The Heart Knows
It had been three days since the episode at the hockey rink. Three uneventful, normal days, yet MacGyver kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Heavy January clouds promised more snow as he, Joanna, and Leroy Jackson gathered around Evelyn's small kitchen table to go over the facts of the vandalism and sabotage one more time.
"OK, what do we know so far?" Evelyn asked, pen and paper at the ready. They had had this conversation so frequently that Mac could recite it by heart, but until they could figure out who was behind the crimes, this conversation would keep happening.
"Whoever is doing this has access to the school and is familiar with the layout and security system," Joanna began recounting the information that was burned into all of their brains. "He has something against Challengers since he vandalized the building twice and then put the hockey team at risk. He also wants the police to think he's MacGyver based on the disguise he wore and the set-up at the ice rink."
"You know what I don't get?" MacGyver asked, leaning forward. "The first two 'incidents' were simple, harmless, and straight forward. Some spray paint and a flooded gym. Not a huge deal. Then he ups the ante with the whole bomb-in-a-hockey-puck stunt. Why?"
"If he's trying to scare us off, he could have gotten frustrated when we didn't take the first two attempts more seriously," Evelyn offered and everyone nodded their agreement.
"That's certainly plausibly," Leroy concurred. "I think we need to break down this last attempt at the ice rink. It's by far the most sophisticated and complex. Unfortunately, we don't have any surveillance tape of it."
"So where do we start?" MacGyver was eager to have new ideas to roll around in his brain.
"The puck," Leroy stated. "When did it get put into the equipment bag?"
"It had to be at the school," MacGyver replied. "I make sure I keep it within arm's reach whenever I'm at the rink."
"What a minute," Joanna declared. "I think we're getting ahead of ourselves. Before the bomb could be placed, it had to be made, right?"
"You're right," Mac told Jo before addressing the others as well. "Can we assume that someone who uses spray paint and turns on faucets to frighten people has the skill to make a hockey puck into a bomb?"
"If not, he must have gotten help from somebody. We could be looking at a team, here," Leroy suggested.
"Let's stay focused," Evelyn instructed. "So someone puts the tampered puck in the equipment bag while it's still at the school. He waits until Mac takes it and then follows him to the hockey rink."
Joanna quickly picked up on Evelyn's train of thought. "Then he calls the office and asks for MacGyver to separate him from the others so he doesn't have an alibi and then detonates the puck!"
"Hold on," Leroy held up a hand as a signal to stop. "According to the police report, the crime techs determined that the detonator was very short range, meaning whoever blew up the puck had to be nearby. How could the perp do that if he was on the phone somewhere?"
"There are pay phones in the lobby," Mac recalled. "He could have placed the call, dropped the receiver, and returned to the rink with plenty of time to get in range."
"But he could not have known a shot would go high at just the right moment," Evelyn countered.
"That was just dumb luck on his part and he took advantage of the opportunity," MacGyver explained. "He would have detonated it at some point regardless of where it was and the consequences could have been a lot worse."
"But how could he have known it was the puck?" Joanna asked thoughtfully. "You use a bunch of them in practice at the same time. More dumb luck?"
"For now I'm afraid that's the theory we'll have to go with," Leroy concluded.
"I still don't get why it has to look like Mac is the one doing all of this? Anyone who knows him knows how dedicated he is to Challengers. He resigned from Phoenix so he could work here."
"And that, young lady, is the million dollar question," Leroy proclaimed. He glanced at his watch. "Unfortunately, we're not going to answer it tonight. I have an early meeting in the morning, but I'll let you know if I receive any new information."
MacGyver slept restlessly that night as his mind recalled images of the events discussed earlier that evening. The graffiti, the gym, the hockey rink. Then he was back in Los Angeles, in Pete's old office. Stern was there. His expression angry and lips moving but Mac couldn't hear what he was saying.
"Dad! Dad!" Sam whispered loudly, shaking MacGyver's shoulder.
