1 MONTH, 3 WEEKS
MacGyver opened his eyes. This place wasn't his house; it was a hospital room. He let that sink in for a moment. Maybe this was a nightmare. Where was Isabelle? He closed his eyes again. He was as confused as he had been after his fall down the hill.
"Hey?" someone quietly said, and he felt a hand wrap pat his arm. "You awake, Mac?"
He opened his eyes, rolling his head toward the voice. He stared at the woman standing by his bed.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked.
She wasn't Isabelle, but he knew her. It was like a trivia answer right there, at the edge of his brain, but he couldn't get it to his tongue to say it. He stared at her.
"You're the hiker that was looking for her friend," he answered.
Her face was crestfallen. "Yeah. That's right. But—"
"Where's Isabelle?"
"She's not here."
MacGyver closed his eyes. "Where is Isabelle?" He looked at her again.
The woman let out a slow breath. "She's been arrested for kidnapping, holding a person against their will, illegal production of a controlled substance. There may be more charges when the investigation is over."
He stared at her for a long time. "Your name is… Desi."
"Yes."
He nodded. "I dreamt about you."
"After we left?"
"Before I saw you. I kept dreaming about you. And the man you were with. I also dreamt about your friend you were looking for."
Desi nodded. "We weren't looking for her, MacGyver. We were looking for you."
"Gus."
"What?"
"My name… Isn't my name Gus?"
"Your name is Angus MacGyver, not August McGregor. Your nickname is Mac. That's one of many lies Isabelle told you."
"She… Isabelle. She said we were married."
"No. You've never been married, to her or anyone else."
"Am I an orphan?"
Desi frowned. "Yeah. Your mom died when you were a kid, then your dad died not too long ago. But you have me, and you have Matty, and Riley, and Bozer. We're your family."
He closed his eyes. "Those names feel right. Like I've known them for a long time. But I can't see their faces."
"Do you want to see their faces? I have pictures on my phone."
His eyes opened and returned to her. "I feel like we've had this conversation before, Desi. This feels like Déjà vu."
"We have had similar conversations a lot over the last two weeks. Every time you wake up a new you appears. Some days you remember a lot of things. Some days you don't remember I was even a hiker that showed up at your door one day. But you're starting to have fewer times of waking up with no memory. The old you is starting to come back."
"Is that a good thing?"
She slid her hand into his, smiling. "I have missed you, so yeah, it's a great thing."
He gripped her hand, but he did not return her smile. His confusion was so a weight holding any happiness back.