Note: I'd like to take a quick moment and thank my reviewers, specifically Bay3 (my dear friend!), J0 (you were my first reviewer, and gave me the coolest idea for the 3rd installment of the Unforgettable Friends series, thank you, thank you!), DS2010 (you're so much fun!), and my biggest fan, SkyJester, whose private messages include such amazing encouragement! I love you too, Dad!
MacGyver ducked away from the group, his cell phone in hand. Once he was out of earshot, he dialed a number, input a pin, then followed it with a long passcode. He could feel his blood pressure going down as the line connected before the second ring.
"Dad!" the voice on the other end of the phone exclaimed. "You had me so worried! Especially when the Navy Cops called to ask about you...in reference to an attempted murder?"
Mac couldn't help flinching. "Sorry about that, Sam!" Dangerous missions were nothing new to either of them, and this wasn't the first of this kind of conversation they'd ever had, but Mac hated hearing the concern in his son's voice. "I tried to call earlier, but they have their protocols to follow too, and I have to respect that."
His son, the Assistant Director of Field Ops, blew out a breath. "I guess…But I'm sure glad to hear you're okay! What's going on?"
MacGyver spent a few minutes outlining his surveillance, the shooting, and the investigation so far.
"Jack Dalton got married?" Sam demanded. "Wow…"
"And get ready for this; remember one of my stories about going into the South American jungle to rescue a missing soldier?"
"You'll have to narrow that down a bit," Sam responded dryly. "I can think of at least a dozen!"
"Twenty seven years ago, six orphan kids helped me rescue a Marine Gunnery Sergeant named Gibbs?"
"Yeah…?"
"Guess who the NCIS Senior Field Agent is?"
Sam snorted. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
Mac shook his head. "This is a regular 'Family Reunion, in point of fact'," he said, emphasizing the code-phrase to alert his Assistant Director that more private information was in the wind than either would prefer.
Keyboard clacking could be heard over the phone. "Oh, boy… 'Rule Number Nine'? That Gibbs from NCIS?" At Mac's confirming grunt, Sam blew out his breath. "Yeah, I don't envy you the workout you're going to get tap-dancing around that! They've had two days with the laptop. Is it possible they…?"
"Maybe," Mac interrupted. "We've already shared our life stories, and gotten to know each other really well."
Sam was quiet for another moment as more clacking of computer keys could be heard in the background. "Yeah, I show a breach in our firewall; they got your entire personnel record. The synopses aren't encrypted, but the mission details are. Do you think we have a situation?"
Mac leaned against the wall. "Yeah, maybe." As he spoke, a strange prickling feeling started on the back of his neck, and he realized that DiNozzo had followed him to his secluded corner and was trying to listen in to the conversation. "But he's right here, and that file is protected. I'll need the access code. I want to give them…everything they need."
Sam translated the tone in his father's voice. "And nothing that they don't; I read you! Okay, Laptop Access, Partition only. Ready?" When Mac confirmed, he rattled off a long string of letters and numbers.
"Thanks, Sam," Mac said, after repeating the code back. From behind him, Mac could hear the intensity of Tony's observation, and he knew he had to cut his call short. "I'll call you later, Sam. We've got a case to solve."
"I'm really glad you're okay, Dad. May your roll of duct tape always have enough on it…" Sam replied, using their traditional parting phrase.
"…and your solutions be more plentiful than your challenges," Mac finished it up with a fond smile. He hung up, stuffed the phone back in his pocket, then turned and pretended to be surprised to see Tony standing there. "Oh, hi!"
DiNozzo was smiling, but there was something deeper than curiosity behind it. " '…and your solutions be more plentiful than your challenges'?" he repeated.
MacGyver gave him a sheepish grin. "When your son is your Assistant Director, you can't go around finishing calls to the office with, 'I love you, kid!' So, we developed our own code. It means the same thing, but it doesn't raise eyebrows."
A stab of jealousy went through Tony like lightning. "Gotcha," he said a little more quickly than he intended. "Gibbs wants any information you have on Schwimmer's whereabouts since his Leave started."
"I just got the access code to unlock the laptop's encryption," Mac said, taking off in the direction of the bull pen. "I just have to key this in, and you'll have what you need."
McGee was waiting for him, standing over the laptop with an eagerness that resembled a kid awaiting permission to unwrap a gift. Once Mac had input the code, McGee didn't waste any time downloading information.
Since he'd been relieved of his laptop, MacGyver realized he had little to do, so he hung around the perimeter of the bull pen to watch the team at work. They were an efficient bunch, he'd been told, and they were certainly proving that today. He idly poked around, unable to contain his curiosity and boredom with nothing to do. He paused for a moment as he noticed Tony's chin jerk up when his fingers touched an unassuming white binder, so he moved past it, intrigued when Tony went back to work with an unconscious sigh of relief. Mac could feel Tony's eyes on him until he'd walked away from the bookcase entirely and ended up behind Gibbs' desk.