Mac shot up, his body covered in sweat. "What the-?"
"You were having a bad dream, Dad," Sam explained. "You were tossing around and murmuring something."
MacGyver tried but could not remember the dream. "What was I saying?" he asked Sam.
"I don't know. I couldn't make it out. It was all garbled."
Mac scrubbed his face with his hands then looked at the clock.
"Aw man, I'm gonna be late for work!"
MacGyver arrived at Challengers and parked his car next to Jo's as usual. He was on his way to his office when he noticed Evelyn sitting in Joanna's office, the two women speaking in hushed tones. Mac tapped lightly on the door.
"Can I come in or is this a private meeting?" he asked teasingly. Two serious faces set with frowns turned toward him.
"Please join us," Evelyn requested. "This concerns you as well."
That got his attention. He entered the room and sat down in the chair next to his boss.
"Has something else happened?" he asked urgently.
"I was just telling Joanna that I've been obligated to report our series of unfortunate events to the Phoenix Foundation. The anonymous donor who's been financing our school is very concerned and threatening to cut off our funding to use elsewhere."
Mac's chest tightened. "Have you spoken to the board members? They'll back us."
Evelyn shook her head. "We've been on shaky ground with the board from the beginning. Pete was always able to smooth things over with them, but since he retired, the new director seems to be working against us."
Images from MacGyver's dream flared to life. His stomach burned. "Stern," he said almost inaudibly.
Until now Joanna had been staring vacantly off into space, but Mac's declaration caught her attention.
"You think Stern is behind all this?" she asked.
"In a twisted way it makes sense," MacGyver answered. "He was none too happy when I resigned from Phoenix to work here, and he was even less happy when I refused to accept a bribe to go on a mission. That would give him a grudge against Challengers and me."
"But how can he be doing this?" Evelyn queried. "He's still in L.A., right?"
"A man like Stern knows how to make things happen without getting his own hands dirty," Mac replied.
"So he's paying off someone working here to cause these 'incidents'," Joanna concluded.
"It looks that way. Unfortunately, we can't prove it," MacGyver sighed.
"We need to go to the police with this. They can investigate and get hard evidence," Evelyn insisted.
Mac shook his head. "If Stern is orchestrating this and already paying someone off, who's to say there aren't other locals on his payroll? There are still a couple people I trust at the Chicago office. I'll drive down tomorrow and see if I can dig anything up."
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Joanna's office phone rang late the next afternoon.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me." She immediately recognized MacGyver's voice.
"How'd it go?" she asked.
Mac sighed, "Not well. I hit a dead end. Either nobody really doesn't know anything or they're too scared to talk."
"Which one do you think it is?"
"I think they don't know anything and that Stern is working on his own agenda with no one being the wiser."
"Are you coming home now?"
"Yeah. That's part of the reason I called. It's starting to snow down here and the traffic is already jammed up. I'm gonna take some back roads to hopefully make better time. How about we grab a bite to eat when I get back?"
"Sounds good. Pick me up at the house."
"Will do. See you in a bit."
Three hours later Joanna stood staring out the living room window watching the snow fall.
"I'm sure he's just caught in traffic," Judy Fairfax said softly, trying to reassure her daughter. "You know how bad it gets and this weather is sure to make it ten times worse."
"Yeah. I know." But her gut was telling her something different.
An hour later Joanna sat on her parent's couch absently watching the basketball game her dad had on the TV. Her stomach was upset and her temple was beginning to pound. Something was definitely wrong. Even on the worst of days it shouldn't take four hours to drive from Chicago to Milwaukee. The shrill ring of the telephone jarred Jo out of her reverie. She lunged for the receiver and answered immediately.
"Jo? This is Sam. Can you come over? Dad's been in an accident."
Joanna felt as if someone had just punched all the air out of her lungs. "I'm on my way!"
A sheriff's department car was parked in front of the duplex when she pulled up. When she entered the apartment, the deputy quickly rose from where he was sitting on the couch to greet her.
