Spoilers: This chapter references multiple episodes from season 3. If you haven't seen ep 3.10 Matty + Ethan + Fidelity, then you might want to skip this one until you have seen it. Includes a quote from episode 2.04 X-Ray + Penny.

A/N: I know the show refers to Mac's father as "Jim," but in my head he's James or Oversight.

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Chapter Five: Matty – James

The first Christmas after he'd encountered his dad after so many years apart didn't go exactly as he'd hoped.

Over regular lunches, they had agreed to wipe the slate clean and start over in their relationship as father and son. However, things between them didn't always run quite so smoothly.

During the mission he'd helped his father attempt to get Luiz Gomez, head of La Ola cartel, James had lied to him about the true objective. His father had led him to believe the motive was to protect his son when in reality it was to gain intel on Jonah Walsh and the KX7 serum. He let that go, deciding to attribute it to James' habit of not reading people into every aspect of a mission.

After the mission, Mac began to hear less and less from his dad, but naively still hoped they would get to spend some part of the holidays together. As Thanksgiving approached without having spoken to his father, Mac had the feeling the older man would not be around, instead continuing his hunt for Jonah Walsh.

After his confrontation with the Ghost, Mac happened to be in the war room when James contacted Matty for some information. While waiting for the intel, Mac had taken the opportunity to ask his father about the possibility of meeting up for Thanksgiving or Christmas, assuming he wasn't out on assignment at the time. James, impatient for what he'd requested, barely acknowledged the question and certainly didn't answer it.

Mac sighed when his dad disconnected the call immediately after receiving the information he'd wanted. As Oversight, James had to know what he'd just been through, and yet there had been no inquiry about how he was doing. Granted, James had been on the job, but with only Matty there, certainly the personal question wouldn't have been out of bounds. Would it?

He'd had a great Thanksgiving with his friends and family, but he'd missed his father even though they hadn't spent the holiday together for more than 15 years. Imprudently, irrationally, and a whole host of other "-ly" words, Mac began to put all his hopes into spending some part of the Christmas season with his dad. He knew he shouldn't, but given his job, hope had always been something Mac had been powerless against.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, there continued to be no contact whatsoever from his father. Only Matty ever heard from Oversight when the man needed intel. Matty always seemed hesitant to tell him that James had called in, but Mac was grateful to know his father was still alive. It was something he'd never known for certain in the years after his father had left him behind with his grandfather. So, despite the hurt the lack of face-to-face communication caused, Mac was thankful to Matty for the brief, proof-of-life updates.

Mac still did his job as best he could, but he knew he wasn't quite himself off the job. He sensed that both Bozer and Jack were worried about him, and wanted to talk to him about his dad, but so far they were holding off. Perhaps they, like him, were waiting to see if James would come through in the end.

He didn't.

Mac had been hoping for this Christmas, the first since he'd reunited with his dad to be different, but it wasn't. And yet, it was, which helped to keep the feeling his father didn't think him important enough or loved him enough to give up his quest for one day together from tearing him down.

Back when he was ten, he'd only had his grandfather and his new friend Bozer. He didn't add to his family again until Jack came along. These days, he had Riley and Matty as a part of his family, with Leanna as the new addition to it. His remaining blood family may not care to even call him on Christmas, but he had his family of the heart to help ease that all-too-familiar ache of missing his father, which only served to remind him of how much he still missed his mother.

Bozer had insisted they dress up for Christmas dinner this year, and as he was changing clothes, Mac thought about something his grandfather said to him more than 15 years ago: "Well, your dad is a very smart man…But all those smarts, they come at a price. Sometimes a man like your dad can get so focused on what he thinks is important that he completely misses out on what is really important."

At the moment, his dad was so focused on Jonah Walsh that he was forgetting he had a son he'd just begun to rebuild a relationship with. Time would tell if the fledgling connection they'd made would survive or wither and die.

They were waiting for Matty to arrive for dinner when she called them into the Phoenix. Mac loved Bozer, but maybe his friend needed to give up trying to cook and eat Christmas Pastrami on Christmas now that he was also a full-time agent.

From how Matty sounded on the phone, he was worried about her. And given the revelation, once they were in the war room, that she had a husband and that Ethan was in danger, it was obvious his worry had been justified.

The realization that he'd had no idea Matty had been going through the same thing as him in regards to a loved one being missing hit him hard. They both had had someone out in the world somewhere for years, not knowing where they were, what they were doing, or even if they were still alive. He understood now more than ever why Matty had helped him to find out answers about his dad – she was seeking answers about her own husband.

They also ended up being the same in their heartache as well. Neither of their reunions had turned out as hoped. Neither of them would be spending the holidays with the people who'd been absent from their lives for so many years. Both men had returned only to leave again.

