or else not only yourself but others can get warped by your actions,' he yells with conviction. At this, Riley stops and then slowly turns around to face him. Mac sees that there is a crack in the mask and he presses on.

'I'm in love with you too,' he confesses boldly. 'Have been for years now,' he confides in a softer, more vulnerable tone. Seeing that he has now left her speechless, he tells her everything she needs to hear.

'Desi and I are over,' he announces more firmly as he tentatively moves towards her. Mac shrugs, 'Have been for a while but fear was causing both of us to hold on to something that was shaky at the best of times. She's out of my heart….' he pauses to check his watch, and should also be out of my house by now.'

Riley throws him the scrunched up confused face he loves so much, 'What?'

Mac moves a little closer. 'This mission woke us up too. We saw firsthand what happens when two people stay together out of fear. And that's what we'd been doing, and we both want more than that, more than a relationship based solely on the fear of being alone.'

He pauses for a moment, visibly trying to put the right words together in his head to make her understand. 'Riles, in our line of work, we face fear together on every mission because the stakes are worth it. But we've been letting fear rule the most important thing in our lives – our happiness. Which is stupid, since there are no higher stakes possible,' he continues as he draws nearer to her.

Seeing that Riley's defenses are almost down, he decides to lay it all on the line. 'I'm not saying that all my fears are gone. Rather, it's more a matter of deciding what I'm going to be afraid of,' he says with look of quiet determination. His expression becomes more confident as he resumes his appeal, 'I'm not afraid anymore of what might happen if we don't work out. If anything, I'm more afraid of missing out on what we could be.' He gives her a soft smile before shaking his head, 'Fear will always be in our lives. But we'll face it together, like we always do.'

Mac is now standing right in front of Riley, staring deep into her eyes. He gently caresses her face, 'Riles, don't let fear win. Take the chance. Be with me. Let's try us.'

Riley searches his face for any hint of uncertainty and finds none. Instead, all she sees is a man asking her to return his love. Her decision made, Riley reaches up to bring her lips to his, going all in. Mac meets her half way and the two kiss passionately, no hesitancy at all now that feelings have been shared and reciprocated.

When they finally break for air, many, many moments later, Mac takes a step back but, unwilling to let go of her, he holds her hands in his own.

'So how about we drive up the coast and have our first date at that seaside cafe just outside of San Francisco?' Mac suggests, wanting Riley to know that he fully intends on courting her the right way.

'You mean the place you destroyed the kitchen with one of your homemade smoke bombs?' Riley retorts cheekily.

A momentary flash of guilt crosses Mac's face at the recollection before the confident smirk returns, 'I'm sure they've renovated by now.'

'They do make the best crab cakes…' quips Riley as a look of adoration settles on her face.

Mac takes charge. 'That settles it. We're going,' he announces as he releases her and makes his way back to the passenger side of the car.

Riley smiles happily as she finally makes it to the driver's door. After she drops her backpack in the backseat, a thought occurs to her before she opens her door, 'Wait. Can you get away? What about Matty, the Phoenix?' Riley looks questioningly at Mac

'I texted Matty that I wouldn't be back until I convinced you to withdraw your leave of absence request,' Mac admits, somewhat sheepishly.

'That was presumptive of you – I might need a lot of convincing. It may take weeks,' Riley says with the seductive sass that Mac can't live without.

Mac grins. 'I'm counting on it…..And I'm looking forward to every minute of convincing you,' Mac responds suggestively.

Riley blushes slightly as she and Mac get into the GTO. 'So we probably have a week before she sends for us I take it,' she lobs over to Mac, one eyebrow raised.

'More like 5 days, but we can keep our fingers crossed for more,' Mac repartees back.

The two grin at each other as the GTO hits the road, both excited and eager for their future, but most of all relishing the fact that they will facing it together, like they always do.