Free

by DreamWvr73

It's Gillian's first anniversary at the Phoenix Foundation.. will MacGyver make it a happy one or not?

Gillian MacKenzie was having a very bad day. She had gotten up late, the iron had burned her dress and that had forced her to wear khaki pants and a white cotton shirt to work. The Nomad that MacGyver had lent to her to drive since the demise of the Jeep, had been acting up and to top it all off. MacGyver was not due back from Brazil for another week. Pete had sent him to Brazil for a conference. He had been asked to give a few lectures on environmental changes that could be made worldwide.

Gillian was glad that Pete had chosen him for such an important assignment but at the same time she missed him terribly. He had been gone for three weeks and his nocturnal phone calls did very little to get rid of the loneliness she was feeling. Gillian sighed as she continued working. The quarterly report for her department was due and of course it wasn't done. Her computer had crashed a few times that day and because of that she had to stay after hours and finish it up.

The Phoenix Foundation was like a ghost town, everyone had gone home a long time ago, leaving her the only occupant of the enormous building. There was but one paragraph left in her report but she really didn't feel like finishing it, but she knew she had no choice.

Gillian started typing, she was feeling rather low and it wasn't just MacGyver's absence that had brought her down. Today was February 21st; it had been exactly one year to the day that Gillian had started at the Phoenix Foundation. It was her first year anniversary and she thought that maybe Pete would say something to her about it but he didn't.

"Oh well, I guess it's not important to anyone but me."
She finished the report and saved it to a disk. She tucked the disk into her top drawer and closed it, she would give it to Pete first thing in the morning. Gillian shut off her computer and covered it with the dust cover. She wondered what she was going to do now. She certainly didn't feel like going home, her house was way too lonely without MacGyver. She stood up and got her keys; she thought that maybe a nice hot cup of tea would make her feel better. The vending machines in the lunch room downstairs would do just fine; they had all kinds of hot beverages, including tea. Gillian closed her office door and locked it; she walked down the hall towards the elevator.

The elevator dinged and the metal doors slid open. She rounded the corner and saw the glass doors, they
weren't the only thing she saw. The lunch room was totally dark, she found this strange, for security
purposes the lights were always left on in the building, after hours or not. She pulled back the heavy glass door and went inside. She felt along the wall looking for a switch. Her fingers hit something and she flipped it, the moment the lights came on she saw a large group of people.
"SURPRISE!!"
Everyone she knew and all of her staff was there along with Pete. They all clapped and cheered at the stunned young woman. "What is going on?"
"A surprise party! What does it look like?" Pete made his way through the crowd and hugged her. "Happy First Anniversary Gillian."
Gillian was shocked.  "I don't know what to say, I thought everyone had forgotten."
"Nonsense we didn't forget, we're like a big family here at Phoenix."
Pete put his arm around Gillian's shoulder. She looked around and saw that all of the tables had food on them and there was even a great big bowl of punch. Everyone was eating and mingling, there was
even a big colorful banner above the tables that said Happy Anniversary. This was all very nice but it only
made Gillian wish even harder that MacGyver was there to see it.

Pete was no fool he looked down at her; he saw her sad face and knew instantly what was wrong with her.
"You know what's missing?"
She nodded. "MacGyver."
"Besides him, do you know what is missing?"
Gillian shook her head. "No what?"
"Cake! We need cake!" He raised his head and talked over everyone. "Hey does anyone know where we can get some cake?"
The crowd all looked at each other and shook their heads; no one seemed to know where to find cake.
"I know where we can get some cake!"
A voice rang out from the kitchen and everyone turned towards the big swinging doors. They opened suddenly and MacGyver walked out, he was pushing a cart that had a big white cake on top of it. He was a little more dressed up then usual, wearing a black silk shirt and a pair of black jeans.
"Mac..." Gillian saw him and she practically ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck. She felt a
lump forming in her throat, she was that glad to see him.

MacGyver put his arms around her and lifted her as he hugged her.

Gillian closed her eyes, it felt so good to be in his arms. "What are you doing back here so soon? I thought you said you wouldn't be home until next week."
MacGyver set her down. "I couldn't miss out on your party. I finished my last lecture this morning so I figured why hang around?"
"I missed you so much." Gillian suddenly remembered that they were not alone; she wiped her eyes and
turned around. Her sad face was gone and now she was grinning widely. "I don't know what to say, I am
genuinely touched that you all remembered my anniversary. You all are the best and I hope we can have many more anniversaries together."
Everyone started clapping and Mac put his arm around her waist. "Okay folks go back and have a good time; we'll cut this cake in a little while."
The crowd broke up and Gillian leaned her head against his chest. "You okay Gill?"
She looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, like I said I missed you."
Mac noticed that everyone was busy socializing and eating, they weren't really paying attention to the
two of them. He reached down and took her hand. "You want to go get some fresh air?"
Gillian nodded and squeezed his hand. "I'd like that."

The couple got into the elevator and MacGyver pressed the button for the 29th floor. The elevator ride was a short one and the doors opened. The 29th floor was the Accounting Department; there were cubicles with computers everywhere. Mac led her down a hall to the gray door marked STAIRS.
"What are we doing?"
Mac opened the door. "Going to the roof."
The couple walked up the stairs together, the door to the roof was slightly ajar and Mac opened it all the
way. The roof was brightly lit, there were huge industrial lights on top that made the night seem more
like day. The night was nice and cool; the stars were out in full bloom and at that height the little
twinkling diamonds looked close enough to touch. The top of the roof was covered with a little bit of
gravel that crunched as they walked.
"I like it up here; it's always nice and quiet."
Gillian looked out, the view from up there was amazing. There was nothing but lights in a sea of black that stretched out towards the horizon. "It is quiet and look how far you can see."
They walked towards the middle of the roof and Gillian was surprised to see candles, they were lit
and gently flickering. There had to have been a least a thousand of them, they formed a square around a red
checkered blanket. There was a silver bucket with a bottle chilling in it, a wicker picnic basket, two glasses and a bundle of roses on top of the blanket.
"What's all this?"
"A private party."
Mac still had her hand, he led her over to the blanket and she sat down. He joined her and picked up the
bottle, he showed it to her. "Care for a glass of sparkling grape juice?"
Gillian smiled and nodded. "Please."
Mac popped the cork and sniffed it. "Ah the juice of the vine."
That made Gillian laugh. "I think that is for wine."
He picked up one of the glasses and poured her some juice, he handed it to her. "One for the lady."
He filled the other glass for himself. "And one for me."
Mac put the bottle back and raised his glass. "To your first anniversary at Phoenix."
Gillian raised her glass. "To my first anniversary."
The couple clinked their glasses and sipped their juice.
Mac set his glass down. "I figured you would like this better than all those people." He reached for the
picnic basket and opened it; he brought out a small cake and two plates. "See I even brought cake."
Gillian shook her head. "You really did think of everything didn't you?"
Mac ran his finger along the cake and offered her a taste of frosting; Gillian licked it off of his finger. "That's good cake."
He got another fingerful of frosting and tasted it. "Hey it is good." He reached into the pocket of his
black jeans and took out his knife; he cut a small piece of the cake and put it on a plate. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Gillian took it and started eating her cake. "So how was Brazil?"
MacGyver licked more frosting off of his fingers. He crossed his legs Indian style and started eating his
cake. "Good, it was nice but I stayed in my room most of the time." The piece of cake he had cut himself was small and he was already finished, he set his plate aside.

Gillian was done with her cake too; she picked up the bottle of grape juice and refilled both of their glasses.
"What should we drink too now?"
Mac picked up his glass. "How about the future?"
"That's a good one." She picked up her glass and raised it. "To the future."
They drank from their glasses again and Mac set his back down. "Want to go walk around some more?"
"Sure."
They once again held hands and walked over to the edge of the roof. Gillian didn't dare look down, she simply closed her eyes and let the wind caress her face and blow through her hair. "This is so nice."
"Yeah it is." MacGyver looked at the view before turning his attention to Gillian. "Do you know what else it is today besides your first anniversary here?"
Gillian opened her eyes and looked at him. "No, what?"
"Today is also the anniversary of the very first time we saw each other."
That made Gillian smile, she had totally forgotten about that. "That's right it is."
MacGyver smiled at the young woman. "And my life hasn't been the same since." He picked up both of her
hands and kissed them. "I want to tell you something."

Gillian nodded. "Okay."

Mac was looking into her eyes. "You have done a lot over the past year to change me Gillian. You've opened my eyes and made me stop being afraid. I always thought that fear was going to keep me alone for the rest of my life. I'm not afraid anymore; you have given me the courage to do something."
Gillian looked at him; his eyes were sparkling in the light. "What?"
MacGyver reached into the pocket of his jeans and took out a velvet box. His hands were shaking as he opened it, inside was a Claddagh ring; it was gold and had two small hands on either side of a heart shaped diamond.

Gillian couldn't believe what was happening, her heart started beating so hard she thought for sure that Mac could hear it. MacGyver's face was serious; he got down on both of his knees.

Gillian saw him do this and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She wiped them away as they rolled down her cheeks. Mac saw that she was crying, he suddenly realized how big this moment really was, he licked his lips and swallowed hard.
"I told you once that I wanted you to stay in my life, now I'm asking if you will." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "Gillian, will you share the rest of my life with me as my wife?"
That broke the dam, she covered her eyes with her hands for a moment then they slid down to her mouth.
She was smiling, laughing and crying as she reached out and put her hands on his arms and got him to his feet. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Yes…" She said it low in his ear, but it was loud enough for him to hear it. He closed his eyes and hugged her. He bent down a little and scooped her up into his arms; he carried her back to the blanket.

The couple returned to the party just in time, as soon as they came in through the glass doors Pete waved
them over.
"Gillian can I see you for a moment?"
Both of them walked over and Pete looked at his friend. "Come on MacGyver let her go; I just want to
borrow her for a minute."
MacGyver had known Pete long enough to know when he was playing. "All right." He left go of Gillian's hand and looked at her. "You be careful Gillian, he may be old but he's still a smooth talker."

Gillian nodded. "I'll try and remember that."
The crowd started to laugh and Pete shook his head at him. "I'll get you for that one."
Mac only shrugged. "You started it."
Gillian stood beside Pete; he put an arm around her shoulders, the other hand was behind his back. "Now
you all have seen Gillian's office, in case you haven't noticed its missing something."
"Yeah, a shrunken head!" Mac smiled widely at Gillian who only narrowed her eyes at him.