Mac knew about Jack comforting Matty, reminding her that she still had her family with her, but he felt he needed to tell her the same thing in person. As they each went their own separate ways, Jack gave him a look, as if he knew what Mac was planning. Mac grinned slightly and nodded that his friend was right. Jack grinned and gave him a thumbs up as he left.

Bozer went over to Leanna's place to exchange gifts, so Mac took the time to execute an idea he'd had on his way home. After finishing it, he wrapped it up in a piece of red tissue paper, and headed over to Matty's house.

He'd wanted to give his friend, sister, mentor, and sometimes mother-figure space to digest everything, but he also wanted to make sure Matty remembered she was not alone.

It took some time for Matty to open her door, the older woman probably hoping whoever it was would leave if she didn't answer.

When she eventually opened the door, Matty said, "Blondie, I don't want to talk right now."

"That's fine. I just…"—he gestured to the inside of her house—"May I?"

Matty nodded and opened the door wider, allowing him inside before leading him to her living room where there was a decanter of whiskey and a partially-full glass on the coffee table.

"What do you want, MacGyver?" Matty asked as she sat down.

Mac almost felt guilty for intruding upon his friend's grief, but given how tired, defeated, and miserable she looked and sounded, he had to let her know—

"We don't have to talk about…our most recent mission, but I wanted to give you this," Mac said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the wrapped gift, handing it to Matty.

Without a word Matty unfolded the tissue paper to expose the paperclip ornament Mac had made for her – a Claddagh symbol.

Neither of them is Irish, but what the ornament symbolized was what he was trying to get across to Matty. Love, loyalty, and friendship. All three were aspects the Claddagh represented through the heart, crown, and hands which comprised the symbol. All three and more were how he felt towards Matty, and he wanted to make sure she knew that even if he couldn't say the words out loud.

He wanted to make sure she remembered that family comes in more forms than by blood or by marriage. In some ways, family of the heart had more significance than blood family. The one was formed by choice while the other was a random combination of generations of DNA that had been passed down. He hoped Matty was aware he thought of her as, chosen her to be a part of, his family.

Matty looked up from the ornament; her face was expressionless and yet searching at the same time. Mac allowed his face to reflect everything he was trying to say to Matty with the Claddagh, knowing words were inadequate in this case. Matty's face crumbled and a tear slid down her face.

"Mac, I…"—she wiped the tear away—"Thank you, Mac. This means a lot to me. You know I feel the same, right?"

Mac looked down at his lap for a moment, feeling overjoyed Matty also considered him family of the heart. Instead of answering, he lunged forward and pulled Matty into a tight hug. He might not be the best with expressing his feelings, but he could show her how much her declaration meant to him.

When they eventually parted from their hug, Matty said she wouldn't be hanging the Claddagh on her tree but would be putting it somewhere she could see it every day as a reminder of this day and her family.

Matty had barely finished asking Mac if he wanted something to drink when her doorbell rang. She gave him a suspicious glance, but he really didn't know who could be at the door, though he had a pretty good idea.

His friend opened the door to see Jack, Riley, Bozer, and Leanna standing there with countless bags of food in their hands. Chinese, if his nose was not mistaken.

Matty gestured for them all to come inside as Jack said, "Since we missed Christmas dinner again, and Bozer's Christmas Pastrami was ruined again, we thought we'd try to make up for it with a little Chinese food a la A Christmas Story." Jack grinned, and added, "Hopefully, there won't still be a head attached on the Peking duck."

Matty locked eyes with him for a moment, looking annoyed before she smiled slightly and rolled her eyes.

"Come on Blondie. Let's go have dinner with our family."

Mac grinned despite the flare of disappointment about his dad's absence. This first Christmas with his father back in his life hadn't turned out like he'd hoped it would, but in the end, it had turned out even better. Though not their first overall, this first Christmas with Matty as a part of his family of the heart was more than he could've hoped for.

So focused on what he thinks is important, James was missing out on what was truly important, but Mac would no longer let his father's issues determine how he spent Christmas.

How you spend Christmas is a choice, and Mac chose to spend it with a house full of laughter, of friends and family, and people who loved each other. What more could he want?

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The End.

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A/N: Would anyone be interested in a story about Jack leaving? When I heard that George Eads/Jack Dalton was leaving the show, my brain immediately started coming up with scenarios of how that might happen. I ended up writing a story about one of them, though I suspect it will become AU fairly quickly in the new year. Let me know if you're interested.

I proofed this one, so all remaining mistakes are my fault!

***Happy New Year!***

Thank you to all those who took time out to read, review, follow, and favorite my stories in 2018! I greatly appreciate it! :o)