Hurt Locker
Chapter Three- The New Normal
Mac picked up Bozer on his way to the hospital. Riley was coming home. Finally. Mac was excited of course, but there was always a ball of dread in the back of his mind since her fall. On top of it all, Mason was running around somewhere, more dangerous than ever before
Bozer insisted on coming even before Mac was going to ask him to come along. He needed Bozer because he was the only one who knew where Riley's new apartment was.
"You think we should tell her?" Mac said. Asking what he had been itching to say since Bozer got into the car.
Bozer looked at him like he was crazy. "That a psycho, genius strategist pushed her out a window during one of our many dangerous missions?" he looked at Mac incredulously, "I think we gotta ease her into that one Mac."
Mac flinched, "She's asking questions and the Riley I plucked out of prison was a hard ass. She's not going to take our bullshit answers for much longer."
"No answer is better than freaking her out," Bozer said.
Mac nodded, gripping the staring wheel tighter than necessary. He wasn't convinced. If it were him in that situation, he would want to know.
"This is going to be so strange—I don't know how to act around her. I don't know if I'll say too much, or too little."
Bozer laughed, "Are you nervous buddy? I thought only heights could freak you out like this."
Mac glared at him then looked back to the road.
"It's still our Riley. She's in there somewhere. Treat her as you normally would."
That was the thing. He couldn't. Too much had happened. Even before her accident she had begun to freeze him out and he still didn't have an inkling why.
As they sped along Mac's phone rang, attached to the Bluetooth in the car so he answered. It was Diane.
"Are you there yet?" she said.
"No, almost. I'll let you know when we have her."
"Good. I'm just checking. I want her recovery to be as smooth as possible."
"We want the same thing," Mac said.
"The doctor said if her memories do return, they will come back as vivid as if they were really happening. I just don't want to make that experience worst for her by leaving her in a warzone."
Mac was about to argue the fact but quickly remembered how many times his home had been broken into or almost blown up.
Instead, he said, "I'll keep her safe Diane."
"Right. Like Matty promised?" She clicked off and Mac exchanged a strained look with Bozer. It was definitely going to take a while to get back into Elwood and Diane's good graces.
Not that he could blame them. He hadn't forgiven himself yet so why would anyone else?
Riley was beyond ready to get out of the hospital. It had been two months of terrible hospital food. The pungent smell of alcohol and invasive medical exams. Throw in physical therapy and hovering parents and she was about to pull out her hair.
Even though the physical repercussions of the accidents were tough to cope with, the emotional outcome had been worst, way worst. She kept hearing about all the things she did or said but had no memory of it. Like reconciling with her father and Jack. Even though this reformed Riley had been mature enough to hash it out with them, she had not. And she didn't understand why she was expected to react to them like the 'new Riley' would.
Seeing her father did nothing but aggravate her emotional wellbeing and she couldn't wait to be away from them. To get some alone time. To see blondie again. And Bozer.
There was a knock on her door moments after she zipped up her bag. MacGyver and Bozer appeared in the doorway. Seeing them made her innately happy but for two different reasons. When she saw Bozer she felt like laughing even though she didn't know why. And when she saw MacGyver, she felt…something else.
Bozer gripped the back of a wheel chair with a smug grin. "Your ride is here,"
"You're kidding," she gestured to the wheelchair.
He shook his head, "Hospital policy. Sit." He demanded coolly and reluctantly obliged.
Bozer rolled them out of her room and unto the elevator. Once the doors closed, she felt MacGyver tinkering with the back of the wheelchair.
"What are you doing back there?" she said.
Bozer laughed, exchanging cheeky grins with his friend.
"Leaving the hospital in style," Bozer said. Her eyebrows furrowed together in response. Before she could verbalize her confusion, they were rolling out of the elevator to the ground floor.
She felt her heart speed up as MacGyver leaned over her shoulder and said into her ear, "hold on tight.' She didn't know why but she trusted him and did as she was told. Once her fingers were gripped around the arms of the chair, she heard a zipping sound and the wheelchair took off with a burst of speed to the end of the hallway. She yelped in surprise and complete exhilaration. Her heartbeat blared in her eardrums as the wheelchair slowly lost speed at the main entrance.
It earned them more than a few weary looks from the nurses and security guards. She could hear the boys snickering behind her and realized this was normal behaviour for them.
She had some crazy friends. That much hadn't changed.
"That's how you do it," Bozer said, while MacGyver unclipped a contraption from back wheels of the wheel chair.
