Author's Note: This was a fun chapter to write. Mac and Joanna reach a turning point in their professional lives. An old friend of Mac's has a cameo and Mac gets a roommate! Enjoy!
Independence Day
MacGyver didn't have to peek out from under the hood of the Nomad to know that Joanna was glaring at his back, a mix of frustration and annoyance in her eyes. If looks could kill, he'd probably be dead ten times over by now.
It had been close to a month since Challengers Academy closed its doors, and Joanna's anxiety and discomfiture rose with each passing day of unemployment. She had sent out numerous resumes and applications for teaching positions, yet heard nothing back, even though the summer was still young. The question was, why was she taking it out on him?
"Could you give me that socket wrench?" Mac asked, reaching out without looking up. The solid metal tool struck his hand with more force than necessary. Ow! This was getting ridiculous!
"What is wrong with you?!" he rounded on Joanna.
"Me?! I should be asking you the same thing!"
MacGyver's eyes widened in astonishment. "What?!"
Joanna took a deep breath and Mac braced himself for the tirade to come.
"I've spent the last three weeks turning over every stone I can find looking for a job, quite unsuccessfully I might add, while you've spent all your waking hours putting your precious little car back together! That takes money, Mac! A lot of it! And you're just as unemployed as I am!"
"This is about how I'm spending my money?! The last time I checked that was my business!"
His harsh tone took some of the wind out of Joanna's sails, but he wasn't going to back down. Not this time. He'd hardly seen her since the last day of school, and when he did, he played the role of supportive friend and confidant as Jo struggled to find her way now that she was no longer tethered to Challengers, but he had finally had enough.
"I'm sorry. You're right," Jo replied, surprisingly calmer now.
Mac put his greasy hands on her shoulders and bent his head to look in her eyes.
"Wanna tell me what's really been bothering you?" he asked softly.
"I don't want to do this," she mumbled, eyes falling to the cement floor of the garage.
"Do what?" Mac asked around the lump forming in his throat. What didn't she want to do? Be with him? He thought their relationship was finally on firm, if not well-defined, footing. Had he been fooled yet again?
"Teach," she whispered.
"But I thought you loved teaching?" Mac was bewildered. "At Challengers, you always seemed happiest when you were working with the kids."
"I mean be a regular classroom teacher," Jo clarified, glancing at him. "If you would have read my dossier you would have seen that before I worked at the correctional facility where I met Evelyn, I spent many years at a private tutoring agency. I've always had a sort of flexibility in my jobs allowing me to work one-on-one or with small groups of students. That's what I'm good at."
"Then why are you applying for jobs you don't want?"
"Because the type of position I want doesn't exist anymore. Times have changed. What else am I supposed to do?" she asked plaintively.
"Look, you said yourself that you were starting to burn out at Challengers. Why don't you take a break from the job search and relax for a while? Explore other options." Joanna's muscles, which had initially tensed at his touch, now loosened. "Besides, I've kinda missed having you around."
Jo let out a little laugh. "Don't go gettin' all mushy on me, Mac," she teased sarcastically.
"Me? Never!" he exclaimed before dropping a quick kiss on the tip of her nose and turning back to his car.
"Hey, you know the Fourth of July is coming up," MacGyver called as Joanna turned to leave. "How about we invite Pete and Connie to come up and have a cookout at my place?"
"That'd be great," Joanna agreed. "We should also invite Evelyn. They haven't seen each other since the wedding last year. What about Charlie?"
"What about him?" MacGyver mumbled, once again beneath the hood of the old car.
"Shouldn't we invite him, too? After all, he is your landlord and he shares your duplex."
"Charlie's out of town visiting his grandkids until Labor Day. Took almost a year for him to trust me to keep an eye on his place while he's gone," Mac snorted. "I've been in charge of top secret government projects, yet Charlie doesn't trust me to water his plants."
