Two Hours After Rescue

Mathilda lay on a bare spot close to MacGyver, the telegraph on her stomach and her finger idly tapping the tack against the quarter. She thought she'd heard a noise a while ago and had paused to listen. But there was no other sound, so she decided she hadn't heard anything.

In the distance, Mathilda heard someone call out. "Hello?"

She grabbed the telegraph machine as she stood up, furiously tapping as she moved toward the voice.

"We're here! We're here!"

She didn't hear anything and started to lose hope.

Then she heard a voice call out again. "We can hear whatever you're tapping on. Don't stop."

She smiled, continuing to tap. She heard voices getting closer, moving toward her and MacGyver. She moved with them, listening as she furiously tapped. The voices stopped when she began to hear movement in the rubble. The sound of movement came closer until she could see dust falling from the wreckage, then the debris started to move. A hole appeared, and a flashlight and dark form appeared in the spot. She was overjoyed to see another human!

The person on the other side told her, "You can stop tapping now."

She looked down, realizing she was still tapping the telegraph. She stopped, looking up.

"My friend is here." She pointed back to where MacGyver was. "He's hurt. He was hit in the head and has a piece of rebar in his back and a broken foot. I don't know how bad, but he keeps losing consciousness."

"Okay. Let's get you out first, and then we'll send medics in for him."

She stepped back. "No. Medics come to get him, and then we all leave together. I'm not leaving without him."

"Ma'am, this building is—"

"Unstable and could possibly collapse at any moment. Yes. I know. And I will not leave until MacGyver is being moved first."

The person's light had lowered, and she could see he was a firefighter, probably in his thirties. He sighed.

"Are you Mathilda Webber?" he asked.

"Yes. How did—"

A guy by the name of Jack Dalton is outside. He told us that if we found you, we'd be wasting our breath trying to get you to leave your friend. So I'll go get the medics. Sit tight."

Mathilda went back to and sat down next to him.

Softly MacGyver whispered, "Jack's right about you being stubborn. And I'm going to tell him he was right, too."

"Don't you dare!" she ordered with a smile. "I'll deny it, anyway."

He almost laughed, but the pain stopped it, making him whimper in pain. She picked up his left hand. It was clammy from a fever. She looked at his gray face, dripping sweat from his malaise.

"Hold on, Mac. You're as good as on your way to the hospital."

He didn't speak, but his fingers tightened around her hand. And then slowly let go as he slipped away again.

Forty-five minutes later, she exited an incredibly damaged building with two medics and four firefighters. Outside was a buzz of people talking, bright lights, helicopters buzzing overhead, press yelling for anyone to speak to them. She jumped when someone grabbed her arm and turned to find Riley, Bozer, and Jack. The three didn't even give her a chance to say no as they swept her into a group hug, talking at the same time about their worry and concern. She let herself enjoy the warmth of her adopted family before pushing them away.

"Bozer, go with Mac. Keep us updated." She pointed at the ambulance MacGyver was being loaded into.

Bozer ran over and joined the medic that climbed in the back.

Mathilda turned back to Riley and Jack, her dirty face a sneer of rage.

"I want the men who did this to be found. They set off the bomb to cause a distraction for a bank robbery. One of them works for one of the senators attending the awards banquet. The other works at the Wells Fargo, but I don't know his job position. Riley, start digging." She turned to Jack. "Jack, in the banquet hall, there is a room on the east with a table and some folded chairs. Under the table is the dead man that I sent the photo to Riley. Run his prints and get him to the morgue."

She started to walk toward the police command tent.

"Wait. Matty," Jack called

She stopped and turned. Mathilda hadn't noticed Jack was carrying a small duffle bag that he now held out to her. She took it, staring at him.

"What's this?" Mathilda asked.

"Clothes. I figured if you made it through this, you'd go right into seek and destroy mode. And wouldn't want to be in a dress…" Riley looked her dress up and down. "That was a really nice dress too."

Mathilda lifted her eyebrows. "Yes. It was. And thank you."

He nodded once before jogging across the street.

Mathilda turned back toward the command tent. Before she would change, she had orders to demand and resources to usurp to find the assholes who put MacGyver in the hospital.