"I can fix that, I know of a volunteer."
Everyone started to laugh and Pete cleared his throat. "Anyways as I was saying it's missing something." He brought his other hand from around his back and showed her a brass name plate; it had her name and read that she was the Head of the Archaeology Department. Gillian took if from Pete, it was very shiny and smooth. She turned and looked at Mac, asking him something with her eyes. He got the message and gave her a little smile and a nod.
"It also comes with one for your desk." Pete handed her another name plate, this one was mounted on wood.

Gillian looked at both of the gifts and smiled. "Thank you very much, I really appreciate this but there is
just one slight problem."
Pete creased his brow. "What problem?"
"Well it says MacKenzie on here."

"Yeah that is your name."
Gillian sighed and shook her head. "Gillian MacKenzie is not going to work here anymore."
The crowd broke out into murmurs, even Pete looked shocked. "What? You're leaving?"
She nodded. "I'm afraid so but I already know of a replacement. See Gillian MacKenzie is going to be
replaced."  She lifted her hand and showed Pete the ring. "By Gillian MacGyver."

Pete took her hand and looked at the ring; he turned and looked at his friend. "Is this true MacGyver?"
Mac felt his face turn a thousand shades of red. He looked around and noticed that every eye in the room was fixed on him, nevertheless he nodded. "Yeah, it's true."
Pete smiled widely and hugged the young woman, he was so surprised. "Congratulations! And don't worry about the plates we can always get you new ones."

MacGyver went over to Pete and the very happy man hugged him too. "Congratulations Mac, I mean that."

"I know you do Pete, thanks." He patted his friend on the back and sighed.

A group of woman had totally surrounded Gillian; it was the group of gossip hounds that was led by Pete's secretary Sandra. They were all admiring her ring and asking her a thousand questions about how MacGyver had proposed. Gillian was smiling but she was actually telling them very little.

Pete and MacGyver were over by the punch bowl watching the spectacle. "That poor girl, those women are like hungry vultures!"

MacGyver laughed and sipped his punch. "Don't worry about Gill Pete, she can handle them, she's done it before."

Pete looked intrigued. "Really when?"

"When she and I were first going out, those vultures had rumors flying around all over the place about us. Gillian went over to them and asked them to find someone else to gossip about."

"I didn't know that, I had wondered why I hadn't heard anything in a while." Pete looked at all of the inquisitive women. "Well now it's going to start back up."

MacGyver shook his head. "I doubt it, Gillian won't tell them anything."

"Are you sure about that Mac? She seems really happy and she just might let a few details about what you did slip out. By the way, how long did it take you to plan that?"

"About a month, I came up with it after Gillian's Jeep accident."

Pete nodded and refilled his punch. "So when do you think the two of you are going to go through with it?"

Mac shrugged. "I really don't know, Gillian and I have to talk about that."

"Just let me know and I'll be happy to come."

MacGyver made a face. "Come? I don't want you to come."

Pete's mouth dropped open. "You mean I'm not invited?"

"No way! I don't want you as a guest at my wedding." MacGyver suddenly smiled widely and put his hand on Pete's shoulder. "I want you up there next to me."

Pete breathed a huge sigh of relief. "You had me going there for a minute, I thought you were serious."

"Now you should know better than that."

"Oh I do I just thought that maybe you would ask Jack Dalton to stand with you, not me."

MacGyver looked at his friend sideways. "Jack Dalton? Are you kidding? He would try and take my place."

Pete started laughing. "Fond of Gillian is he?"

MacGyver sighed and shook his head. "When I introduced them, he kissed her hand and proposed to her. When she said no he then asked her to run away with him."

"Sounds like Jack."

"I know that's the problem."

Gillian finally got away from the group of women; she joined the two men and put her arms around MacGyver. "Hi."

"Escaped with your life did you?" Mac leaned down and gave her a kiss.

"Barely, they wanted to know everything."

"And what did you tell them?"

Gillian smiled widely. "Take a look at their frowning faces and then ask me again."

Mac looked up and saw a group of very unhappy looking women staring at the both of them.  "They look thrilled."

"I know but they're going to have to live, I'm not telling them anything."

"Good." Mac gave her another kiss.

Pete was watching them, they looked very happy and that made him happy too. "Gillian can I see the ring again?"

"Sure." Gillian turned around and faced Pete. She held out her hand for him, he was going to take it but he hesitated.

"Do you mind?"

Gillian smiled. "Of course not."

Pete took her hand and lifted it higher; he was looking at the design. "That's a Claddagh ring, Irish right?"

MacGyver put his arms around Gillian and put his head down on her shoulder. "Right."

Pete saw the unusual heart shaped diamond. "Did you get it custom made?"

"Yeah I did, heart shaped diamonds aren't easy to come by and all the rings I found had every stone but a diamond and I wanted a diamond."

"There is a legend behind the ring, you know that right? And the ring has to be worn in a special way."

MacGyver nodded. "I know I've heard."

Gillian looked back at him. "Well I haven't."

Mac picked up her hand and looked at how she wore the ring, the crown was facing outwards. "See the way the crown is pointing out away from you?"

"Yeah."

"That means that two people that are in love have now become inseparable."

He was leaning far over her shoulder and she turned and kissed his cheek. "How very true."

The party broke up around 11 and the couple got everything off of the roof and put it in Gillian's office, with the exception of the roses, she wanted to take them home.

It was after 11 30 by the time they got back to Gillian's house. They went into their bedroom and Mac threw himself on the bed, he was still recovering from his long flight home. "Just throw the blanket over me."

Gillian unzipped her pants and started to laugh. "I don't think so Mac, you sleep in the bed not on it."

"Come on Gill, I'm tired and beat, give the poor guy a break."

Gillian shook her head; she took something out of her dresser drawer and slipped into the bathroom. The door opened and Gillian walked out. She was wearing a red satin nightie, it had spaghetti straps and was very short, she leaned against the door frame.

"Still tired?"

Mac sighed and lifted his head. "Yes I'm-" He stopped in mid sentence and both of his eyebrows went up in the air. "I mean no, where did you get that?"

She walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge; she smiled and touched his face. "I got it while you were away; I was saving it for your first night home."

"What a coincidence, that's exactly what it is."

"I thought you were tired and wanted a break."

Mac shook his head. "Tired, who said I was tired?" He got off of the bed fast and started changing his clothes.

Gillian couldn't help it, she started laughing really hard. She leaned back against the headboard and sighed. It had been a really great night, she looked down at her hand. She still couldn't believe he had given her a ring, she just kept staring at it.

"Pretty isn't it?" Mac was wearing his red and black checkered pajama bottoms, he sat beside her.

Gillian nodded. "It's the most beautiful ring I have ever seen and I can't believe it's on my finger."

Mac picked up her hand and kissed it. "Well it is." He held her hand in his. "Gillian have you thought about what you want to do for our wedding and when we should do it?"

"Not really, have you?"

Mac shrugged his shoulders. "No, we can pretty much do it anytime we want. What about where?"

"Actually I do have an idea about that but since we aren't sure when, it can wait."

Mac scooted down and stretched out on the bed. "Okay." He looked up at her and offered her his hand. Gillian smiled widely as she took it; she reached over and turned off the lamp.

"What do you think about this?" Pete was pointing something out to MacGyver on his computer screen; they were going over the newest budget figures from the board.

MacGyver looked at what he was pointing to. "Well that is only a little below what it was last year. I don't think it will make much of a difference, Johnson should be all right."

Pete sighed, he hated having to go over the budget with a fine tooth comb. He was glad MacGyver was there to lend a hand. "You do realize that at this rate we'll be here all day going over this new budget."

MacGyver shrugged. "It has to be done Pete, and we both know that."

The phone on Pete's desk buzzed and he sighed, he was getting frustrated. "We are never going to get this finished." He looked at his friend. "Mac would you mind getting that?"

MacGyver patted his friend on the back; he walked around his desk and pressed the intercom button. "What's going on Sandra?"

"Duncan Peterson is here to see Mr. Thornton."

Pete creased his brow. "Why is Gillian's attorney here to see me?"

"Good question." Mac hit the button again. "All right Sandra, send him in."

The door to Pete's office opened and the gray haired man walked in. He was wearing a rather expensive looking blue pin striped suit and carrying his briefcase. He didn't look all that happy but he tried to put on a good face. He stuck out his hand. "Hello MacGyver."

Mac got off of the edge of Pete's desk and shook his hand. "Hey Duncan." He looked back at his friend. "I believe you and Pete know each other."

Duncan looked at the stout man behind the desk and he smiled. "Of course, how are you Pete?"

Pete got up and shook Duncan's hand. "Good, it's been a long time Duncan." He sat back down and pointed to his chair. "Have a seat, what can I do for you?"

Duncan sat down, he put his briefcase in his lap. "Actually I came to see both you and MacGyver; I need your help with something."

Pete folded his hands on top of his desk. "Okay, tell us what is going on and we'll see what we can do about it."

Duncan opened his briefcase and took out a paper, he handed it to MacGyver. "I assume you saw this?"

It was the front page of the LA Times from a few weeks back. There was a picture of him and Gillian on the front page. They were both dressed up, the photo was from the Phoenix Foundation fundraiser dinner that had taken place a few months back. 

The caption next to their picture read, For Love or Money? CEO engaged to PF Operative.

MacGyver sighed and shook his head, both he and Gillian had been very angry about that article. "Yeah we saw it."

Mac handed the newspaper to Pete, he read it and scowled. "How is it that they found out about this? I ordered the security guards to keep the press out of here and still they managed to get someone to talk." He threw the paper down on his desk. He was angry that is friends' privacy had been invaded.

Duncan nodded; he too was less than thrilled about the article. "I know and believe me if we knew who did this they would have a lot to answer for, but that article isn't the problem."

Mac resumed his side saddle position on Pete's desk. "Then what is?"

Duncan closed his eyes for a moment. "Ever since that article came out, my office has been receiving threatening letters."

MacGyver nodded. "Well we can always get the police involved and maybe the FBI if we have to."