"What happened? How is he?" she asked the man urgently.
"Mr. MacGyver apparently lost control and slid off the road into a ravine. He was unconscious when the fire department extricated him from the vehicle. He's been taken to County General."
"Ma'am?" The deputy continued, "Where would you like his car towed?"
Joanna stood stunned, trying to process the information she had just received.
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Could you please take it to Lou's Auto Repair?"
"Sure thing. And try not to worry. Accidents like these often look worse than they are."
Joanna closed the door behind the deputy, noticing Sam for the first time since arriving. His cheeks were flushed and his were shining with unshed tears. She opened her arms towards him and he walked into them, holding her tight as he sobbed on her shoulder.
"I can't lose him, too, Jo! I just can't!"
"We're not gonna lose him, Sam," Joanna promised as she pulled away to look him in the eye. "Your dad is too stubborn to let a little car accident slow him down." She gave him a soft smile. "Now go grab your coat and we'll go to the hospital. Your dad is probably already wondering why you're not there!"
Joanna and Sam rushed through the doors of the emergency room at County General and quickly approached the reception desk.
"I'm looking for MacGyver," Sam said anxiously.
"And you are?" the middle-aged nurse asked.
"I'm his son."
The nurse glanced at Joanna, but before she could speak Sam cut in.
"She's his wife."
Joanna's jaw went slack and she glared at Sam who glared back just as intently.
"Could I please see some ID?" the nurse asked.
Jo and Sam both pulled out their driver's licenses. The nurse studied Joanna's and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Says here your name is Fairfax."
"I, um, we just got married a few weeks ago. I haven't gotten around to changing all my documents."
The nurse nodded, glancing at Joanna's ring finger. Thank goodness she hadn't taken off her sapphire after work like she usually did. Satisfied, the nurse instructed them to have a seat in the empty waiting room.
"Why did you have to tell him I was your dad's wife?" Joanna scolded Sam, mainly for something to do while they waited. "You could have said I was his sister or something!"
"I'm sorry. It slipped out. It just seemed…right."
"Don't worry about it," Jo sighed. "Just hope your dad catches on and plays along when we see him."
Thirty excruciating minutes later, a tall lanky doctor approached them. The embroidered name on his lab coat read Dr. Kennedy.
"You must be here for Mr. MacGyver." He offered his hand and they both shook it.
"I'm his son, Sam, and this is his wife, Joanna."
"Nice to meet you both. Please, have a seat."
"How is he, doctor?" Jo asked bluntly as she sat back down next to Sam.
"Lucky. Very lucky," the doctor replied with a smile. "He has a concussion, some facial lacerations, and a few cracked ribs, but other than that he's fine. It could have been much, much worse."
"When can we see him?" Sam asked eagerly.
"We're moving him to a private room now. I'll send someone to get you when he's ready for visitors, though I must warn you, he's quite groggy. You also need to know that he's experiencing some temporary memory loss."
"That happened once before," Joanna offered. "He had trouble remembering the details of a hockey accident."
The doctor sighed heavily. "I'm afraid it's different this time. He doesn't remember the accident, but he also doesn't remember his own name. It's only temporary, but he may not know who you are either. Everyone's situation is different. I'd like to ask that, when you see him, don't call each other by name. The more he recalls on his own the better."
Jo and Sam exchanged concerned glances as Dr. Kennedy excused himself to see to other patients.
"Did the deputy say where the accident happened?" Joanna asked Sam, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen.
Sam described the place the deputy had given and Jo frowned.
"I used to drive that road all the time. I never considered it dangerous, even in winter."
Sam shook his head. "Dad used to drive race cars. I can't believe he would wipe out on a straight rural road, even in the snow."
Just then, a pretty young nurse appeared and took them up to Mac's room. They stood in the doorway as another nurse adjusted an IV and Dr. Kennedy checked his bandages.
