Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you all like the Nikki/Mac pairing. Here is the second chapter. Sorry the update took so long… Enjoy!

Mac watched Nikki limp all the way up the small hill until they reached more level ground. He stayed a good distance behind her, mostly because he was afraid of getting too close and losing a limb. She had been upset with him during the entire mission, and for what, he had no clue. Normally the two of them did not get along but this case was proving to be more of a challenge for his social skills than he anticipated. Now, watching her leg bleed and the color drain from her face with each passing step started to get on his nerves.

After about an hour of hiking, Mac finally suggested they stop. He smirked when he saw the look of relief wash over her face. She sat on a damp brown rock while Mac took in their surroundings.

"You know they will have a trap waiting at the station," he said. He tried to brush off some of the mud on his white sneakers to no avail.

"Which we will be prepared for," Nikki added.

"How many were there?" Part of him wanted to know in order to understand what they were up against, and part of him wanted to know because he had a feeling Nikki had been in more danger than she let on.

"Three of them. I injured two. One in the shoulder, the other the leg."

"You took on three of them?" Mac tried not to sound impressed but, frankly, he was.

"Still think I belong behind a desk?"

Mac walked toward her and she stood up as soon as he got close.

"You're not still upset about that?" Even if he lived to be a hundred, he would never understand women. Nikki started again walking in the direction of the station.

"Are you going to tell me what happened to your leg?"

"I told you, don't worry about it."

MacGyver walked next to her but with the stubbornness of her last comment he hit his breaking point. He prided himself on being a patient man, able to keep a cool head in an intense situation, but one thing he could not deal with was…in two words, Nikki Carpenter. The sister of his dead best friend was good at her job but he could not stand to be on the same assignment as she was.

"What exactly is your problem? I know we don't get along, but, we are stuck out here, with terrorists on our trail, so I would appreciate if you could condescend from your high horse and talk to me." If nothing else, MacGyver managed to get her to stop, and hop around to face him. Judging by the look on her face, he was in for another long argument that most likely would end right where it began.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry that Pete keeps assigning us to work together? You are the best MacGyver, and so am I. The sooner you accept that, the better off we'll all be."

"I see, this is about your pride." MacGyver watched her lips part and her teeth clench.

"My—? You are unbelievable." She was about to turn back around and start hopping off again but Mac caught her by the arm. He held on tight as she tried to rip her forearm out of his grip.

"Why can't you just admit that you're hurt and you need help?" Mac hoped she would see the logic of his words instead of being irrational. He doubted she would. After all, she was a woman.

"Why can't you admit every woman is not a damsel in distress in need of your rescue?"

"And were back to the pride issue…" Mac let go of her arm, but by now he could tell she was angry enough with him to stand her ground.

"Excuse me for wanting to think for myself. I'm not a blond named Heidi."

"Heidi was a perfectly nice girl…not an annoying pain in my side," Mac told her.

"So you prefer the homicidal floozy type, like Deborah. I suppose she could at least think for herself. Insane, but a thinker." Nikki tapped her finger to her forehead for emphasis.

"Deborah fooled us all…and, since when do you have room to talk, Ms. I'm dating my dignitary kidnapping boss?"

"Oh, you would bring that up."

"Are you going to tell me what happened to your leg or not?"

"No."

Mac stood there eyes locked with Nikki in a battle of wills. Obviously words were of no use. He was sick of arguing with her when what he really wanted to do was… Before Mac really knew what was happening he and Nikki were locking lips. Nikki's hands ran up through his hair and when they finally reached his chest they pushed him away. She could not get too far because he still had his hands on her arms.

"So you would rather bleed than let me help you? That injury could be serious, it could get infected and—"

"Now you're suddenly a doctor?"

"You know what, never mind. Just try and keep up," he told her and started to walk away. Her arms stopped him, and he looked up to face her. As soon as he met her eyes his face was met with an unpleasant shock. He could still feel the sting of her hand as he heard her speak.

"Don't you ever kiss me again," she warned. Of course, Mac did grab her and kiss her again, then and there, whether or not he really wanted to. Her slap was painful and insulting, and he was not about to let her get away with it. This time the kiss only ended because of gun shots Mac heard in the distance.

"They're getting close. We better keep moving." He suggested. Nikki nodded and did not let go of MacGyver's arm as he helped her down a steep slope. Once they navigated the terrain she let go of his arm and hobbled along side him. He shook his head at her stubbornness, and tried not to think of the little exchange a few minutes before.

As they were walking he searched the ground for sticks of different shapes and sizes, finally deciding on a sturdy looking forked branch. He snapped off some of the smaller limbs and with his pocket knife, cut two slits on each side of the forks. He cut off one of the straps on his backpack and wedged the ends into the slits on the branch. Then, with the remaining strap he securely tied off the ends.

"What are you doing?" Nikki asked, leaning against a tree and grimacing. Mac shook his head and sighed. He walked over to her and stuck the branch into the ground in front of here.

"If you won't let me help, maybe this will," he said, his tone stern. He walked off, pretending like he did not really care if she took the crutch. Not until the brown shingled roof of the ranger station came into view did Mac have an excuse to turn around and see if Nikki was using his invention. He rolled his eyes when he turned to find her leaning on it heavily.

"The station is just up ahead," he informed her crouching down behind a bushy embankment. Nikki hobbled over and when Mac offered her hand she did not take it, instead she landed ungracefully on the ground next to him. He quickly turned his focus of her impertinence and directed it at the waiting trap.

"My guess is they have all entrances blocked." Nikki peered over the bushes at the small single room cabin as she spoke.

"But, they think you're alone, giving us the advantage." Mac replied.

"What's the plan?" Her elbow was nearly touching his as they leaned into the muddy embankment.

"You mean you're actually asking me for help?" He smirked and turned to face her, but she kept her gaze straight ahead. He watched her shoulder tense up like a cat about to pounce and decided not to press his luck.

"You go in, act like you don't know there waiting. If you can, try and get to the radio and signal for help," Mac explained as he spotted a laundry line, randomly assorted pots and pans, and a wood shed behind the station.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, and then, before he could answer, stood up, "Never mind, I'm sure you'll surprise me."

She hobbled to the ranger station with as much bravery as he had ever seen in a Phoenix Foundation agent walking into impending doom. He was only distracted for a moment before he set to work.

He crawled through the thick brush to the back side of the camp. In doing so he spotted one of Nikki's attackers hiding on the other side of the station. He looked around for more enemies before took out his red pocket knife and hid behind the shed.

On the way to cut the laundry line string, Mac picked up as many of the pots as he see and threw them back into the bushes, hoping they would not make too much noise when they landed. Once he cut the line he retreated back into the brush and began working quickly. This was a long shot, but he knew if he could lure all of the terrorists into the open, he and Nikki might able to disarm and capture them.