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Independence Day was sunny and warm as Joanna parked her Chevy in front of Mac's place. She had matched navy shorts with a red and white striped top in the spirit of the holiday. However, since Wisconsin weather could turn on a dime, she had also thrown a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt in the trunk. It was from a box in that trunk that she now hefted a large bowl of her mother's potato salad and another bowl of fresh fruit salad into her arms. She expected MacGyver to be waiting at the front door to help her, but he was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, she banged on the bottom of the door with the toe of her shoe.
"It's open, c'mon in!" Mac called from the living room.
"I can't!"
"What's the problem?" he moaned, heading to the door.
Joanna saw the moment the situation dawned in his eyes. "Sorry. Didn't realize you had your hands full," he apologized as he turned the knob to let her in.
Jo stopped short, taking in his khaki pants and tropical print shirt with a frown.
"What?" he asked, looking down at his outfit.
"You could have at least tried to dress for the occasion," Jo scolded.
Mac plucked at the offending material. "I'm sure there's red, white and blue in here somewhere."
Joanna huffed and ducked past him just as he leaned in to kiss her.
"Hey! Don't I get a kiss hello?"
"Not until you get the grocery bag and veggie tray from my car. And close the trunk."
"If you're gonna be like that, we might as well be married!" Mac complained to her retreating back.
Jo suppressed her laughter until she was sure MacGyver was out of earshot. She readily admitted she enjoyed giving him a hard time. And she knew he secretly liked it. There weren't many people she allowed herself to be this playful with and it felt good.
It wasn't long before Joanna heard familiar voices coming from the front yard. She hurried outside to meet their guests and was immediately embraced by Connie and then Pete. Evelyn stood at the edge of the small group, a large, African-American man by her side.
"Everyone, you all remember Leroy Jackson," the shorter woman said by way of introduction. To Joanna she whispered, "I hope you don't mind that I invited him."
"Is there something I should know?" Jo whispered back, but her question went unanswered.
"It's good to see you again, Leroy," Mac greeted the lawyer and shook his meaty hand. "How's the case going?"
Leroy let out a hefty sigh. "It's bogged down in the court system. Should have been over and done with by now, but with the vandalism committed here and ordered by Stern in Los Angeles it's taking a while for the states to cut through the red tape. By the way, did your friend from Phoenix ever contact you?"
Joanna threw a surprised look at MacGyver. No one had mentioned the Foundation since that whole debacle over winter break.
"Um, yeah," Mac replied quickly, refusing to meet Jo's gaze. "It's all good."
Stunned, Jo's mind raced about what Mac and Leroy could possibly be alluding to. The conversation quickly shifted and she had no choice but to follow it. However, she was going to have a talk with MacGyver before the day was over.
"So, rumor has it you've been resurrecting the Nomad," Pete said in the general direction of MacGyver.
"Yeah," he replied, his eyes twinkling like a kid at Christmas. "I've gotten pretty far. C'mon, she's in the garage. Pete, wait 'til you feel her! Smooth as a baby's bottom!"
As the men headed to check out the car, Joanna led the women into the duplex.
"Can I get you ladies something to drink before we go out on the patio?" Joanna asked politely.
"What do you have to offer?" Evelyn asked as she browsed through MacGyver's home.
Joanna stuck her head in the refrigerator. "We've got orange juice, carrot juice, apple juice, milk, and lemonade."
"Lemonade!" her two friends replied in unison.
Jo chuckled and poured three glass of lemonade before they made their way out back and settled into patio chairs surrounding an outdoor table. The afternoon passed quickly as the small group engaged in light-hearted conversation. It wasn't long until hamburgers, bratwursts, and Mac's veggie-burgers were grilled and consumed along with a pineapple refrigerator torte that had become Joanna's specialty. She and MacGyver were clearing the table when Leroy followed them inside, closing the patio door behind him. The couple looked at him questioningly as he motioned them to have a seat on the sofa as he sat across from them in a matching chair.
"What's goin' on, Leroy?" Mac asked, cutting right to the chase as Joanna shot a worried glance at her unattended guests still outside.
