AN: I told you, one day, this story would stop being all fluff and little substance…welcome to the first not-fluffy and substantial episode tag!

JAMES MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE

SOMEWHERE IN LA

Jack pulled up outside the mid-century bungalow.

Apparently, MacGyvers liked mid-century modern. Who knew?

He sighed and got out of his car, running a hand through his hair.

He should probably have done this a long time ago, but he'd had to be sure that it was worth stirring the pot, kicking the hornet's nest and opening the can of worms.

After Mac's birthday party and the prism collection, he'd known he had to do this now.

(He recognized that look in his partner's eyes.)

Jack strode up the path and had just raised his hand to knock on the front door when it opened.

James MacGyver stood on the other side, as neatly dressed as always, an eyebrow slightly raised.

'How did you find my address? And how did you know I'd be home?'

Jack gave a little smirk full of bravado.

'I'm a highly-trained covert operative. I have my ways.'

James's eyebrow rose a little more, and then he sighed.

'Riley. And Matilda.'

He opened the door more, gestured for Jack to come inside. He led the Texan into a living room with a slightly-worn, brown leather couch, which made Jack raise an eyebrow.

Apparently, tastes in interior decorating were also hereditary in the MacGyver line.

Jack plopped onto the couch, while James leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

'Why are you here, Jack?'

Jack took his time answering, spreading his hands wide like a storyteller.

'There comes a time in a man's life when he starts thinking 'bout having grandbabies to take to ball games…and to teach how to make a stun grenade out of a cardboard box, a stick of gum and a paperclip or two…'

James huffed out a sigh. He probably would have rolled his eyes if it wasn't beneath his dignity.

'Get to the point.'

'You MacGyvers really have no appreciation for good storytelling, do you?'

James sighed again, rubbing his temples briefly with a hand, and sat down in the armchair, apparently deciding that this was going to take a while.

Jack's expression, meanwhile, grew serious. Deadly serious.

'She's real smart, real pretty and she's got some spitfire in her.' He didn't need to specify who he was talking about. He knew James knew. 'Everyone knows our boy's got a type. And she started weeks after he quit, then took it back. Hell of a coincidence, ain't it?'

The accusation was clear.

Jack knew full well that any hiring decisions ultimately had to go through Oversight.

(Matty had worked around them from time-to-time – she'd managed to keep Bozer from being fired after the whole fiasco with Thornton and Chrysalis, after all – but he was still the man ultimately in charge.)

And he knew full well that James was perfectly capable of influencing his son's life behind the scenes. Pulling the strings.

Who was to say he hadn't had a hand in the decision to hire Bethany H. Taylor, M.D.?

After all, it really, really was a hell of a coincidence.

James's face gave nothing away.

'She was the best candidate for the position.'

His voice was utterly neutral.

It was a non-answer.

Jack told himself firmly not to get frustrated. That was probably what James was hoping would happen.

Still, he let some frustration bleed into his voice.

Two could play this game.

'Tell me, yes or no, am I right she's got no clue? 'Cause you know as well as I do, if she's some kind of spy, meant to keep him in line or something…'

Jack would have to tell Mac the truth.

And Mac would quit again and probably run off to the other side of the planet, to a remote little village in Nigeria or something like that, and live out the rest of his life in said remote little village, as far away from his father's sphere of power and influence as possible.

'You really think so poorly of me?'

Jack crossed his arms.

'History ain't exactly on your side.'

Jack knew that he was being nuts and paranoid, but Mac had major issues with his dad playing puppet-master over his life.

James gave a brief nod, at least acknowledging Jack's point.

'You really think so poorly of her? Or of Matilda?'

It was Jack's turn to nod, in acknowledgement of that point.

He was quite sure that he really did know Beth. And she would be a terrible spy, what with her tendency to have brain-mouth-filter-failures.

She lacked guile, in the same way that Mac and Bozer and Jill did.

(That maybe Riley and Jack and even Matty did too, to an extent.)

And there was no way that Matty would have let Oversight get away with a plot like this.

She'd have pointed Mac to the truth.

James swallowed, and was silent for a moment, before he leaned forward slightly and spoke, resting his elbows on his knees.

'I have always done what I've thought was best for Angus.'

Jack snorted, then caught his boss's eye, crossing his arms.

'And you've thought wrong a hell of a lot more times than you'll admit.'

James just let that one go.

Admitting he was wrong to his own son was one thing, admitting he was wrong to Jack was another.

'Dr Bethany Taylor works for the Phoenix because she is an exceptional doctor in several ways.' Jack didn't doubt that. Not in the slightest. She, like all the other Phoenix employees, had great strength and courage and a sturdy moral compass, and was really somebody special. Everyone who worked for the Phoenix was exceptional, in more than one way. They had to be. James paused for a long time, shifting a little in his seat, as if he were uncomfortable with what he was about to admit. 'If I saw additional...potential benefits granted by her employment, would you say I thought wrong?'

Jack had no answer for that.

After all, guys in their line of work very, very rarely got a shot at a fairytale ending. What with not being able to tell the truth to most of the population…

He'd been incredibly, implausibly lucky.

Who was he to deny Mac that?

And besides, he and Mac had been brought together by this man's meddling, and their friendship, their connection, that'd been all them.

The special something growing between Mac and the young doctor was all them too.

He'd bet that James's decision wasn't 100% free of agenda.

After all, if nearly all of Mac's friends-who-were-family and the woman he loved all worked for the Phoenix, why would he quit?

He'd miss them all too much, worry about not being there to protect them, drown in guilt if anything were to happen to them that he felt he could have prevented.

After another long moment of silence, James spoke again, looking and sounding far older than Jack had ever seen him before.

'Angus…Angus deserves all the happiness he can get.' He paused, speaking nearly to himself, rather than Jack, when he continued. 'And I promised Ellen.'

Jack's brow furrowed as he showed himself out, knowing not to overstay his welcome.

(Besides, James wasn't exactly the most pleasant of company.)

Maybe Beth's hiring wasn't partially some kind of pretty-creepy (especially considering that Oversight was Mac's dad) insurance policy.

Maybe it was partially some still-really-weird-and-kinda-creepy attempt at atonement.

He shook his head.

MacGyvers really couldn't do anything the normal way.

AN: James has issues with boundaries. James also has issues with controlling his son's life. I've been planning this conversation ever since the start of The Path Not Taken, and this isn't quite the end of it…stay tuned over the next couple of episodes and episode tags!

I'm pretty sure my take on James is more unpleasant and more manipulative than the version they have in canon, now. I based his entire characterization off the James MacGyver we saw in 2.23, MacGyver + MacGyver, and since then, I think they've made an effort to make him nicer and put genuine effort into rebuilding a relationship with Mac. I suspect the reason behind it in canon (at least characterization-wise, perhaps they also saw a lot of negative feedback on his character so changed it somewhat…) is that Mac running away to the other side of the world, ostensibly for life, knocked some sense into his thick skull and made him realize that he had to reach out to Mac and put a lot of effort into making up with him, and making it up to him, after everything he's done.

In my head, James has somewhat misinterpreted (due to his grief, his anger, his obsession with his job and his struggle to show and properly process emotion/affection and understand finer social nuance) a lot of Ellen's wishes, without her around to tell him he's doing it wrong. These include her wish for Mac to be as happy as can be and her belief that everyone can and should always keep learning. (Though in my head, Ellen and Beth would get along extremely, extremely well and James and Mac would be in a lot of trouble…and love every minute of it.)