"I already tried them. They don't seem interested, told me to chalk it up to a prank, but I think it's more than that. I think that the threats are serious."

"We have a safe house we can put you in until we find out who is doing this."

Duncan opened his briefcase and took out a manila envelope. "The threats aren't against me Pete." He handed the envelope to MacGyver. "They are against Gillian."

Mac took the envelope he dumped its contents out on Pete's desk and the two men started looking over the pile of letters. Pete read one and shook his head. "This is horrible, why would someone want to hurt Gillian?"

MacGyver read a letter that made his blood run cold; he folded it back up and set it back down on the desk. "Someone's sick idea of a joke."

Duncan sighed. "It's not a joke MacGyver." He got something else out of his briefcase.

It was a long white envelope, he handed it to Mac and as he did so his hand shook a little.

MacGyver took the envelope and opened it, there were photos inside. He started flipping through them and his eyes grew wide. The photos were of Gillian in her office, they were taken from a long distance with a special lens.

"Look at the paper that came with them."

Mac took a folded up piece of paper from the envelope and opened it. The paper had only four words. One bullet perfect aim. He handed the photos and the paper to Pete. The Director of Operations saw the photos and the note.

"It looks like they were taken from across the street."

"No Pete, it had to be farther away than that."

"When I received that this morning it scared me enough to come right away to see the both of you; whatever we decide to do, we can't tell Gillian about this."

MacGyver looked extremely surprised. "We are going to tell Gillian about this, and right now. She has to be told."

Duncan shook his head. "Why? I don't want to scare her."

MacGyver got up from the desk. He was upset and he couldn't understand why Duncan wanted to keep her in the dark. "She has a reason to be scared. These aren't fan letters, they're threats against her life. We can't keep this from her."

"What good would it do to terrorize her?"

Pete stood up. "All right, all right that's enough from the both of you."

Both men stopped their arguing; Mac turned his back and took a deep breath.

Pete sat back down in his chair. "Now you both have a point. I don't think we should necessarily say anything to Gillian until we get an idea of who is behind this. The moment we do know then she has to be told, for her own safety and protection. Okay?"

Mac turned back around and nodded. "Yeah." He looked at Duncan. "I'm sorry; I just don't want anything to happen to her."

Duncan nodded. "I'm sorry to, and believe me I don't want anything to happen to Gillian either; she's like one of my kids."

Pete nodded and folded his hands back on his desk. "Good, now Duncan leave us all of the letters and the photos. We'll see if we can find anything on them. And if you get anything else, bring it to us right away."

Duncan closed his briefcase and stood up; he shook both of their hands. "I will, and let me know when you find out anything."

Pete smiled at him. "We'll be in touch."

Mac raised his hand to him as he walked out of the office door; as soon as the door closed he wiped his hand down his face. "Pete, you know as well as I do that Gillian has to be told about this."

"I didn't say we wouldn't tell her MacGyver I said we should check a little more into this before we do."

Gillian stepped out of the elevator. She had a very strange feeling; it started in the pit of her stomach.
She was down in the basement garage of the Phoenix Foundation. A note had been slipped under her door, it was from MacGyver and it said for her to meet him on the 4th floor of the parking garage.

Gillian walked around the garage, that level was surprisingly empty and her heels echoed against the concrete floor.

"Mac?"

She walked over to the far end of it and saw nothing. "Mac?"

"Hello Gillian."

She whipped around and saw a dark haired man dressed in black wearing a pair of sunglasses; they were mirror tinted. A cold chill raced up her spine, he was standing against the far wall.

"I don't believe we have been properly introduced."

Gillian started walking a little towards him. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh I know everything there is to know about you."

Gillian started rubbing her stomach, she had stopped walking. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I'm afraid that is something I cannot tell you, but when the time is right you will know everything."

He started walking over to her. The closer he got the more pain she felt, it was so bad she was on her knees and breathing very hard. It felt like broken glass in her stomach and she cried out and squinted her eyes shut. The pain was getting worse and she saw the garage shift, she felt lightheaded and everything started to grow black. The last thing she saw before the lights went out was a very wicked looking smile on the face of the dark haired man as he got closer to her.

MacGyver and Pete had sent everything to the lab; they were waiting to see if the lab techs could come up with anything. In the meantime, the two men were finishing up the budget figures.

Mac was sitting in the Pete's chair, rubbing his eyes. They had gone over so many numbers he felt like an accountant. Pete came back into his office and saw his friend sitting in his chair.

"Hey that's my chair."

"Sorry but you left, the chair was fair game."

Pete shook his head and looked at his watch. "What do you want to do about lunch?"

"I'm supposed to take Gillian out today, want to come along?" He looked at his watch and saw what time it was.

"Sure."

MacGyver got up from Pete's chair and the two men left the room. Gillian's office was only two doors down, Mac went to knock on the door but it was open.

"Gillian?"

He stepped back and opened the door, her office was empty. The two men walked into the room and Pete saw a white note card on her desk.

"Wonder where she could be?"

Pete picked up the note card. "Hey MacGyver, did you send this to Gillian?"

Mac took the card from his friend. "Meet me in the parking garage, 4th level, Mac." He shook his head. "No I didn't send this to her."

It hit both men at the same time and they left the office in a hurry and ran down the hall towards the elevator.

"Gillian?"

MacGyver and Pete were walking around the 4th level, looking for any sign of the young woman. The 4th level was a pretty big place so the two men decided to split up. Pete came around the corner and saw her lying down on the cement.

Gillian had come to work wearing a red skirt and a white with red flowered shirt, now she was wearing a white bridal gown, there was a veil on her head and a bouquet of dead roses in her hand.

"MacGyver!"

Mac came flying from around the corner. He ran over to where Pete was and saw the way Gillian was dressed. He took the roses out of her hand and set them aside. He lifted the veil that was over her face and put his hand on her cheek. "Gillian?" She didn't respond and he looked at Pete with worried eyes.

Pete nodded; he too was worried about the young woman. "Come on Mac; let's get her back to her office."

"Right, help me."

Pete did as he asked and lifted her head. MacGyver put his arm across the back of her neck and the other arm under her knees and lifted her up. "Let's take the back elevator so no one will see."

A strong ammonia scent slapped Gillian in the face. She opened her eyes slowly and saw was in her office, MacGyver and Pete were both leaning over her.

"Gillian?"

The young woman looked at Mac and nodded. "Yeah." She reached down and rubbed her stomach, it felt sore and tight. "Where did he go?"

"Where did who go?"

"That man."

MacGyver helped her to sit up. "What man?"

"He was standing against the far wall wearing sunglasses."

Pete crouched down so he was eye level with Gillian. "Did you see his face?"

Gillian shook her head. "No, he was too far away and my stomach started hurting; it got so bad I blacked out."

Mac touched her face. "But you never saw what he looked like?"

"No." She was still rubbing her stomach. "He said he knew who I was and everything about me."

Gillian looked at the two men. She saw the wedding dress crumbled up on the floor. She was now wearing a white hockey jersey and a pair of blue sweats; they were obviously MacGyver's.  "Can you please tell me what is going on?"

MacGyver looked at his friend. "We have to tell her Pete, there is no choice now."

Pete nodded; he knew that his friend was right.

Gillian was sipping a hot cup of tea, it was the only thing that could ease her ailing stomach. She listened to MacGyver and Pete spill the beans to her about everything. They told her about the letters, the photos, everything that Duncan had told to them.

Gillian sighed and shook her head; she set her tea down on her coffee table and sat up.

"I don't understand, why didn't Duncan tell me what was going on? He and I have always been very honest with each other. We've never kept secrets."

MacGyver was sitting on chair that was next to the couch; he scooted closer to the edge of it and touched her knee. "He probably thought he was doing the right thing. He was trying to protect you, just like Pete and I were when we didn't tell you right away either."

Gillian patted his hand. "I know, but obviously you can't protect me, at least not here. You saw those photos of me and just now in the parking garage; I'm not going to be safe at Phoenix."

MacGyver nodded. "You're right, that's why we are going to stay at the houseboat."

MacGyver and Gillian had decided to move into together, they had moved all of Mac's things into Gillian's house. They decided to live in her house during the week but then stay in the houseboat once the weekend came.

"Mac, there is hardly anything left at the houseboat. We've moved pretty much everything into my house."

"It isn't totally empty Gillian, my bed and my couch is still there. All we really have to do is buy some food for the fridge."

Gillian didn't really want to hide, but she knew there was no other way. "All right, we'll stay in the houseboat."

The houseboat was set up like a fortress, all of the doors were locked and so were all the windows. MacGyver had even set up an alarm around it, hooked up to a loud siren. Gillian was sitting on the couch; Mac had gone to the store to pick up some food. She felt like a Ming vase that was in a big glass case in a museum, if anyone got too close there would be a whole lot of noise. She looked around the houseboat and realized just how empty it really was. The couch was the only thing in the living room, all the shelves were empty and the wooden floor was now bare.  She had her legs drawn up to her chest, ever since the episode in the parking garage she felt very paranoid. Her senses were heightened up; every little noise she heard sent her heart racing. She was cold and she rubbed her arms, the jersey and sweat pants she still had on were thick but they weren't helping. She hoped MacGyver wasn't going to be gone too much longer.

There was a loud creaking noise that came from just outside the front door. Gillian heard it and she got up and looked around for a weapon. She saw a wrench that was lying on the counter; she moved like lightning and grabbed it. She hid right near the door, her heart was pounding in her chest. She looked down and watched as the door knob started to turn. She lifted the wrench up high, ready to pound whoever came through that door on the head. The door opened and she saw someone come inside, she took a deep breath and brought the wrench down.

MacGyver saw how dark the houseboat looked. He stepped in the doorway, he heard someone gasp and he turned just in time to see the wrench coming right at his head. He grabbed it with his left hand and saw the surprised face of his girlfriend.

"Whoa Gillian! It's me!"

Gillian was breathing hard as she let go of the wrench. "Mac! You scared me to death, you could have announced yourself!"

He was carrying a brown paper sack and set it down on the counter. "Well I figured that setting off the alarm would scare you."

She took a few deep breaths and calmed down. "What did you bring?" She walked around the counter and climbed up on one of the barstools.

Mac smiled. "Let's see here, alfalfa sprouts, some pita bread, a few avocados, some fruit, and a big bottle of sparkling grape juice." He took everything out of the bag and folded it up.