"Don't worry, Joanna, they know what this is about," Leroy answered her before she had a chance to voice her concern.
"Because of the case involving Challengers, I've been following the events at the school quite closely, with the help of Evelyn, of course," Leroy went on to explain. "I was very sorry to hear that the Academy was forced to close and cause you two to lose your jobs."
"Thanks, but we'll be fine," Mac assured the lawyer, refusing to accept anything sounding remotely like pity.
"I'm sure you will," Leroy agreed. "You are both young, intelligent, hardworking professionals. That is why I would like to extend a job offer to each of you to come work with my firm."
MacGyver turned to look at Joanna who met his eyes, raised an eyebrow and shrugged before they both turned back to the lawyer.
"What, exactly, did you have in mind?" Mac was now leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees.
Leroy smiled and settled back in his chair. "You each have very interesting and versatile skill sets so we can talk about the details during business hours. Basically, I was hoping that you, MacGyver, would assist with field investigations, witness protection, and other security details. Joanna, I would like you to come aboard as a sort of paralegal and research assistant. I'd like to take advantage of your strong analytical and writing skills. You two make a great team and I can see you working well together on cases, but please understand that these are individual offers. If either one of you is interested, call my office and we'll schedule a time to talk about this more in depth."
Joanna felt as if she had the air knocked out of her, but in a good way. How often did a job simply fall in one's lap? Of course there were things to consider. Did she want to forfeit any chance of teaching? And what about working with, or without, MacGyver? However, in her heart of hearts she knew she would take the position. Gainful employment was too hard to come by these days. She glanced at Mac, but his face was unreadable.
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"What do you mean you're not gonna stay for the fireworks? The night's still young!" MacGyver scolded his guests as they prepared to leave.
"Unfortunately we are not," Connie chided as she embraced him in a motherly hug. "Now you kids go have fun."
"Don't argue with her Mac," Pete advised. "You'll never win!" The two men chuckled and said their good-byes.
"Are you sure you can't stay?" Joanna asked Evelyn as they walked out the door arm in arm.
"I'm sure, dear," the red-headed woman replied. "You and MacGyver have been wonderful hosts, but you need some time to yourselves as well."
Mac put his arm around Joanna's shoulders as the two couples got in the car and drove off with a wave.
"I hope you're not going to bail on me, too," MacGyver leaned down and whispered, purposely allowing his breath to tickle Jo's ear.
"Of course not! I haven't watched fireworks in years."
"Why so long?" He turned and guided her back inside.
"It's no fun to watch them alone. At least that's what I've always thought," she replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Well you don't have to worry about that tonight," he promised. Or any other night if he had anything to say about it.
The July sun was sinking below the horizon in a fiery glow as MacGyver guided his Jeep along the narrow, two-lane country road.
"Where are we going again?" Joanna asked, breaking the silence that had accompanied them.
"Charlie showed me this hill. There's not a tree in sight and he said you can see fireworks from almost everywhere in the city."
"A place like that should be pretty crowded tonight," Jo observed.
"Not according to Charlie."
Mac finally slowed the Jeep and parked on the gravel shoulder of the deserted road, not a soul around.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Jo asked skeptically.
"I'm sure," MacGyver replied confidently as he stepped out of the Jeep and grabbed a blanket from the backseat.
He snatched Joanna's hand and led her to the spot his landlord had shown him before bending down to spread out the blanket. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair as he sat down.
"You gonna stand there all night?" he asked Jo who stood with her back to him.
"No," she replied, gingerly lowering herself beside him. "I was just admiring the view."
"Me too," he replied as he watched her, his voice huskier than he would have liked. Was that a blush or one last ray of sunlight kissing her cheek? He had forgotten the power a certain look or simple word held when shared with the right person.
"Mac, can I ask you something?"
"You know you can ask me anything."
She finally turned her gaze toward him and he saw a mixture of curiosity and fear in her eyes.
"What was Leroy talking about when he asked if you'd been contacted by Phoenix?"