"Where did you get those exactly?" she said, easing out of the chair.
"made them," he grinned.
"You a rocket scientist or something?"
He smirked, "Or something,"
Curiouser and curiouser. They could play coy all they want, the moment she got her hands on her computer she would know all there was to know about them. She just hoped she liked the answers she got.
Bozer returned from returning the wheel chair and they were soon on the road. They drover to her apartment and let themselves in with Bozer's spare key.
Riley realized if she trusted them enough to gift them her keys, she could trust them with her recovery.
Her apartment was not what she expected, boxes were piled everywhere, it seemed she had not fully moved in.
"You never quite finished moving, it was sort of a last minute thing," Bozer said, cutting their eye contact short. Something she would press him about later. She looked around, trying to feel a sense of warmth? Homeliness? Something? But she got nothing.
Mac was looking around just as she was.
"Why does it look like you've never been here?" she said.
"Cause I haven't,' he said, through a tight jaw.
"Hmm," she hummed. "How come?"
He sulked with a tired shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know."
Had her vibes been off about him all the time? What kind of friend was he to her? Really.
"Come on, I'll help you pack," Bozer said, interrupting her thoughts.
Two hours later, they were back on the road. Bozer handed her a cellphone from the front seat. "Charged it up for you," he smiled.
She took the phone and unlocked it with her thumbprint. Good thing too because she had no idea what her password was. She checked her recent chats first but hardly any of the names looked familiar except the people she had been introduced to.
A lot from Matty. More from Bozer and a few messages from MacGyver she had not responded to. Everything in her gut told her she was close to him but evidence suggested otherwise. It was very confusing. She opened photos next and found a ton of pictures. Some with her and Bozer. A few pictures with Jack. And a lot with MacGyver. Very confusing. He had his arm around her in a picture, they were laughing at something. She looked so happy. It was also crazy to watch pictures of events she couldn't recall. It almost brought her to tears.
By the time she went through her entire picture reel, MacGyver was pulling into a driveway. The house was actually really beautiful. Why did she ever want to leave?
"Welcome home," MacGyver said. She didn't know why, but she really liked the sound of it.
He and Bozer unloaded her bags from the trunk and allowed her to explore the house. Once unloaded, Bozer took the car to 'get some grub' and left them alone. MacGyver showed her the room she once lived in and left her alone for something on his phone.
Riley looked around the room. It was slightly messy, clothes were strewn all over the bed like she had been in a rush the last time she was here. She ran her fingers over the plethora of cosmetics on the dresser. She was toying with some navy-blue nail polish when she felt a presence behind her.
Mac was in the doorway, leaning casually just staring at her.
"You loved to paint your nails," he said.
That much she knew. She didn't care that she still painted her nail, she wanted to know what her life was really like.
Mac moved into the room nodding.
"You wear a lot of dark stuff on your eyes too,"
"Dark stuff?" she smirked, knowing exactly what he meant but wanting to torture him.
"Yeah," he gestured to his own eyelid. She was amused, even a rocket scientist was clueless about make up.
"You mean eyeliner?"
He snapped his fingers, "that's it. Yes."
Riley chuckled and watched his eyes brighten in response. She turned her back to him feeling awkward all of a sudden.
"So it's just the two of us who live here?"
He returned to the doorway, she really appreciated all the space he gave her. Her parents should take their cues from MacGyver.
"Yeah at the moment but this house is like a dorm room slash frat house. Everyone has lived here at some point. Bozer has lived here, even Jack for a little while. Then you, then you moved out, then you moved back in..." he stopped in his tracks when he realized he was losing her.
"I'll tell you all about it when you're ready, but to answer your question, yes it's just us here right now. If you need anything let me know."
"Thanks, MacGyver, for everything."
His faces changed though she couldn't tell why.
"What?"
"I've hardly ever heard you call me MacGyver. It's Mac,"
"Well thanks Mac,"
He left her with a worried smile and she could see his reluctance to leave but he again gave her some much needed space.
When he left, she closed the door and laid in the middle of the bed. She tried to picture herself lying there. She could piece together all the basics from what she's been told but none of it connected to her. She had to fight back tears because it all feels so hopeless. But something stopped the tears. A sense of peace and belonging. It felt like she was home.
When Riley came to a short five minutes later, she knew she had a small window of opportunity. Mac's footsteps were far enough away for her to dig out her laptop. Of course, it was locked she wouldn't leave it unprotected. But as her fingers hovered over the keyboard, she instinctively knew where to put her fingers. 03231990 and it was unlocked. But why did she choose those particular numbers?