Gillian looked at everything he had bought. "Going to make some of your famous alfalfa avocado pitas huh?"

"Yeah I thought something light would be nice."

Gillian nodded, light was good, her stomach was still giving her a hard time.

Mac saw her frowning face and touched her chin. "What? Don't like my pitas?"

"You know I do." She curled her finger at him and he walked around the counter and stood in front of her. Because of the stools, they were the same height and she put her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Mac hugged her and rubbed her back. "You're scared aren't you?"

"Terrified."

"Don't worry; I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"I know, first our personal life is splashed across the front of the LA Times and now some guy thinks I need to be wiped off the face of this planet."

Mac let go of her and put both hands on her face. "It's going to be all right, you believe me don't you?"

Gillian smiled. "I believe you."

He tilted her head down and kissed her forehead. "Want something to eat?"

"My stomach still isn't right."

"Maybe part of that is hunger."

"Okay, go ahead and make your pitas."

"Great!" He gave her forehead another kiss before taking off his black jacket and hanging it on the railing of the staircase.

Being that there was nothing else to do, the couple went to bed. They were laying on their backs looking up at the stars through the skylight that was almost directly over the bed. Gillian was still wearing the jersey and the sweat pants; she was still cold and moved closer to the other occupant of the bed.

Mac had on a pair of blue sweats; he lifted his arm and let Gillian snuggle up against him.

"Better?"

"Much, you are nice and warm."

Mac brought his arm down and began to rub her back. "How's your stomach?"

"It feels a little better." Gillian sighed. "I like this, just laying here with you looking at the stars; I wish our bedroom at my house had a skylight."

"Maybe I can put one in; I don't think it would be a big deal."

Gillian laid her head down on his side and started to laugh; Mac heard her and lifted his head. "What?"

She stopped laughing and cleared her throat. "It just struck me funny that a man that can make a shower out of an emergency raft and some PVC pipe or an airplane out of bamboo, duct tape and trash bags would have any problems with a skylight."

"Hey I did what I could with what I had."

"So I've heard, Pete has been a valuable source of information." Gillian closed her eyes for a moment, she felt like she was getting sleepy. "What time is it?"

Mac lifted his left arm up and looked at his watch. "8 30."

"Seems later than that."

"That's because we are in bed, normally we aren't in bed until at least 10."

Gillian yawned widely and looked at her left hand; her diamond sparkled in the moonlight that was coming from the skylight. "You know Sandra came up to me today while I was in the lunch room."

"Uh oh, what did she want?"

"To ask me about the wedding, when it was going to take place and all that."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that we haven't set a date."

"Was she surprised?"

"Yeah, she said that we should have already picked a date."

Mac sighed and held her closer to him. "Did you tell her that it wasn't really any of her business even if we had a date picked?"

"I told her that only certain people are going to know about it when we do pick it."

Mac started to laugh. "How did she take that?"

"She wasn't happy."

Gillian really felt sleepy, her eyes felt very heavy. "I don't know about you Mac but I can't keep my eyes open."

"Well go to sleep then."

"I don't want you to be awake by yourself."

"Don't worry about it, I want to stay awake and keep an ear out in case there is trouble."

She yawned again and lifted her head; she gave him a small kiss. "I'm sure we won't have any trouble."

"I hope not, now go to sleep."

Gillian turned on her side. She put her head back down on Mac's chest, within a few minutes she was asleep.

It was the middle of the night, and MacGyver was quietly dozing. Gillian was sound asleep leaning on him. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully and he was glad, she had a rough day and needed the rest. He lifted his head and kissed the top of her head. He started thinking about the letters and he shook his head slowly.

Mac closed his eyes and sighed. He was getting tired; he lifted his arm and looked at his watch. It said that it was 1 o'clock. he yawned widely and closed his eyes; he started to drift off to sleep.

A pair of heavy boots was walking on the dock; they walked right up to the little dark grey houseboat and stopped. MacGyver had rigged wires everywhere; no one could get to close without tripping his alarm. This person knew how extremely clever MacGyver could be, he was not about to get too close.

A pair of dark gloved hands reached into a gym bag and got a few things out of it.

MacGyver heard some creaking noises and he opened his eyes. He carefully moved Gillian off of him and sat up. He sat perfectly still and listened, when he didn't hear anything he started to lay back down.

A small noise did get his attention but it wasn't coming from outside, it was coming from beside him. He looked down and saw Gillian making a terrible face. She looked pained and one of her hands touched her stomach. She groaned softly in her sleep and her eyes squinted, she suddenly became restless.

MacGyver knew that was not good, he got up from the bed.

There was the sound of breaking glass, something had crashed through one of the glass panels of the front door and smashed on the kitchen floor. Suddenly it burst into flame and quickly spread to the bare living room floor.

Mac was halfway down the stairs, he saw both the kitchen and the living room was burning, the flames were quickly covering his couch. He turned and raced back up the stairs.

Gillian sat straight up; she looked at him with wide eyes. "What's going on?"

Mac's heart was beating hard; he stretched out his hand to her. "Come on we have to get out of here!"

Gillian took it and they went back towards the stairs but that was not a way out. All of a sudden something else broke through the front door, it hit the counter and rolled into the living room. Mac crouched down and saw that it was a few sticks of dynamite. He turned around and saw the balcony doors.

"Come on! Out the balcony!"

The couple ran over to the doors and Mac threw them open. He knew they didn't have a lot of time; the fire was going to make that dynamite explode in a matter of seconds.

"We have to get over the railing and into the water!"

Gillian looked down, it was a little bit of a distance to the water. She was terrified but she trusted Mac. "Okay, how?"

There was a pair of folded chairs out on the balcony. He opened both of them up and set them next to the railing. "We use the chairs to jump over the railing."

They went back a ways into their bedroom, the fire was climbing up the stairs and the room was starting to get smoky. MacGyver looked at Gillian, he was breathing hard. "We can do this, okay?"

Gillian swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay."

The couple was holding each other's hands pretty tight.  They started running; they went out the balcony doors and hit the chairs. They cleared the railing just as the houseboat exploded.

The force of the explosion pushed them and made the couple hit the water hard. Gillian came up to the surface the water was cold and it chilled her to the bone. She noticed that Mac was not with her, their hands let go when they went into the water. This made her panic; she looked around for any sign of him.

"Mac!"

He popped up out of the water and started coughing, Gillian swam up over to him and hugged him.

"Are you okay?"

Mac was still coughing. "Yeah, I'm okay, you?"

Gillian nodded; she turned around and looked at the houseboat. It was blown apart and burning, they could feel the heat across the water and there were bits and pieces of wood floating around them. Mac was looking at the tattered, smoldering remains of his houseboat. There was a look of sadness on his face. Gillian saw him; she loved that little houseboat as much as he did.

The couple was floating in the water watching their weekend house burn.

It was 3 o'clock in the morning, when Pete showed up. He was wearing a beige trench coat over his pajamas, he ran across the white wooden bridge. He saw the Fire Department putting out the houseboat and MacGyver and Gillian standing on the dock. They both had brown blankets around them.

Pete saw the couple; he was relieved that they were all right. "MacGyver! Gillian!"

They both turned towards him, he was out of breath when he got to them. "Are you all right?"

MacGyver still looked sad, but he nodded. "Yeah Pete we're okay."

Pete looked at the blackened houseboat, it was barely recognizable and he shook his head. "What happened?"

Gillian leaned against Mac; he opened his blanket and covered her with it. "A Molotov cocktail and a few sticks of dynamite."

Pete's mouth hung open. "How did you get out?"

"We jumped into the water from the balcony."

The stout man shook his head; he realized that both of his friends could have easily been killed. "Who is doing this? We have to find out who." He looked again at the pile of smoking black wood. He couldn't believe that his friend had lost everything. "I'm sorry Mac; you weren't able to save anything?"

MacGyver shook his head. "It happened pretty fast." He saw Pete's face and he realized what his friend was thinking. "Pete, I moved all of my stuff into Gillian's house. There was only a few clothes and some furniture left in the houseboat."

Pete breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That's good, I'm glad. What are we going to do?"

Mac sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "I don't know, whoever is doing this is probably watching. I don't think we should go to Gillian's house, one burned up house is enough for one night."

Gillian looked up at him. "We can go to a motel."

Pete nodded. "That's a good idea."

Mac shook his head. "Too dangerous, what if he decides to do this again? The houseboat was just the two of us but a motel would have other people in it to."

"All right so where are you two going to go?"

MacGyver thought about something, he looked at his friend. "Still have the key to the safe house?"

The Phoenix Foundation safe house was a small one bedroom red brick house on the outskirts of LA. Pete had made a call to his friend Lt. Riley. He had told the policeman about MacGyver and Gillian and what the situation was. The lieutenant had given Pete his word that the police would protect them. He had sent three patrol cars to circle the area and two policemen to physically stand outside the door.

MacGyver and Gillian were exhausted. They still had their blankets around them, they both crashed on the queen size bed. The room they were in was totally blank; the bed was the only thing in the room other than the carpeting.

Gillian couldn't sleep, things were getting worse and she blamed herself for everything that was happening to them. Whoever was doing this wanted her and she was afraid that something was going to happen to MacGyver. There was only one thing she could do, she sat up and wrapped the blanket around her as she got up.

"Where are you going?"

Gillian thought that he was asleep; she closed her eyes and kept walking.

MacGyver sat up and saw she was almost to the door, it dawned on him what she was doing. "Gillian, stop!"

That made her stand still and turn around. "Why? So that maniac can come here and try again? I think the best thing for me to do is get out of here."

MacGyver shook his head. "What good would it do for you to leave? You'd be playing right into his hands."

Gillian was getting angry. "I'm already in his hands Mac and so are you!"

MacGyver could see more than just her anger; he knew she was thinking about leaving because of him. "You can't leave Gillian, I don't want you too."

She turned her back to him and closed her eyes. "Why? I've already cost you your houseboat, what's next? Your life? I don't want anything to happen to you Mac."

He took off his blanket and got up from the bed, he stood behind her and rubbed her arms. "I know you are afraid that something is going to happen to me but I can't let you leave."

Gillian shook her head. "The houseboat is a pile of black kindling because of me."

"It was just a house."