"Ah, it looks like you have company, Mr. MacGyver," the doctor said when he looked up and saw Jo and Sam. He motioned them to approach the bed. "Your wife and son are here."
"I have a family?" Mac croaked, looking up at Dr. Kennedy.
Joanna studied the man lying on the bed and her heart clenched. He looked so pale and vulnerable. His hair was still matted with some blood and splayed across his pillow, except for some rebellious bangs that hung in his eyes. There was a white gauze pad taped to his left temple and butterfly bandages holding several other small cuts together. She hung back, allowing Sam to go to his father first.
"Hi Dad, remember me?"
Mac turned his head and looked vacantly at the young man. "You're so…old."
Everyone in the room laughed.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. At least that's what they tell me," Mac replied, his voice still gravely. He glanced at the cup of water on the bedside table and Sam quickly retrieved it and held it while his dad drank.
Sam slowly backed away, indicating that it was Joanna's turn. Her stomach was queasy. It was bad enough to see this strong, handsome man lying flat in a hospital bed, but now she had the added burden of pretending to be his wife, and people were watching! She slowly approached the bed and reached out to take Mac's hand. She felt his gaze lazily inspect her from head to toe, an action that made her extremely uncomfortable.
"You're my wife?" he asked incredulously.
Joanna's stomach turned over and she wished the floor would just swallow her now. She knew she wasn't particularly pretty, but always felt as if she matched up to the average female. Obviously she disappointed MacGyver. Had the memory loss loosened his inhibitions? Was he finally saying what he really thought of her?
"That's what they tell me," she tried to tease as she held back tears.
"How did I get so lucky?" he mumbled, struggling to keep his eyelids open yet holding her hand tight.
Joanna was shocked by his response and didn't know how to respond so she stayed silent.
He raised his head to look down at his left hand. "Why don't I have a wedding ring?"
"You didn't want one," Jo responded as her mind scrambled for an explanation. "You work with your hands a lot and didn't want to lose it."
"Oh." He let his head drop back to the pillow thankfully satisfied with her answer.
"How do you really feel?" Joanna asked.
"Like I got hit by a truck."
"That's to be expected," Dr. Kennedy broke in. "Those ribs will take a while to heal. It's lucky you have such a lovely wife to take care of you."
"Yeah," MacGyver mumbled, a sad look on his face.
"What's wrong?" Jo asked.
"I wish I could remember you. You feel like a stranger to me."
"Just relax. It'll all come back to you," Jo said softly, leaning down as her free hand brushed the hair out of his eyes. Suddenly, the hand that she had been holding released its grip only to grab on to her upper arm and pull her closer until their faces were inches apart. She caught her breath as MacGyver raised his head slightly to brush a tender caress against her lips. Only this time it didn't stop there. Joanna began to feel him deepen the kiss and she instinctively pulled back until she remembered that people were watching. People who needed to believe they were husband and wife. Allowing her defenses to fall, she succumbed to Mac's urgent, probing kiss and suddenly it seemed as if they were the only two people in the room. After several seconds, MacGyver broke the connection, only to nuzzle his face gently against her neck.
"My brain may not remember you," he whispered huskily in her ear, "but my heart does."
Dr. Kennedy cleared his throat loudly, causing Joanna to jerk upright.
"I'm sorry to break this up, but visiting hours are over. Mr. MacGyver needs his beauty sleep," he declared with a wink towards his patient.
Joanna was about to step away from the bed when Mac snagged her by the wrist.
"You'll come back tomorrow?" he asked.
"I'll be here," She promised.
Standing next to Sam in the elevator, Joanna let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"Wow, Dad really laid one on you!" Sam said happily, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "And it looked like you enjoyed it."
"Sam!" Joanna exclaimed, pinning him with a look she generally saved for her most disruptive students.
"What can I say?" Sam shrugged his shoulders. "Good kissers run in the family."
"I guess I'll just have to take your word for that," Joanna replied tartly. "Besides, your dad doesn't know who I really am. Heck, he doesn't even know who he is. That kiss meant nothing."