It was beyond frustrating, but she had bigger fish to fry. She brushed it off and got to work.
Having Riley back in the house was a trip for Mac. He was anxious the entire day. Keeping secrets from her. He didn't like it. He didn't like not knowing what was happening to their friendship before the accident and Riley would not be able to shed any light on it either. If she didn't remember, would he never get his Riley back?
As she crossed his mind, he listened for her. She was quiet, too quiet. He flew up in panic and rushed to her room. She was hovering over her laptop gaped. When she saw him, she flipped around the laptop to show him. Phoenix database and case files were opened, tabs of it, she had been reading.
"I can't believe what I just read, have we really….have I really?"
Mac sighed. But he was relieved. One less secret. He sat on the edge of the bed and nodded.
"It's all true." he said.
She dropped back against the bed.
"Are you okay?"
"It's just a lot to process." she said.
"Were you going to tell me?"
"We didn't want to overwhelm you, guess I kinda hoped you would remember before I had to."
She shook her head. "It's like this whole different life. I can't believe it."
"Ask me anything," he said.
Riley sat up. Boy was there a lot she wanted to know. But the one question at the top of the list she knew she couldn't ask.
Mac spent upwards of an hour filling her in about the Phoenix, oversight and even Codex. The important details he knew would have been left out of the case files. She looked crushed all over again for him. "It sounds like you've lived a lifetime." she said, though it was awkward not to have her comforting arm on his like he had come to expect. This Riley kept herself reserved, her eyes never meeting his for longer than a few seconds.
Luckily, Bozer interrupted with Pizza and beer.
They sat around the unlit firepit and helped themselves. She moaned when she bit into a slice of pizza.
"Real food,"
Mac and Bozer laughed at her.
"Screw you." she said.
"Sounds more like you want to screw that pizza." Bozer said and she flipped him off.
He sobered and said, "so how does it feel? Is anything feeling familiar?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly familiar but…it feels right. Being here. You two."
That was enough for Bozer. She seemed to have made his year. Three slices later she had to pee.
"Bathroom break," she declared. She shot up from the firepit and left Bozer and Mac trying to shoot the beer caps into the bin across the way.
When she returned a few minutes later, Mac was staring at her.
"Need something?"
He shrugged, "how did you know where the bathroom was?"
She thought back to herself and realized she just knew.
"Holy shit," she said. Mac and Bozer hollered.
"Cheers to that," Bozer and Mac knocked bottles and she looked on in envy. She bit her lip and Mac noticed.
"take it from a rocket scientist or something, one sip won't hurt," he said, referring to the pain meds she was on. He offered her his bottle and she took it without hesitation because she figured this was something they did. She took a sip and felt her body shudder. When she passed the bottle back to him there was a moment when his rough fingers brushed up against her smooth one. She almost melted at the touch but kept her face neutral if not for Bozer's scrutiny then for her own sanity.
She knew she wasn't crazy. The pain meds must have been scrambling her already scrambled brain. She dropped her hands and looked at her boots. There was nothing going on with her own Mac. So whatever she was feeling, she was mistaken.
Bozer left for before night fall and she and Mac separated for the evening. She showered off the hospital stench and changed into an old t-shirt and boxer shorts for bed. She was ready to go to bed when Mac stopped her in the hallway.
"There's something else you should know." He said. She swallowed, was he going to say what she thought…
Was he going to tell her they had something going on? Because it felt like that in her gut.
"Everything that has happened to you. It's my fault. I was reckless and-"
Riley froze as he continued to speak but she couldn't hear him. That wasn't where she saw the conversation going. She felt ridiculous that she had such foolish thoughts. Mac was bearing his soul to her and all she could think about was how his own pain made her feel ill.
Riley didn't know why, but it felt like the right thing to do was to hold him. And when she did, she smelled his scent, and his arms wrapped around her waist and it reminded her of something.
She had been crying and the last thing she wanted to do was have someone see her like this. But when she saw it was him, she didn't feel a need to be tough. No bravado was needed.
"You okay?" he said.
"How much did you hear?" she said.
"Enough," he moved closer to her and part of her wanted to runaway and hide but she didn't have the energy. She felt hollow inside. She might have floated away if not for Mac. When he pulled her into his arms moments later, he was the only thing keeping her on the ground.
She pulled away from him with a gasp. He knew something was up immediately. Either she was easy to read…or he knew her that well.
"What did you remember?" he said.