She turned around, now she was angry. "It was not just a house! It was your house! Don't you get it? I'm a walking disaster right now! I don't want you to get caught up in it! If something were to happen to you I would never forgive myself!"

"Nothing is going to happen to me."

Gillian got frustrated; she dropped her blanket and put her hands on his bare chest. She pushed him, there were tears streaming down her face. "You are so stubborn! I'm trying to protect you and you won't listen!"

She tried to push him again but this time Mac grabbed both of her arms and pulled her to him. He hugged her and she started struggling against him. Her efforts were futile, Mac had a good strong grip and he was not about to let go of her, she finally stopped struggling and broke down.

"It's going to be all right Gillian."

"No it's not, not until I'm dead." She started crying again, he shushed her and stroked her hair. "I just want it to go away Mac."

"I know."

Gillian lifted her head and looked at him. "I'm sorry I pushed you."

He smiled and started to laugh. "I've had people a lot stronger than you do a lot worse then just push me."

Mac wiped her cheeks with his hands. "Why don't we try and get some sleep, okay?"

Gillian nodded, she felt wiped out. They walked back over to the queen sized bed.

Pete arrived a few hours later, he had gone over to Gillian's house and picked up some clothes for the both of them and had brought over some breakfast. MacGyver was awake; he had cleaned up and put on a pair of jeans and a thick grey long sleeved shirt. He put his finger to his lips and he came out of the bedroom and closed the door. Pete nodded; he sat down on the blue plaid couch.

Mac joined him and took the cup of hot chocolate that Pete handed to him.

"How is she?"

"She's finally sleeping soundly." Mac removed the lid and sipped the hot chocolate. "She's also pretty scared."

Pete sipped his coffee and picked up another packet of sugar and added it to the boiling hot liquid. "Are you?"

MacGyver nodded his head slowly. "Yeah I am, I feel like a rat in a maze, totally blind on all sides and trapped. Whoever is doing this is the one in control."

"And that's the problem MacGyver; we don't know who's doing this."

"The lab still isn't done?"

"No."

MacGyver took another sip of his hot chocolate. "What about the note card that was in Gillian's office? Does the lab have that?"

Pete nodded. "Yeah they do."

Mac set his cup down on the little coffee table. "There has to be some clue as to who is behind this. No one is that good that they don't leave a trace of something behind." He leaned back against the couch and put his arm across his eyes. He thought of something and uncovered his eyes. "What about the wedding dress?"

"The lab has it, they have checked over everything except Gillian."

Mac lifted his head up. "What did you say?"

Pete creased his brow. "I said that they have checked over everything but Gillian."

A smile came to MacGyver's face. "That's it."

"What's it?"

He turned and looked at his friend. "Can you stay here with Gillian for a while?"

Pete shrugged. "Sure where are you going?"

Mac got up from the couch. "I have to go to the lab and pick up a few things."

MacGyver was sitting on the edge of the bed gently shaking Gillian's shoulder. "Gillian?"

The young woman stirred and rolled over; she opened her eyes and looked at him. "What time is it?"

"It's after 11."

Her bleary eyes grew wide. "11? How come you let me sleep so long?"

"I was working on something."

Gillian moved the blanket aside and sat up. "What?"

Mac smiled at her. "Something that is going to give us a clue as to who is behind all this."

Gillian smiled. "Really? That's great." That made her feel much better. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

His face turned red all of a sudden and he cleared his throat. "Actually yeah there is."

She watched his face flush and she creased her brow. "What? Why are you blushing?"

He ran his fingers through his hair and started to laugh; he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a red bikini. "This is why."

Her eyes grew wide as she took the bikini from him and looked at it. "Why did you give this to me?"

"Because I need you to put it on."

Now it was her face that grew red as a beet. "You're kidding right?"

MacGyver shook his head. "No, I'm not. I know it's a weird request but I promise there is a totally scientific reason why."

Gillian sighed. "All right."

Mac got up from the bed. "We'll be in the garage."

Her eyes grew wide. "We?"

"Yeah Pete is here."

Gillian's mouth dropped open. "There is no way I'm going to come out of his room in a bikini with Pete here!"

"Gillian I swear there's a good reason. You're just going to have to trust me."

She looked at him sideways, he looked totally serious. "Okay, I'll be in the garage in 5 minutes."

Gillian opened the side door to the garage and walked in. She was barefooted and the only thing she had on was the jersey. She had taken her long hair and had put it on top of her head in a rather hastily done bun. The garage looked like a mini version of the Phoenix lab. There was a big clear box in the garage along with a table, two chairs and what looked a lamp with the shade missing. The concrete floor was cold on her bare feet, she cleared her throat and the two men turned around and saw her.

"Now can you tell me what is going on?"

Mac was holding a spray bottle, his hands had white powder on them. He dusted them off and pointed out the big clear box.

"Gillian, this is a gas chamber." There was a little table with a hot plate, it had an aluminum pan on top of it, next to it was a small fan.

Gillian walked over and looked at it. "What's it for?"

"I'm going to use it to see if we can find any fingerprints on you."

Gillian creased her brow. "On me? How?"

Mac went over to the table and picked up a fairly large bottle of super glue. "With this and a few other things."

"I'm confused."

Pete nodded. "Believe me Gillian so was I, but I think it's going to work."

"I'll explain it afterwards." Mac lifted up the plastic and slipped under it. He turned the hot plate on its lowest setting and poured a large amount of glue onto the aluminum pan. He came back out of it and put the lid on the glue. "We'll give it a few minutes and then you can go in."

Gillian sighed. "You want me to take off this jersey and go into that chamber filled with glue fumes so you can see if there are any fingerprints on me?"

MacGyver saw how skeptical she was. "Yeah that's about the size of it." He walked back over to the small table and picked up a gas mask. "You'll be wearing this."

The little chamber started to grow cloudy. Mac walked around the side of it and bent down, he clicked a switch and the little fan inside of it kicked on; it was blowing the fumes evenly throughout the small structure. "Okay, it's time."

Gillian took a deep breath and let it out slowly; there were butterflies in her stomach. She crossed her arms, and grabbed a hold of the ends of the jersey and lifted it over her head. She looked absolutely fantastic in her bikini, it was skimpy and it showed off her contours.  

Mac swallowed hard, he was temporarily distracted by how good she looked.  He handed her the mask and she slipped it over her face.

"Can you breathe okay?"

Gillian took a few breaths. "Yeah."  Her voice was a little muffled.

"Okay go in the chamber."

Gillian turned around and crouched down. She lifted the bottom of the plastic up and went under it. She was now standing in the foggy chamber.

Mac looked at his watch. "Let's give her 5 minutes." He picked up his spray bottle and added a little more powder to it; he added some water and shook it up. Pete was watching him do this.

"What are you doing?"

"When she comes out of there I'm going to spray her with this and then turn on the lamp. Any fingerprints should be visible; this fluorescent powder will make them glow."

Mac checked his watch; it was time for her to come out. There was a hose attached to the top of the box, it led to a big vacuum cleaner. He went over to it and turned it on; it started sucking all the fumes out of the chamber.

When the air got totally clear, he got out his knife and cut a huge slit in the plastic and pulled it apart so she could simply step out. There was still a little bit of a glue smell in the air, but it wasn't strong.

Gillian felt a little clammy; she took off her gas mask. "Okay now what?"

"Come over here, stand in front of the table and hold out your arms."

Gillian did as he asked, she walked over to the table and stood with her arms stretched out, like looked like she was about to do jumping jacks.

MacGyver gave his spray bottle another good shake. "Gill, I need you to close your eyes, I'm going to spray you with this stuff from the neck down, okay?"

"Okay."

Mac stood in front of her and started spraying. The air was suddenly filled with a strange scent, it smelled like vinegar but there was something else mixed in with it.

Gillian gasped, the mixture was very cold and it was giving her goose bumps. "You could have warned me that it was cold."

"Sorry." He walked around to her side and continued spraying; he did this until he had walked all the way around her. The young woman was almost totally soaked. Mac set the bottle down on the table and moved the shade-less lamp as close to her as the cord would allow.

"How ya holding up Gillian?"

"Fine, but now I know what a pickled egg feels like."

The two men started to laugh. "We're almost done, then you can shower off."

Mac walked over to the side door. The light switches were right there on the wall next to it. "Okay Pete are you ready? Remember any fingerprints we find will be glowing. I only hope our swim in the bay last night didn't wash any away."

Pete got up from his chair and moved closer to Gillian. He crouched down near the lamp and put his finger on the switch for it. "I'm ready MacGyver, turn off the lights."

"Wait until I get over there before you turn the lamp on."

"All right."

Mac flipped the switch and the whole garage turned pitch black, he made his way over to Pete and touched his shoulder. "Okay Pete, hit it."

Pete turned on the lamp, the bulb in it was black and everything that the light touched seemed to be glowing.  The two men looked at Gillian, they could see nothing,

Mac walked around her and looked at her back. He saw a few going down her spine, whoever had put Gillian in that wedding dress had touched a few places on her back as he buttoned it. "Bingo."

"What? Can you see any?" Pete walked around the young woman and stood next to him. "Why are they going down her back like that?"

"Remember that dress? There was that long line of those little buttons that went from the top of her neck down to her lower back?"

Pete nodded. "That's right it did have a lot of buttons. So how do we get the prints off of her?"

Mac reached into his pocket and took out a roll of transparent lifting tape. "Can you bring me a few of those fingerprint cards? They're on the table."

"Sure."

"Gillian, I got some lifting tape, I'm going to put it on you and then take the fingerprints off, okay?"

"How many are there?"

"At least 4."

The young woman started laughing. "Are you sure none of them are yours?"

"Actually no I'm not sure, hold very still."

Mac cut a small piece of tape and put it as best he could over the first fingerprint; it was at the top of her neck. He pressed the tape down gently and pulled it off. The fingerprint came off with it and Pete handed him a card. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Mac put the tape across the card and Pete set it aside.

They did this all the way down the young woman's back until all of the fingerprints were on cards.

"Think that is enough?"

"I sure hope so, there aren't any more that I can see."

The two men looked over Gillian, they didn't see anymore. Mac took one more trip around her; he saw a glowing fingerprint on the side of her neck. "I see one more."

Mac got the tape and put it on her neck, he carefully lifted the fingerprint. "Got it."