"You can't believe that, Jo! He thinks you're his wife and is obviously quite pleased about it. Besides, you'd think he'd kiss a stranger like that?" Sam shook his head. "Nope, there is definitely a connection between you two."
By the time the time they reached the lobby, Sam was frowning again.
"Do you mind if we go check out the accident site?" he asked Joanna.
"It's awful late," she protested. "Besides, I'm sure the car has already been towed."
"I know, but I need to see it."
Jo sighed and soon she was parked next to the ravine where Mac had slid off the road. As she suspected, the car was gone leaving only the marks in the snow to indicate where it had come to rest. She grabbed a flashlight from her glove compartment and hopped out of the car to join Sam who was already crouched down, looking at something in the snow.
"Did you find something?" she asked, as the young man rubbed two fingers in the snow and cautiously raised them to his nose.
"Yeah. Brake fluid."
"How can you tell?" Jo asked.
Sam grabbed her flashlight and aimed it at the slushy snow. "See the brownish-yellow color? It also has a very distinctive smell."
"A result of the accident?"
He shook his head. "If the accident ruptured the line the fluid would all be in the ditch."
Sam then got up and walked into the road, studying the pavement.
"Look," he motioned Jo to his side. "More brake fluid. And no skid marks."
"He never hit the brakes," Joanna concluded.
"Or he didn't have breaks to hit. We need to get a look at his car."
"I'll pick you up first thing in the morning and we'll go to the garage," Jo promised. "But now we need to go home and get some sleep."
Sam glanced at his watch. "It's really late. Why don't you crash at our place?"
Joanna was about to decline when she realized this might be Sam's way of saying he didn't want to be alone tonight.
"I'll even let you have the bed," he offered.
"Well, how can I say 'no' to that?!" Jo smiled at him as they climbed back into the car.
The eastern sky was turning a lighter shade of gray as Joanna lay in bed wide awake. She hadn't slept a wink all night. Since she had still been in her work clothes, Sam instructed her to find something of his dad's to wear to bed. She found a pair of too-long sweatpants and an oversized hockey jersey that would have to do. And her she was, lying in MacGyver's bed, wearing his clothes. It would have been romantic if the man himself wasn't in the hospital with cracked ribs and amnesia. Instead, it was simply awkward.
After a quick breakfast, she and Sam drove to the garage. They met Lou as he was opening up for the day. When they asked to see the car, the mechanic just shook his head.
"She took quite a beating. There's not much worth looking at," he said sadly.
"We just want to check something out," Sam pleaded.
Lou guided them around the back of the building where the Nomad sat at an odd angle, a mass of crumpled metal.
"I can't believe Mac survived that," Joanna said in a hushed tone.
Sam slowly circled the wreck, inspecting it closely until he found the brake lines he was looking for. He examined them carefully then looked at Jo.
"They were tampered with," he told her flatly.
"Are you sure?"
"I know my way around cars. Yeah, I'm sure."
Joanna massaged the back of her neck. Had the person wreaking all the havoc at Challengers go from trying to frame Mac to attempting to kill him? It was just too surreal to believe.
"I'm gonna drop you off at your place," Joanna told Sam. "Call the police and Leroy and tell them everything. I'll be at the hospital with your dad. Hopefully he'll remember something today."
When Joanna arrived at the hospital, MacGyver was resting peacefully, the head of his bed raised slightly. Not wanting to disturb him, she quietly pulled a straight-backed chair next to the bed planning to rest her head on the mattress for a few minutes. Within seconds she was fast asleep.
Joanna awoke an hour later to something stroking her cheek. She opened her eyes to find MacGyver watching her, his finger caressing her face. He smiled crookedly as she raised her head.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he apologized.
"No problem. I just didn't get much sleep last night," she explained.
"You came back."
"I promised I would," Jo replied.
"I know," Mac said. "I just have this feeling that I've lost a lot of people I loved. I don't want to lose you, too."