MacGyver sighed and jammed his fingers through his hair. He knew it was only a matter of time before she questioned him about this.
"It was after we got back from Harry's cabin," he began. "The board wanted to 'make up' for all the trouble Stern had caused."
"How?"
"They offered me a job. Any job I wanted," he replied flatly.
"Wow," Joanna exhaled beside him. "And you turned them down? Even knowing you were going to be unemployed?"
"Of course!" Mac whipped his head around to look at her. "I cut ties with Phoenix long ago and for a lot of reasons. I belong here, now." With you. But he didn't say that last part out loud.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"To be honest, I didn't think it was a big deal at the time. We had just gotten done dealing with Murdoc and I wanted to get on with my life."
"But?"
"When I turned down the job offer, they still insisted on making restitution. They wired me a rather large sum of money and made sure I couldn't return it. Hush money, basically. Can't have me giving Phoenix a bad name," Mac sneered.
"The Nomad," Jo proclaimed with dawning clarity.
"I decided to use the money to restore the car. Harry would have wanted that."
"Why didn't you tell me this when I went off on you the other day?"
Mac scrubbed his face with his hands. "I guess I was ashamed. I really didn't want the money, but I still took it."
"You said yourself they gave you no choice. Besides, you deserve a whole lot more considering everything that happened."
"Then you're not mad at me?"
"No, not anymore," Jo moaned.
"And you hate that you can't stay mad at me, don't you?" he teased.
"More than you know," she replied with a mock frown.
Just then a single firework exploded above them signaling the start of the show. Mac reclined on the ground, pulling Jo down with him and together they watched the night sky come alive with color and sound.
"So, you gonna take the job?" MacGyver glanced sideways at Joanna as he guided the Jeep back home after the fireworks display.
"I don't know yet," she responded.
"C'mon, how can you turn down an offer like that?"
"What about you?" she countered. "Are you gonna take the job?"
Mac shrugged. "Maybe."
Joanna snorted and turned to look out the passenger side window. They drove in silence for several minutes.
"You still wanna teach. Is that it?" Mac asked.
"Actually, I've always kinda thought legal work would be interesting. I like gathering information and watching it all fall into place. Sort of like a puzzle, ya know?"
"Yeah. I know." MacGyver smiled because he knew the feeling all too well. "So, what's holding you back?"
Joanna was quiet for so long Mac feared she wasn't going to answer his question.
"You. Us." Her voice was soft and unsure. "I know Leroy isn't hiring us as a package deal, but he did say we could be working together."
"So? We did it before and it didn't turn out too badly."
"I know. But things are different now."
"Afraid you'll get tired of me?" Mac teased, trying to lighten the tension that had formed between them.
"Like that'll ever happen," Joanna mumbled, causing MacGyver to grin.
"Then I think you just made your decision," he declared.
"What about you?"
"We're a good team. If something works, I don't mess with it," he responded as he parked the Jeep in his driveway.
Joanna glanced toward her car, but MacGyver wasn't ready for the evening to end.
"Wanna come in?" Mac nodded toward his side of the house. "And don't say 'no' because I know you do."
Jo laughed and fell into step behind him as he headed to the front door. MacGyver turned the key in the lock, but he didn't hear the familiar click of the deadbolt sliding open. A tingle went up his spine as he remembered securing it earlier. He turned the knob and the door slowly inched open. Something was very wrong.
Mac turned to Joanna and pressed a different key into her hand.
"Go to Charlie's. Lock the door behind you and call the police. Do not move until I come for you," he commanded and to his relief Jo obeyed without question.
He proceeded to silently cross the threshold of his own apartment. He stood just inside the doorway and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Reaching out for the nearest weapon, he wrapped his hand around his favorite hockey stick. Man, he hoped it didn't end up broken. He took a few cautious steps forward and stopped when he heard a noise coming from the lofted bedroom. It sounded oddly familiar. A few seconds later it came again. Someone had sneezed. Mac knew that sneeze!
"Frank Colton, is that you?!" MacGyver called out.