Gillian sighed and put her arms down. "Can I clean up now?"

The two men had sent the fingerprints with one of the policemen; as soon as they ran them through the computer they would send the report back. Mac and Pete were in the living room waiting for the report; both of them were a little edgy and anxious.

The bedroom door opened and Gillian came out, she was wearing a pair of black jean shorts and one of Mac's t-shirts, it was blue.

"Hi."

Mac turned and looked back towards the bedroom; he saw her standing there and smiled. "Hi, Pete brought us some stuff."

She walked over to the couch and looked at what Pete had brought; she picked up one of the containers of hot chocolate and sat down beside Mac.

"Aren't you going to eat something Gillian?"

Gillian looked at Pete and shook her head. "No, thanks anyway Pete, my stomach is bothering me a little bit."

Mac was looking at her, her wet hair was hanging a little in her face and he brushed it back away from her cheek. "You okay Gill?"

Gillian took the lid of her chocolate and sipped it. "Yeah, like I said my stomach is bothering me. Any word yet from the police?"

Pete shook his head. "Not yet, should be anytime though."

A uniformed policeman suddenly appeared at the screen door, Gillian saw him out of the corner of her eye and she gasped.  Mac whipped around and saw the uniform; he breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's just a cop Gillian, its okay."

Mac got up and went to the door. The uniformed cop was very young, he looked fresh out of the academy, it was hard to see his face from under his big cap. "I got that report you all have been waiting for, Lt. Riley told me to bring it to you."

He opened the screen door and handed the manila envelope to Mac, he smiled at the cop. "Thanks."

"Sure, I'll be right outside if you need me."

He closed the screen door and Mac turned away from it and opened the envelope.

Pete was just as anxious to find out what it said, he saw his friend reading the report.

"Well?"

Mac lifted his head. "Well two of the fingerprints belong to me."

"And the others?"

The report was a couple of pages long and he lifted the top page and started reading, his eyes grew a little wide. Gillian and Pete both saw this and they looked at each other.

"Mac what does it say?"

Mac had the folder in his hand, he brought it down at his side. The report said something that was in the back of his mind that he didn't dare tell Gillian about. He felt a chill run up and down his spine like an icy finger. "It says that the other fingerprints belong to Murdoc."

Pete looked stunned, his mouth hung open and he walked over to his friend and read the report. "Oh God, but I thought he was dead."

"We always think he is dead until he shows up."

Gillian creased her brow. "Murdoc? Why would he be after me I haven't done anything to him."

Pete acknowledged her question. "He's bad news Gillian, really bad news. He doesn't need a reason to go after people."

MacGyver closed his eyes and shook his head. "It makes sense now, he isn't after Gillian."

Pete shook his head. "No, he had his chance to get Gillian in the parking garage and he didn't take it."

Gillian got up from the couch and joined the two men. "But the letters? The photos? If I'm not his target why did he do all that?"

MacGyver knew the reason, he and Murdoc had been playing this cat and mouse game for so long he knew the assassin's every move. He rubbed his hands over his face and exhaled through them. He and Murdoc had tangled on several occasions but now this was different, the stakes were much higher.

The future he had with Gillian was now in question and he was not about to put the love of his life through anymore. "He was using you to get to me."

Gillian sighed, she didn't understand the things that Murdoc was doing but obviously Mac did. "Why?"

"That's how his mind works, finding a person's vulnerable point and exploiting it."

Gillian swallowed hard. "Vulnerable point? Is that what you see me as?"

Mac put both hands on her face. "No Gillian I don't, but that is how Murdoc sees you, and he's going to keep doing things to you because he knows how much it's going to hurt me."

"Why doesn't he just deal with you directly?"

"He will when he thinks the time has come. That's when he'll stop playing these games and reveal himself." His hands went from her face to rubbing both of her arms. "That's why I'm going to go."

Gillian gasped and shook her head. "Go? Where? You wouldn't let me leave last night because you said I would be playing right into his hands and now that's exactly what you are going to do?"

MacGyver nodded slightly. "I have to."

Gillian got a dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach. "No, you don't." She was looking into his eyes. "What about us? What about our future?"

"That's why I'm doing this." He put his arms around her and drew her to him. "He won't stop, he'll never stop coming. If I don't face him this will never be over."

Gillian put her arms around his waist; her head was against his chest. "Please don't do this Mac. I'd rather be hiding for the rest of my life than spend it without you." She looked up at him, her eyes were growing wet, and he wiped the escaping tears away with his fingers.

"He's done so much to me over the past years, and that was fine, but now…he's doing these things to you and I'm not about to stand by and let him."

Deep down inside of her Gillian knew that he was right. They couldn't live like fugitives, but at the same time the thought of something happening to him pained her. She took a ragged breath and touched his face. "You do what you have to do, but make me one promise."

MacGyver nodded his head. "What?"

She blinked away a tear and it rolled down her cheek slowly. "Don't make me a widow before I'm a bride."

He picked up her hand and kissed it gently. "I promise."

Gillian closed her eyes as he let go of her hand, she hugged him hard to her. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will." He let go of her and started to walk away.

Gillian was crying hard now, Pete was standing there and he put his arm across her shoulder.

"Mac."

He was at the door and he turned around and looked at her. She put a shaky hand to her neck and touched her locket and pointed to him. He gave her a small smile and put up two fingers; he turned back around and closed the door behind him.

Gillian was in the bedroom, lying on the bed, she was very quiet. There was a knock on the door and Pete opened it slightly. "Gillian?"

"Come in."

Pete opened the door and walked into the room, he saw her lying on the bed. He felt for the young woman. "Are you all right?"

"No."

He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. "Want to talk about it?"

"No, there is very little to talk about Pete."

"I don't think so Gillian, I think there is a lot to talk about."

She rolled over onto her side and looked at him. "What's there to talk about? The love of my life is gone."

Pete sighed. "Don't think that way Gillian, he left but he isn't gone."

"Tangling with Murdoc just might make him gone."

Pete saw her hands and he patted them gently. "MacGyver has tangled with Murdoc a lot over the years; I've even been there for a few of those tangles. He is smart and you know that there isn't any situation he can't get out of."

"But there is always that first time Pete."

"You have to trust him Gillian; he won't break his promise to you."

Gillian took Pete's hand and squeezed it. "I do trust him Pete, I know he won't break his promise but that doesn't mean that Murdoc won't."

MacGyver was driving in his truck down the back road that led into the city; he knew he needed some idea of where to find Murdoc. He decided to go back to the houseboat and looked around for any kind of clue; Murdoc always had a subtle way of letting his whereabouts be known. It was all part of the games that he knew Murdoc loved to play, hide and seek was always his favorite.

He saw the sign for the LA city limits; as soon as he passed it a tow truck emerged from behind the sign and followed him. Mac heard the sound of acceleration and glanced at his rear view mirror. He saw a shiny black tow truck closing the distance between the two vehicles.

"Murdoc…"

He hit the gas, forcing the little truck to speed up; it took off like a yellow rocket.

The tow truck also sped up and obviously had a more powerful engine, it quickly caught up with him and started ramming the back of the truck. The black had a huge bumper that jarred and shook the truck. MacGyver was being bumped hard and the force of it was making it harder to steer. He pulled over a little and the tow truck went zooming past him, it went up a short distance, turned around and stopped.

Mac hit the brakes and the truck screeched to a stop.

The two trucks were pointing directly at each other about 2 miles apart. Mac was breathing hard as he watched the tow truck, he put the truck in park and started revving it up. The tow truck was doing the same thing, they were both staring each other down. The black truck suddenly headed straight for him, Mac took a deep breath and dropped his truck into drive. It was a very uneven version of the game of Chicken.

The tow truck was clearly going to be the winner; it was bigger and more powerful than MacGyver's.  The two trucks were getting closer and closer, whoever turned the wheel was the loser and Mac was not about to turn the wheel. The driver must have realized this, he hit the brakes. The tires were squealing on the pavement and smoking as the tow truck slowed down, but it was too late, the two trucks met head on. 

Mac was slammed a little against the steering wheel; the impact was not that hard. The tow truck had slowed down enough to prevent a massive crash.

The little yellow truck was now being pushed backwards, Mac put it in reverse and hit the gas but it didn't help. The tow truck was too powerful; it suddenly stopped but the motion kept MacGyver's truck moving, it went backwards into a ditch.

MacGyver was thrown hard against the steering wheel and then slammed against the seat. It dazed him a little and he shook out his head, he was lying on his side and sat up. He remembered the tow truck and looked through the windshield, he didn't see it, all he saw was the empty road.

"Looking for me?"

Murdoc was standing by the passenger side door, dressed in black, he was pointing a gun. The sound of his voice made MacGyver's heart slam against his rib cage. He turned his head slowly towards him and watched as the cold blooded killer took off his mirror sunglasses and put them in his pocket. He smiled wickedly at him, the kind of smile you might see on the face of a shark before it eats its victim.

"Good show MacGyver, I didn't expect that of you, but it seems you have grown bolder since the last time I saw you, why the sudden change?"

MacGyver was giving him the look of a thousand deaths, his dark eyes were slightly narrowed and he was scowling. "I think you know the answer to that."

Murdoc opened the passenger door and climbed into the truck; he sat beside his arch nemesis and turned a little towards him. "Surely it isn't because of the girl?"

Mac raised his head a little and the assassin's cold dark eyes reflected surprise. "Really? How surprising, another thing I didn't expect, I always thought you were a loner."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

The assassin scoffed. "Oh I'm not disappointed MacGyver. She's really quite lovely, too bad she picked the wrong guy. I'm sure she'll find someone else in time and one day you will be nothing but a bad memory to her." He pulled the hammer back on his gun. "Start the truck."

Mac turned the key but the nothing happened. The engine started to turn over but then didn't, steam suddenly appeared from underneath the hood.

"Well so much for that idea."

Murdoc smiled. "Don't worry MacGyver, that's why I have the tow truck, and I know just where we can take you and your truck."

Mac turned and looked at him. "Where?"

Murdoc didn't answer; he had the gun in his left hand. MacGyver was facing him and he lifted his hand in the air and planted the bottom of the gun against the top of his head.

MacGyver slumped forward, leaning against the steering wheel. Murdoc grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back against the driver's seat. "That's for me to know and you to die."