"But you were in an accident and don't even remember my name. I could be a perfect stranger for all you know."
"I may not remember your name, but I can feel that you're someone special to me."
Joanna couldn't take it anymore. She had been brave and strong for too long and she was ashamed of lying to Mac. Tears she had been holding back suddenly broke free, tumbling down her cheeks.
"Aw, come here, baby." MacGyver opened his arms and she gently laid her head on his chest, mindful of his injuries. He closed his arms around her and she relished his embrace as silent tears continue to fall. When all her tears had been shed, she slowly raised her head and captured his eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said weakly. "I'm not normally one to cry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Mac took her face in his hands, his gaze never wavering. "You have nothing to be sorry for and I am not scared of a crying woman."
Joanna attempted a watery smile, but MacGyver's face was already upon hers. He kissed her forehead and each tear-stained cheek before settling his lips on hers. Again the kiss started out gentle, as if asking her permission. When she leaned in, he deepened the kiss. Unlike last night, he took his time, tasting, exploring, comforting, and she was helpless to stop him. A part of her knew she should pull away, that this wasn't real and she was taking advantage of his muddled mind, but a bigger part of her encouraged her to take what she could while she was still able. All too soon the kiss ended, but Mac continued to cradle her head, staring into her eyes as if he could see all the way to her soul.
"Thanks for hanging in there with me, Joanna," MacGyver whispered huskily.
"You're wel— You know my name?!" Joanna's eyes grew wide as she grabbed MacGyver's hands and released herself from his touch.
"Yeah, I do," he smiled mischievously.
"When did you remember?"
Mac's smile turned tender. "When I was holding you while you cried. Everything started clicking into place."
"You mean you remembered who you were, who I was, before you, before we—"
"Kissed? Yeah, I knew exactly who we were, who we are." His smile fading, he reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm and began stroking it with his thumb. "And I'm not gonna apologize for it, either."
Joanna shook her head. "I don't want you to," she declared, putting her hand over his, amazed at what had just happened between them.
A knock on the door startled them and Joanna turned to watch Dr. Kennedy enter the room.
"Sorry to interrupt, folks, but I need to borrow Mr. MacGyver for a few minutes. He has a date with a CT scan."
"Doctor, he remembered me!"
"That's wonderful! Do you remember anything about your accident, son?" the doctor asked hopefully.
"I was driving home from Chicago," Mac began hesitantly. "I had just called Jo and it was snowing. I was almost home when…" He closed his eyes tight, struggling to remember.
"That's good, Mr. MacGyver. Don't force yourself," the doctor warned.
"No, I need to remember," Mac insisted. "I remember being so close to home when I saw something in the road. A deer. I pumped the brakes but nothing happened. I drove off the road so I wouldn't hit it. Then everything went black."
Joanna's heart swelled at his selfless act. What kind of man risked personal injury, maybe even his life, to save a wild animal?
"Do you remember anything from the time you wrecked your car to just now?" Dr. Kennedy asked.
"No," MacGyver frowned. "Will I get those memories back?"
The doctor sighed. "It's hard to say. There's so much we still don't understand about the human brain, and different people respond differently to memory loss. I'd say you're off to an excellent start, though. Now say goodbye to your wife so we can get you to radiology."
MacGyver raised a questioning eyebrow and Joanna leaned down as if to kiss his cheek.
"Sounds like I missed a lot," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.
"It was Sam's idea…to make sure they'd let me see you."
Mac smiled widely. "I knew I had a smart son."
Joanna followed through on the kiss for the doctor's sake. "I have to get to work, but I'll call Sam and let him know you're back with us. We'll both see you later." She squared her shoulders and walked confidently from the room, feeling MacGyver's eyes on her as she left. Alone in the elevator, she allowed her posture to relax and leaned against the wall. The first time Joanna laid eyes on MacGyver she knew he was no ordinary man. Little did she know that within a year he would turn her life, and her heart, upside down.
