Grand Opening (aka: Mac's Birthday)

MacGyver recovered rapidly once his fever broke. Against Joanna's protests, he went into work Monday morning to hand in his resignation and finish up his assigned work. Throughout the week, he was plagued with anxiety about the date of Challengers grand opening. Was it just a coincidence that it was scheduled on his birthday? Both Jack and Pete knew when his birthday was, and they both knew how he felt about celebrating it, especially publicly, but he couldn't recall ever telling Joanna. Not that it was some big secret, it had just never come up. He made sure to keep a keen eye on his friends to detect any changes in behavior or attitude, especially around him, that might tip him off that they were planning something but found none. Either they were really good actors, or he was losing his edge, or it really was just a coincidence. Oddly enough, that last thought came with a pang of disappointment which he quickly quelled.

Sunday morning MacGyver pulled the Nomad into the Challengers parking lot to find Joanna's Chevy and his Jeep already there along with a handful of cars he didn't recognize. He smiled when he spotted a nondescript sedan with Illinois plates. Pete and Connie had driven up for the big day. He walked into the center to find it humming with activity. Cynthia looked up and greeted him from the registration table where she was giving last minute instructions to Rosie Garcia and her son, Raul.

"Look, MacGyver!" the young teen said, holding a piece of paper in front of Mac's face so close that it tickled his nose, "I'm your first official member!"

"All right!" Mac exclaimed, giving Raul a high five before walking further into the room.

The large recreation area was decorated with colorful balloons and crepe paper streamers. Jack appeared to be in charge of a group of adults and children who were hanging hand-painted banners encouraging kids to stay in school and away from drugs, gangs, and violence. Pete sat on a worn couch next to a young Hispanic girl who was jabbering away. Apparently he found her amusing if his wide grin was any indication. At the far end of the room, Connie and Joanna fussed over the refreshment table which included a big bowl of punch and a large sheet cake.

"Wow! Things are really coming together," Mac observed as he approached the two women. He nonchalantly glanced at the writing on the cake which simply said 'Welcome to Challengers'. He frowned, but then again, what had he been expecting? He certainly didn't want it to say 'Happy Birthday, Mac!'

"Mac?" Joanna's voice cut through his thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a little overwhelmed, I guess."

Joanna smiled at him warmly as their gazes locked. All thoughts of his birthday fled.

"You can thank Jack and Cynthia for that," she told him. "They made up informational flyers promoting the club and asking for volunteers and posted them all over the neighborhood. Apparently the community was thirsting for a place like this."

The doors opened to the public at noon, and the following hours whizzed by for MacGyver. A steady stream of people came and went. Most were simply curious while others, like some former Challengers Academy students, were eager to register. Still others came for the free food. Mac spent the afternoon shaking hands and speaking with the visitors, engaging in friendly games of pool and air hockey, and evening demonstrating some of the exercise equipment that was available. It wasn't until early evening, after the final guests left and he locked the door behind them, that he noticed Joanna was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, she went home with a headache a while ago," Connie informed him when asked about Jo's whereabouts.

"Why didn't she tell me?" he muttered.

Connie smiled brightly. "She probably didn't want to worry you and spoil the big day."

"Yeah, sure," he replied softly.

"And I'm afraid it's time for Pete and me to head home as well," Connie continued. "I'd like to stay and help clean up, but Sunday traffic can be so insufferable."

"Don't worry about it. I can take it from here," he assured her as he hugged her goodbye. "You just drive safe, okay?"

Mac then turned to Pete who now stood next to his wife. He reached out and shook his friend's hand before the two embraced.

"Congratulations, Mac," Pete said. "If the decibel level in the place this afternoon was any indication, Challengers is sure to be an absolute success!"

After the Thornton's left, MacGyver rolled up the sleeves of his sweater and began collecting paper plates, cups, and other trash that had been strewn about. He was just about to take the garbage container out to the dumpster when Cynthia appeared at his side, placing a gentle hand on his forearm.

"Why don't you go on home," she suggested. "Jack and I can take care of this."

Mac glanced across the room to where his friend was dismantling the decorations and felt a twinge of guilt.

"Naw, you guys did all the set up earlier, the least I can do is stick around and help clean up," Mac protested.

"Look," Cynthia continued, "Tomorrow is your first official day as director of the Challengers Club. Go home and relax while you still can."

"I'd do what she says," Jack called from where he was sweeping up streamers. "Run like the wind before she changes her mind!"

MacGyver knew when he was beat. "All right, I'll go home. But promise you won't stay too late. I can take care of what's left in the morning."

"It's a deal," she said with a smile. "And don't worry, Jack will bring me back to your place when we're done."

Mac thanked his friends one last time before heading out into the night. As he pulled the Nomad into his driveway, he reached up to press the garage door remote control he kept on the visor, but it wasn't there. He put the car in "Park" and let the engine idle as he ran his hand over the seat, the floor, and under the seat with no luck. With a suppressed groan he turned off the ignition and headed to the townhouse. He'd look again tomorrow. As he unlocked his front door he noticed a warm glow coming from the corner of his living room. Had he turned on a lamp before he left? Or did he forget to turn it off? Good grief, he knew he was getting older, but was he also getting senile? Wasn't he still too young for that? The door swung open and he crossed the threshold to find Joanna sitting at his kitchen table, smiling coyly, his Team USA hockey jersey hanging loosely on her frame. Did she have any idea how incredibly attractive she was to him when she wore his clothes? Tired, stunned, and confused at the sight before him, he struggled to find an appropriate greeting.

"I thought you had a headache?" he blurted out before squeezing his eyes shut at the blunt greeting.

She laughed lightly, almost playfully. "That was just an excuse so I could sneak out of the party early."