It was after dark when MacGyver started to stir; he moved a little from side to side. The sound of bending metal coming from underneath him forced him to open his eyes. The top of his head was hurting; it felt like something had been drilled straight into his skull. He became aware of a strange smell, it was oil, and gas and something he couldn't quit place. He sat up and discovered where that metal sound was coming from, he was lying on top of a car hood that bent and groaned as he moved. The hood belonged to an old Cadillac that had been turned burnt orange from years of the unmerciful sun beating down on it.

MacGyver was in a junkyard, the Cadillac he was sitting on top of was in the center of a huge dirt ring, it was framed by wrecked cars. That was not the only thing around him, there was a pair of cranes about a hundred yards away, one of them had something hanging from it that was covered with a white sheet. The other crane had a long arm and he followed it, It ended a short distance from him, hanging from it was what looked like a huge metal set of teeth. The massive mouth was closed and MacGyver wondered what was inside of it. There were massive lights on top of the cranes that lit up the whole junkyard.

"Good Evening MacGyver!"

Murdoc suddenly jumped down from the crane that contained the huge metal jaws. He had that same evil grin as he stepped out from between the two cranes.

"What do you think?" He raised his arms in the air like a great performer that was waiting for applause.

MacGyver got down from the hood. "What do I think? I think you need help."

Murdoc started laughing. "Ah MacGyver you never change, always brutally honest whether its something a person wants to hear or not."

"You haven't changed either Murdoc, still playing games."

The smile that Murdoc had on his face quickly disappeared. "Games are fun, especially when you are as good at them as I am." He pulled the gun out of his belt and pulled the hammer back. "Want to see my latest game?"

MacGyver shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not."

Murdoc turned around and walked over to the crane that had something hanging from it; it had a rope dangling from it. He pulled on the rope and the white sheet fell away, it revealed a huge metal cage. MacGyver saw what was inside the cage and his mouth dropped open. The sole occupant of the cage was Gillian.

The young woman saw him and she put her hands on the bars. "Mac!"

Murdoc saw his reaction and started to laugh. "Let's play a game MacGyver, it's called Target Practice."

He walked about 50 paces away from the cage; he turned around and faced it. He raised his gun and aimed it at the young woman.

MacGyver saw him do this and his pulse sped up. "Gillian get down!"

Gillian heard Mac, she saw the gun pointing at her and gasped. She dropped to the bottom of the cage and curled herself up into a little ball. The bullets were hitting the bars, there were sparks flying from the impact.

MacGyver looked around. He needed a weapon; there was not a weapon in sight. He hoped that Murdoc was almost out of bullets; he ran over to the assassin and tackled him. The two men hit the dirt and MacGyver was on top of him and started punching him. The assassin flipped rolled them over, he was now the one on top and he put his arms around Mac's throat and started squeezing it.

"You should have let me have my fun!"

Gillian raised her head when the shooting stopped; she looked down and saw that Murdoc was choking her fiancé.  She got up fast and grabbed the bars, she started shaking them.

"Mac! Your knees, use your knees!"

He heard what she said; he had his hands around Murdoc's wrists, trying to pry them away from his throat. He lifted one of his knees and it hit the assassin in the stomach. He let go of Murdoc's wrist and slugged him twice, that last punch hit Murdoc square on the chin and it knocked him backwards.

Mac was finally able to breath; he took a few deep breaths and slowly got up. He looked up at the cage, and ran towards the crane that it was hanging from.

Murdoc had gotten to his feet, his mouth was bleeding and he wiped the blood away casually.  He saw where his nemesis was headed. "I wouldn't do that MacGyver."

Mac was at the crane, he had opened the door and was about to climb into the metal box. He heard what Murdoc said and he stepped back.

"You see, I have it rigged on the inside." He took a small remote control out of his pocket and showed it to him. "One press of this button and the cage will fall. Now I'm no expert on scientific matters like you are but I would guess that from that distance, the cage would be destroyed, crushed against the dirt like an aluminum can."

He was right, the cage was hanging at least a hundred feet in the air. The weight of it would crush it and Gillian. Mac sighed and turned to face his enemy. "What do you want Murdoc? What do you want from me?"

Murdoc creased his brow. "Your death of course."

MacGyver rubbed his hands over his face, he was quickly growing tired of this non stop battle with Murdoc. It was getting very old very fast. "Still with that same old story huh Murdoc?"

"Old story? Is that what you have come to call our many encounters?"

"No, tiresome is what I would call them."

This made Murdoc angry; he put the remote control away and slowly started walking towards MacGyver. "Really? Is that so? Well then maybe we should make this our final battle."

The two men were now standing less than ten feet apart. Murdoc turned a little away from MacGyver and pointed to two telephone poles. "See those?"

MacGyver saw what he was talking about; the two wooden poles had a white box mounted on each one. "Yeah."

"The release buttons for the crane are in those boxes, one of them will drop your beloved Gillian, the other will open the metal jaws."

"And what exactly is in those jaws?"

Murdoc smiled. "A ton of metal, pieces of car that I have taken the liberty of sharpening. Each piece has a nice sharp point; they should fall like spears straight at whoever is directly underneath. Should be quite deadly to whoever happens to be in their path."

MacGyver nodded, he had to hand it to Murdoc, that was a new one. "Car part shiskabob, that's creative."

"Indeed, I myself thought it was fiendishly clever. You see MacGyver, my dear old friends at Homicide International Trust decided to reconcile with me. It seems my talents are needed after all, so here I am to settle things with you."

"If you are here to settle things with me why did you bring Gillian along?"

"An audience, of course." Murdoc took something out of his pocket and started walking around Mac. "After all, you two are the couple that has been making headlines, The Princess and the Pauper, I thoroughly enjoyed that article about the two of you. See I have been watching you MacGyver, waiting for just the right time to make my move. As soon as I found out about you and Gillian I knew my time had come, do you really think you are going to live happily ever after?"

MacGyver looked at him and shook his head. "That really isn't your concern is it?"

"Oh but it is, I brought Gillian along to watch you die. I thought it only fair she should see the final moments of the man she loves, don't you?"

Murdoc brought his hand up and showed MacGyver a pair of handcuffs; there was about a two foot long chain between the shackles. "What do you say MacGyver? Shall we settle things the old Indian way?"

Mac saw the handcuffs and he creased his brow. "Which way?"

"Well actually they would use a leather thong but since this is modern times these will do nicely. You see, when two warriors were feuding. They would take them and tie one of their hands together. Then the two men would fight to the death." Murdoc smiled. "Let us settle this like men MacGyver, no more elaborate set ups to kill you, no more traps, just you and me."

Gillian was listening to all of this, she shook her head. "No Mac! Don't listen to him!"

MacGyver looked up at her, he thought about his promise. He realized that they couldn't have a future together if Murdoc killed him. But like he had told her, the cold blooded killer-for-hire would never stop coming after them. "I'm sorry Gillian, I have no choice."

He brought his head down and stared at the killer. "You're on."

There were a few changes that had been made to the junkyard; the Cadillac MacGyver had woken up on was gone. The cage that Gillian was stuck in was still there, however it had been lowered about 50 feet so she could have a nice view of what was about to happen.

Murdoc had changed the rigged the remote control he was carrying around to work on the only one crane, the one that contained the huge set of metal jaws. It had been put directly over the area where the two men were about to throw down. He was planning on using it as a last resort if things with MacGyver didn't go well.

MacGyver took off his brown leather jacket and tossed it aside. He rolled up the sleeves of his grey long sleeved shirt.

Murdoc also took off his black leather jacket and dropped it on the ground. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and took out two switchblades. He threw one of them at MacGyver's feet, the other he kept for himself.

MacGyver saw what was at his feet and shook his head. "No, no knives."

"Well whatever you want to use is completely up to you." He showed Mac the remote that control the crane; he tucked it into his breast pocket. 

"I thought you said we would settle this like men."

Murdoc sighed and tossed his knife aside. "Very well."

Mac kicked his knife out of the way and stretched out his hand, he was ready for his end of the cuff. Murdoc took off his black gloves and tucked them into his pocket. He took one end of the cuff and put it around his right wrist, he tossed Mac the other end and he put the cuff around his left wrist.

The two men were not hooked together by a 24 inch chain.

Gillian couldn't believe he had agreed to this, her heart was racing as she watched the two men circling each other like panthers.

Murdoc stopped and a huge grin broke out on his face, he ran straight at Mac. They both hit the dirt hard, he back handed Mac across the face.

"I always wanted to take you down MacGyver!"

He did it again and rolled him onto his stomach; he wrapped the chain once around MacGyver's neck and started pulling back on it.

Mac's face was starting to turn red, he was quickly running out of air, the chain was cutting into his neck. He had to do something, his left hand was pinned because of the chain but his right wasn't.

Murdoc was close to Mac, the chain was so short he had to be. MacGyver reached back and grabbed him by the back of the neck; he flipped him over his shoulder and drove his elbow down into the center of Murdoc's chest. This made Murdoc let go of the chain and Mac took it from around his neck.

He started coughing as his ability to breathe returned to him. He got to his feet, Murdoc was getting up as well but MacGyver had beaten him to it. He started kicking Murdoc in the ribs; he kicked him in the head and sent him onto his back. 

Murdoc pulled the chain hard, it yanked Mac down to the ground with him, he landed hard on his stomach. Murdoc took something out his pocket, it was another switchblade; he opened it.

Mac was on all fours, he saw the switchblade and started crawling backwards. The assassin was swiping the knife at him. One of the swipes caught him in the shirt and slashed it open, but he didn't feel any pain so the blade must not have cut him. He got to his feet and Murdoc stopped swiping, he saw the surprise on his opponent's face and started laughing.

"I never have played fair MacGyver."

Murdoc charged him again and Mac grabbed his wrist. He kneed Murdoc in the stomach and when that doubled him over, Mac brought his knee up once again. It hit his opponent in the nose and sent him flat onto his back, he dropped the knife.

Mac quickly straddled him, Murdoc was slightly dazed and he used this opportunity to take the remote out of his pocket and tuck it into his own. Murdoc recovered quickly and right crossed Mac. He fell on his right side and Murdoc took another knife out of his pocket and slashed MacGyver's left arm. The sleeve of his grey shirt quickly turned red and he grabbed it with his right hand. His slashed open arm burned, he felt the warm blood quickly seeping through the material and dripping from between his fingers.