Watching Gibbs stare at his computer for a few moments bored Mac worse than wandering around, so he resumed his idle pacing. Tony's eyes were once again on him as he neared the bookcase in question, so Mac chose a different binder to tug free, watching Tony's concern level drop. The binder contained the printouts of his earliest Phoenix ops. He hadn't gone back to read them in a few years, so he glanced through the pages.
He couldn't help smile as he read. He'd been younger and carefree back then, surrounded by and constantly meeting so many good people. Some were still around, sliding into their sunset years with great stories to tell the grandkids, but many had been lost over the years. Turning a page, he could feel his throat tighten and the backs of his eyes prickle.
MacGyver's Voiceover: Oh, God, Pete; I miss you! You were such a good friend!
Mac had to put the binder back before the decade-old ache filled him. Keeping a close eye on Tony, he waited until the younger man was again absorbed in his work before silently swapping binders for the one that worried Tony in the first place.
There were crumpled pages near the back that indicated a lot of attention paid to that mission, so Mac slid his finger under it and started reading.
MacGyver's Voiceover: It's funny. When you meet someone with whom you share a mutual acquaintance, you can get a new perspective on a person you thought you already knew. Twenty seven years ago, I had dug a much younger Gibbs out of that jungle. That active Marine was a solid guy, one a person would be honored to know; trustworthy, stubborn as anything, madly in love with his wife and daughter, yet all gung-ho about serving his country. We worked together a few times, and then I heard that tragedy had struck him. When I saw him again, at their funeral, I worried for him. We did a few more brief missions together after he recovered from his injuries, and I knew he was still a good guy; trustworthy, stubborn as anything, hurting and broken, yet strong enough to pull his life back together. We lost touch with each other after that, but he's firmly on my list of people I'm glad I'd worked with.
When that mysterious Israeli walked into my office at the Foundation two years ago, watched me open an envelope with the Swiss Army knife in my pocket, and spoke the words, 'Rule Number Nine; Always Carry a Knife!' I was floored. There was only one man in the world who'd ever said that. I'd played it cool, asking her where she'd come up with those rules. It took some doing, because she struck me as the secretive type, but I finally got out of her that she'd worked for Gibbs for a couple of years. That led to some interesting conversations over the next few weeks, as we shared intel and learned to trust each other. I got caught up with Gibbs' life, and was glad to learn that he was still a good guy; trustworthy, stubborn as anything, with deeper hurt and larger cracks, yet all the stronger for everything he'd pulled his life together around. I'd known Gibbs at so many stages in his life, and here I was hearing about him in a new and different kind of paternal role.
And then there was the rest of the team; I'd heard an earful about Tony...and theirs was a strange and wonderful relationship to be sure, and I said my piece about it, but that's a whole different can of worms. I knew she still loved him desperately, but I wasn't stupid enough to say anything more on that subject. I'd learned about McGee's gentleness and computer savvy, Palmer's devotion, Ducky's serene wisdom...and I was delighted to hear that she also knew my quirky genius friend Abby! I felt like I'd gotten to know the team through her words… And then I go and meet them in a strange twist of coincidence. I was looking at these people that I'd 'met' through the lens of her perspective, and was now forming my own opinions of them. I could see why she loved them so much. I didn't press her for her reasons for leaving them, because I could see the storm clouds brewing in her eyes when that subject came up, but I could tell she had to have her reasons.
Now, here I was with her old team, feeling like I knew them, yet to protect National Security, I couldn't tell them that I knew them. I couldn't tell them how much Ziva missed them.
Sometimes, life just wasn't fair.
Mac turned the page in the binder, the abused paper crackling as it slid over the rings. The sound brought Tony's eyes up again. Mac had arranged the other binders on the shelf to look like he was still reading the first one he'd chosen, but there must have been something on his face that had given him away.
MacGyver's Voiceover: Pete always told me I'd make a lousy poker player…
"Hey, Gibbs?" Mac asked, trying to look nonchalant as he slid the binder back onto the shelf. "I have a question for Ducky. Would it be okay for me to head down and ask him? I feel like I'm in the way up here."
Gibbs glanced up, the distraction in his eyes clearing to curiosity when he picked up on the waves of tension ebbing from DiNozzo's desk. "Yeah, sure. Know the way?"
Mac nodded, pushing himself away from the shelves and sauntering towards the elevator. He could sense Gibbs watching Tony as Tony watched MacGyver until he was out of sight.