"Where's your car?" he asked, before mentally whacking himself upside the head for this stupid line of questioning.

"In the garage."

His face must have gone as blank as his mind because she kept talking.

"Earlier today Jack gave me the door remote from the Jeep and then took the one out of the Nomad so I could surprise you," she explained as she stood up and slowly walked towards him.

MacGyver swallowed hard, his eyes glued on the woman now standing in front of him. Was she trying to seduce him? But they had talked about this and had an agreement. Joanna may be a lot of things, but she wasn't a tease. Belatedly he saw the frown on her face.

"I hope you don't mind that I'm wearing this," she said uncertainly, taking a step back and plucking at the silky fabric. "I spilled some punch on my sweater earlier and wanted to rinse it out as soon as possible."

It was then that he noticed she still wore her jeans and loafers from the grand opening and he suddenly became aware of Frog snoring from underneath the coffee table, the scent of chocolate permeating the air, and a scrumptious looking dessert sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked with a grin as his good senses returned.

Joanna grinned back. "If you think it's my famous chocolate-hazelnut cake, then yes it is." She then set to work fetching plates, forks, and glasses of milk.

"What's the occasion?" he asked.

"As if you don't know," she replied in a give-me-a-break tone of voice as she cut a piece of cake and set it in front of him.

"How did you find out?"

"Jack told me," she shrugged. "So how did you like your present?"

"It's delicious," he mumbled around a mouthful of cake.

"I meant the present at Challengers."

"What present?" He was definitely getting senile.

"Exactly!" she exclaimed. "Jack wanted to use the grand opening as a cover for a surprise party, but Pete managed to talk him out of it."

"So let me get this straight. My birthday present was to not have a party?"

Joanna nodded. "Unless you count this," she nodded toward their plates. "I hope you don't mind."

The concerned look on her face just about broke his heart.

"I think this is just about the best birthday I've ever had," he assured her. "By the way, did I ever tell you about the time Pete threw a surprise party for me at Phoenix?"

Having just taken a big bite of cake, Jo simply shook her head.

Mac took a long swig of milk before settling into his story. "I'd been working with Pete for about seven years or so. I had just gotten back from a mission and the only reason I even survived it was just dumb luck. Jack disguised himself and 'kidnapped' me from my apartment. I was so jetlagged I didn't even bother fighting back. Of course, we ended up at Phoenix where all my friends and co-workers were waiting to surprise me. I think the funniest part of the whole night was seeing Pete in a party hat."

Joanna giggled at that as she got up and cleared away their dishes and together they headed for the couch. Mac plopped down wearily, pulling Jo down next to him and putting his arms around her loosely before he continued.

"So then, instead of presents, everyone started telling stories about how I had helped them or rescued them. Even people who couldn't be there had sent mementoes to remind me of them and how we had met." Here he stopped and gazed blankly across the room. "Then I asked Pete to draw up resignation papers for me," he said flatly.

"What?!" Joanna slipped out of his grasp and turned towards him, her eyes wide, her jaw slack. The sight would have normally made Mac chuckle, but tonight he was too caught up in his memories.

"I had had it, Jo," he started to explain. "Every person in that room reminded me of a time I had gotten shot at, blown up, kidnapped…I just wanted to be done with it. To go home to Minnesota and lead a normal life. Maybe get married and have a kid."

"What made you change your mind?" she asked softly, her brown eyes full of sympathy.

Mac sighed. "I realized that it was all those crazy, dangerous assignments that had brought these people into my life, and I would've missed out on a lot of love and friendship if I hadn't been there to help them out. I didn't want that to end."

"Well I, for one, am glad you decided to stay," Jo replied with a playful grin.

"And why is that?" he smiled back.

"Because if you had resigned back then, I never would have met you."

"Hmmm, and that would have been the worst tragedy of all," Mac mused as he leaned in close, intending to kiss her for all he was worth. Unfortunately, as with so many of his best laid plans from over the years, he had to quickly abort the idea as Cynthia came walking through the front door.

"Oh, I didn't mean to intrude," she apologized. "It's just that we got everything cleaned up and…"

"Don't worry about it," Mac admonished as he quickly got to his feet and gave his friend a hug. "It's our fault. I guess we lost track of the time."

"Yeah," Joanna agreed, also rising. "I should really be going anyway. I'm sure my sweater's dry by now."

"Actually, I'm glad you're both here. There's something I'd like to discuss with you," Cynthia said, suddenly seeming nervous and unsure of herself.

"What's going on, Cynthia?" MacGyver asked once all three of them were seated at his kitchen table.

Cynthia reached out and put her small, soft hand over Mac's larger one. "First of all, I want you to know what a wonderful time I've had helping get Challengers off the ground. Rattling around that old, empty house in Los Angeles made me forget how much I enjoy sinking my teeth into a project and feeling that my actions are making a difference. I've felt so lonely and useless lately, and it felt so good to be needed again."

"Well, I sure couldn't have done all this without you," Mac confided.

"That brings me to my second point," Cynthia continued with more confidence. "I'd really like to stay and be a part of Challengers. Permanently."

MacGyver opened his mouth to respond, but his friend cut him off.

"I know money's tight right now, but I have some saved up. Jack has been helping me apartment hunt in our spare time and I found a furnished efficiency that would suit me just fine. Do you think you could find a way to keep me on?"

Instead of answering the question, Mac turned to Joanna. "Could you please cut this lady a piece of birthday cake," he instructed in his most serious tone. "She's gonna need all the strength she can get if she's going to be the co-director of Challengers Club!"

A/N: I really do make a chocolate-hazelnut cake (also known as Nutella Cake) and it's naturally gluten free! Please PM me if you want the recipe!