Gillian gasped when she saw this and covered her mouth with her hand. She watched as Murdoc got on his feet and stood over her fiancé. MacGyver was getting angry now, he pulled on the chain and Murdoc was jerked forward. He landed right on Mac and the two men started rolling around on the dirt. During this scuffle Murdoc once again lost his knife. They were punching each other and taking turns being the one in control. MacGyver rolled them over once, the switchblade was right there and he grabbed it; he lifted it high above his head. He saw Murdoc smile widely; he was out of breath but had that terrible grin of his.

"Go ahead MacGyver, do it. I always said that you and I were exactly the same, cut from the same cloth. There was only one tiny thing that separated us, but I see it now in your eyes, hatred and rage. That's what every assassin needs to get the job done."

Mac realized what he was doing, the switchblade in his hand, the anger he could feel coursing through his veins. He caught his breath and shook his head as he slowly got to his feet.

"No, I'm not anything like you Murdoc, and I never will be." He stuck the blade in the lock on the handcuff and it opened. He closed the switch knife and dropped it on the ground, he turned and started walking away.

Murdoc was completely stunned that MacGyver had his chance to win but didn't take it, he reached down and touched his pant leg. He took a small pistol out of this ankle holster.

"MacGyver!"

Mac had his back turned to Murdoc, he heard the sound of a gun being cocked and he turned back around. Murdoc started laughing. "You fool you had your chance and you didn't take it! I said this was our final battle and I meant it."

Gillian didn't even have time to breathe, without a second's hesitation, Murdoc fired the gun at MacGyver. The bullets hit him and he fell backwards, and rolled onto his stomach.

Gillian grabbed the bars, she opened her mouth and the screams started. She pulled on the bars with all of her strength; she wanted to bend them apart.

Murdoc tucked the gun in the waistband of his belt and walked over to MacGyver; he crouched down and rolled him onto his back. He took the gun out of his belt and put the barrel of it against Mac's forehead.

"Goodbye MacGyver."

Mac's eyes flew open, he reached up suddenly. He had the remote in his hand and he pressed the button, with what strength he had left, he rolled away.

Murdoc looked up, the metal jaws opened and a ton of sharpened metal came right at him.

Gillian closed her eyes and turned away, all she could hear was the sound of metal hitting the ground. When everything had grown quiet, she turned back and saw a huge pile of metal a few feet away from where MacGyver was laying. She had to get out of that cage; she knew the bars were no good.

The bottom of the cage was wooden; she started jumping up and down on it. She stopped, she was out of breath. She looked at Mac again, climbed up the bars a little and hung on to them as she jumped with all her might one last time; the bottom gave way. She was dangling from the bars and she let go, she landed on her feet and rolled away like Mac had taught her.

The young woman was filled with incredible sorrow as she got up and ran over to where Mac was laying. She was shaking as she carefully rolled him onto his back. His grey shirt was riddled with holes, there were 4 of them and she closed her eyes and hung her head, the tears came hard and fast.

Everything they had been through together and all that they had promised each other could not stop what had happened. She opened her eyes and touched MacGyver's face. She was never going to see those beautiful dark eyes of his, or the smile that always made her heart start to beat hard. She moved her hand down his face and took a shuddering breath. She looked at his shirt once more, she was too upset to notice something, but her brain noticed and it started yelling at her. No blood, no blood… no blood Gillian!  She calmed down and creased her brow; her lips started repeating what her mind was telling her.

"No blood, no blood…" Those two words made her eyes grow wide, she wiped her face and touched one of the bullet holes, she fingered it and felt something strange. She lifted up the end of MacGyver's shirt and saw a black bulletproof vest.  It was probably the most beautiful sight she ever saw, the vest had taken the full brunt of the shots. She started laughing very hard through her tears as she leaned over and touched his cheek.

"Mac?"

She started patting his cheek. "Come on Mac, wake up."

His head started to move and he groaned softly, his hand touching the vest. "Man that hurts."  He finally opened his eyes and looked at Gillian, she was on her knees leaning over him, he could see the wet marks on her cheeks but she was smiling widely. "Hi."

"Hi." He sat up slowly, his chest and his stomach were burning from the impact of the bullets. He took a deep breath and got another stinging pain.

"Here let me see." Gillian lifted his shirt over his head, the vest had Velcro straps going up the side and she pulled them apart and took it off of him. She hissed through her teeth, there were round marks that were quickly changing from red to purple, two on his chest and two on his stomach. "Looks like you are going to have some nice bruises."

"Better than being dead."

Gillian shook her head and sighed, she put her hand on the back of his neck and touched her forehead to his and closed her eyes. "I thought you were dead."

Mac lifted his head back and put a hand against her cheek. "Now would I break my promise to you?" He pressed his lips against hers gently and the young woman opened her eyes.

"No, you wouldn't."

The couple hugged each other and Mac leaned his head against her shoulder. He suddenly remembered something and his head popped up. "Murdoc!"

Gillian gasped, she too had forgotten about him. They both turned around and saw the pile of metal. "I'll go look, you stay here."

Mac let go of her and the young woman walked over to the pile and started moving pieces aside.

"Careful Gillian they're sharpened."

No sooner had he said that then she hissed though her teeth and sucked on her finger. "Now you tell me."

She moved a particularly large piece and moved it. What she saw under it made her gasp loudly, her hands flew to her mouth and she turned away from it.

MacGyver saw her; from where he was sitting he couldn't see anything. "What?"

The young woman squeezed her eyes shut and turned back to look at him. "I think…I think he's dead."

"Yeah I've heard that before." He put his shirt back on, he got to his feet and walked over to where she was. He looked down and what he saw widened his eyes.

Murdoc was lying on the ground; he had huge pieces of metal sticking out of him. There was metal in each of his arms and legs and there were three going up his chest.

Gillian finally got over her horror and stood beside MacGyver, she lowered her hand from her mouth. "Is he?"

There was blooded pooled all around him, and MacGyver swallowed hard as he got closer and crouched down. He reached out, wanting to touch his neck. Murdoc's eyes suddenly flew open, he turned his head and saw Mac; he reached out and grabbed his arm. He opened his mouth to try and speak but no words came out, blood erupted out instead and poured down his lips and chin. He was looking at MacGyver with pure hatred. His chest hitched a few times and his arm fell away from MacGyver's, he grew very still and the couple heard the air escaping out of his mouth.

Mac touched the assassin on the neck, he was feeling for a pulse but he got nothing, he shook his head slowly. "He's dead."

MacGyver was looking down at the man that had been nothing but a thorn in his side for many years. He had tried many times and in many different ways to kill him, but ironically it was one of Murdoc's own creations that had taken the assassin's life.

MacGyver had never fully understood exactly why it was that Murdoc was so adamant about killing him, perhaps he was jealous, or perhaps it was something that MacGyver would never understand. He reached out and closed the cold hearted killer's eyes, despite everything he had put Mac through, he felt pity. He slowly got to his feet, there would be no more paranoia, no more ducking shadows and no more bad dreams, at long last, it was over.

Mac took a deep breath and let it out slowly, he felt as though a giant stone that was around his neck for so long had been taken away.

Gillian saw the way he was staring at the body; she put her hand on his back. "Are you okay Mac?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are you staring at him like that?"

MacGyver turned his head and looked at her. "Because he's dead."

"Yes he is and he won't be coming after you anymore."

Mac nodded, she was right. He wouldn't be, not ever again and this time there was actually proof that Murdoc was dead. The body was right there, it was not buried or blown up or washed away, it was right there at MacGyver's feet. He reached down and took Gillian's hand.

"We better make some phone calls."

The couple was in Gillian's house. Pete had just left a half hour earlier; he had stopped by to tell the couple that Murdoc's body was in the morgue, he had been embalmed. There were no doubts, Murdoc was dead. Gillian came out of the bathroom, she had a towel around her head and her special towel with the Velcro to keep it closed, around her body.  She had been in the bathtub, taking a nice relaxing bubble bath. She took the towel off of her head and her auburn tresses spilled down her back.

MacGyver was lying on their bed, he had 4 perfectly round bruises that started from his belly button and went to the center of his chest, his neck was slightly purple from the chain and the paramedics had put a bandage on his arm where Murdoc had gotten him with the knife. He was looking straight ahead, one of his legs was drawn up, his face looked very pensive.

Gillian walked over to the bed and sat down on it; she reached out and touched his cheek. "What's on your mind Mac?"

"Nothing."

Gillian shook her head. "Bull, I know you very well; you wouldn't be this quiet for nothing."

Mac shifted his gaze from straight out to her. "I guess I was just thinking about everything that happened tonight." He sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. "I realized something when I saw that he was dead."

"What?"

"I lied to you Gillian."

She looked confused. "Lied to me? When?"

"When I asked you to marry me. I asked you to share a life with me, I made you a promise that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep."

"How is that lying?"

"I knew full well that my life could be over in a heartbeat if Murdoc decided to come back, I owed you the truth about that but I didn't tell you. I didn't have the guts to tell you because no matter what happened I did want you to be in my life, whether it was short or not."

Gillian smiled at him and shook her head. "Mac, I knew about Murdoc, a long time ago. You didn't keep the truth from me or lie, I already knew and you know something? I didn't give a damn if there was a target on your forehead; all I wanted was you, no matter how long it was going to be for." She put her hand against his cheek and gently moved it down his face. "Understand?"

Mac took the small hand from his face and kissed it. "I understand."

Gillian's face grew serious. "That was quite a show in the junkyard; I thought for sure you were going to stab him."

"Me too, but then I realized that if I did that then he and I really would have been the same person."

Gillian shook her head. "No, impossible."

"Why?"

She swung her legs up onto the bed and got up on all fours. She climbed on top of him and stretched out, she put her hand on the center of his chest. "This is why, you have a heart, and that is something Murdoc never had."

He smiled at her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She leaned forward a little and kissed him. "Now tell me the truth Mac, how do you feel now that Murdoc is dead?"

Mac put his arms around her waist and flipped them over. He looked down at her and started playing with the ends of her towel; he started pulling the Velcro apart. His face broke out in a huge smile that reflected both relief and contentment. "Free…"