"Oh, uh, hiya Mac!"
"What the heck are you doing here?" MacGyver asked as he replaced the hockey stick and switched on the lights to find the dapper, African-American man looking down at him over the railing.
"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd—" Frank sneezed again, unable to finish his reply.
Just then, Mac caught site of a hefty, white and tan, bowlegged bull dog lumbering down the spiral staircase.
"Frog!" he exclaimed, bending down to greet his canine friend with a hearty ear rub. "How've you been, baby? I've missed you!"
After being satisfactorily welcomed, Frog grunted and trundled off into the living room leaving Frank and MacGyver staring at each other. Sirens pealed in the distance. Oh no…Mac turned on his heel and ran next door to get Joanna. Just as he was leading her back to his side of the duplex, two squads skidded to a stop on the quiet street.
"Terrific," he muttered under his breath. He waited for the officers to approach him, Jo still at his side.
"Good evening, sir," the older officer said. "We received a call about a break in?"
"Um, yeah," Mac shoved his hands in the front pocket of his khakis. "I have to apologize for that. It was all a mistake."
"Friend of yours?" the younger policeman asked, looking over MacGyver's shoulder.
Frank was now standing in the doorway, Frog at his feet. "Yeah," Mac sighed. "He just got into town and wanted to surprise me. It worked," he added drily.
"You're sure there's no problem here?" It was the elder officer again.
"I'm sure. Sorry for the inconvenience."
The policemen nodded and headed back to their patrol car. MacGyver pinned Frank with a steely gaze.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Colton."
Just then Joanna let out a gasp. "He's adorable!" she exclaimed.
Frank puffed out his chest and straightened his tie. MacGyver's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"And who do we have here?" Frank crooned, reaching out to Joanna, who deftly side-stepped him before falling to her knees and taking Frog's face in her hands. She was immediately rewarded with slobbery doggie kisses.
Colton's face fell and MacGyver smirked as he watched Jo make fast friends with the pup.
"Joanna, meet Frog. And his human, Frank Colton."
After giving the dog one final pat, Joanna stood up and greeted Frank.
"How about we take this inside," Mac suggested as he herded his friends back into his apartment.
"How did you find me, Colton?" MacGyver demanded, closing the door firmly behind him.
"I'm a bounty hunter and a private investigator. It's what I do."
"And what about breaking and entering? You do that, too?" Mac challenged.
"If the situation warrants," his friend replied with a shrug.
"What are ya doin' here, Frank?" MacGyver asked as he leaned against the kitchen counter, defeat in his voice.
"I have some business to take care of in Chi-Town and thought I'd drop by."
"Oh, really?" Mac asked suspiciously. "I don't suppose you need my help with this 'business' of yours?"
"Of course not!" Frank replied, obviously offended by the suggestion. "But I do have a favor to ask of you."
"What do you need?"
"It's about Frog," Frank whispered.
"What about Frog?" Mac whispered back, unsure of why they had lowered their voices.
"Why are you guys whispering?" Joanna broke in as if reading his thoughts.
Frank sighed. "Frog is a very sensitive dog. I don't want him to hear this."
"Hear what?" MacGyver asked, keeping his voice low but no longer whispering.
"He's getting old, Mac. He can't keep up with us on cases and Mama's gettin' frustrated with him under foot all the time. I was thinking, now that you've settled down, you could—"
"No way, Frank. I'm not taking Frog!"
"C'mon Mac! He likes you and I know you like him. I don't want to hand him off to some stranger."
"But I'll be starting a new job that'll keep me away all day. It wouldn't be fair to Frog."
"What about Charlie?" Joanna asked MacGyver. "Couldn't he look after Frog if you get tied up at work? And I'd love to help, too. He's such a sweetheart! How can you say no?"
Mac looked into her liquid brown eyes, his resolve wavering. Then Frog came waddling into the kitchen and plopped down next to his foot, drool pooling on his shoe. It was all over.
"All right," MacGyver sighed. "Frog can live with me."
