Everyone But Him

MacGyver scrambled down the spiral staircase, grabbed an apple from the bowl on the kitchen counter and his keys from the hook on the wall. He had overslept and was late for work. He couldn't believe it. He never overslept. He opened the front door and almost barreled over his mail carrier.

"Hey Gertie, what's up?" he greeted her quickly.

"I'm glad I caught you. I have a package here you need to sign for."

Mac's eyebrows knitted together in a questioning frown as he scribbled his name and took the rather small box. It was heavier than it looked. He planned to leave it on the counter and open it when he got home, but then he glanced at the return address. It was from Neil Ryder, his boyhood friend in Mission City. What on earth would Neil send him, especially without calling to give him a heads up? No longer concerned about arriving late to Challengers, MacGyver grabbed his Swiss Army knife from his pocket and sliced through the packing tape. Opening the flaps of the cardboard box, he spotted a white envelope with his name on it. Taking it to the couch he sat down to read it.

Mac:

A construction crew is renovating the nursing home that used to be your old house. One of the workers found this behind a wall and I figured you'd want it. Wish I could have delivered it in person.

Neil

MacGyver now looked down at the wooden box on his lap, his mother's name ornately carved into the top. A sudden wave of memories knocked Mac's breath from his lungs. His mother used to call this her 'treasure chest'. He remembered her tucking away handmade birthday cards he had given her and the silver 'necklace' he had created out of paperclips and duct tape. She had said it was too special to keep in her regular jewelry box. He took a deep breath and gingerly opened the hinged top. Sure enough, there was her 'necklace' along with greeting cards made from colorful construction paper and decorated with crayon pictures and the lettering of a young boy. Of him. Digging a bit deeper, he came upon a stack of his grade school report cards secured with a rubber band. He chuckled to himself and tossed the packet onto the coffee table. He would look at those later. At the bottom of the box lay another envelope. This one was yellowed with age and had his name...his whole name...written on the outside. His hands stilled and his eyes became misty as he immediately recognized his mother's flowing script. He opened the envelope and as he removed the single piece of paper, two thin gold bands, one with a small diamond in the center and both in desperate need of polishing, fell out and into the box. Mac quickly unfolded the letter and began to read:

My Dearest Angus,

If you are reading this letter, I am no longer of this earth. But please do not grieve for me as I am finally reunited with your dear father which is something I have longed for these many years past.

By now a pair of rings have probably fallen out of the envelope. They were your Grandma Cecilia's engagement and wedding rings. After her funeral, Harry gifted them to me and I thought it only right to pass them down to you, my beloved only child. It is my greatest hope that you will find a woman in your life to wear these, but perhaps that is just the wishful thinking of an old lady. As I write this, you are far away, still full of wanderlust. Besides, girls of your generation are sure to want something flashy and expensive. Therefore, do what you will with this token of your grandfather's love toward your grandmother.

The good Lord alone knows when and where this message will find you my adventurous son, but know that wherever you go and whatever you do, you take my love with you.

Until we meet again,

Mom

P.S. Always remember: "Ice Cream!"

MacGyver closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose to keep threatening tears at bay as he took deep breaths to calm the inner swell of emotion. He knew exactly who would wear these rings and she would cherish them just as his mother wished. The bigger question was when would he finally put old fears aside and do what he had been wanting to do for so long now? Was the arrival of this gift at this time just an ironic coincidence, or was there a greater message behind it? Mac tenderly fingered the gold bands before returning them to the envelope along with his mother's parting words to him.

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"I'm gonna kill him," Joanna grunted as she pushed an overstuffed chair against the wall so she could scrub the floor beneath it. "He asked me to come in extra early on a Saturday morning to help get the place in shape for the six month grant review next week and he's a no-show!"

"Something probably came up," Cynthia shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I guess," Jo reluctantly agreed. "But it's not like him not to call and let us know." She knew all too well that MacGyver took his job and commitments seriously. Sometimes a little too seriously. "I hope he's okay."

Cynthia chuckled. "A minute ago you were ready to kill him. Now you're concerned about his welfare?"

"When I find out he's all right, then I'm gonna kill him," Jo replied, a smile tugging at her lips. Just then the telephone rang.

"That's probably him now," Cynthia said with obvious relief. Joanna let her colleague take the call as she picked up her mop again.

"That was the bookstore," Cynthia announced a few minutes later. "The novels you ordered are in and ready to be picked up."

"Finally! I want to get them all out on display for when Pete and the board members from Phoenix get here. Mind if I go get them?"

"Why don't you call MacGyver and have him pick them up on his way in?"

"But then I wouldn't have an excuse to take a break from cleaning," Joanna smirked as she propped the mop up against the wall and grabbed her purse, her car keys already jingling. "I'll be right back."

"Take your time. I'll hold off the dust bunnies!"

Jo pushed through the main doors and out into the mid-September sunshine. She took a deep breath of the unseasonably warm air before getting into her car. Given the nice weather and light weekend traffic, she decided to take the scenic route. She had started her part time teaching job at Lincoln High School a couple weeks ago and, though she enjoyed it immensely, between that and her duties at Challengers she had precious little time to enjoy the waning days of summer. She was accelerating away from a stop sign when a rabbit darted out into the narrow road, freezing a few yards in front of her. Knowing she could never stop in time to avoid hitting the frightened animal, she jerked the steering wheel to the right before stomping down on the brake pedal. Unfortunately, her tires caught in the gravel on the side of the road, sending the car skidding head first into a large tree. Joanna felt the sting of her seatbelt against her neck before it suddenly released. The last thing she remembered was her forehead hitting the steering wheel before everything went black.

XXXXX

Joanna sat up in her hospital bed, her mother in a chair next to her, their hands joined. Her father stood staring out the window. Given his aversion to hospitals, his presence in the small emergency room bay was a testament to the scare she had given her parents. They were currently waiting for the results of her CT scan. She had been unconscious during her rescue and ambulance ride to the ER, but the doctor on-call had told her that a passerby had witnessed her accident and called 911. She drifted in and out of consciousness while various medical personnel tended to the cut on her forehead and bruises on her neck and collarbone before she was whisked away to radiology. It was only after her return from the scan, when she was finally fully awake and had satisfactorily answered questions to test her memory, that her parents were allowed to join her.

"I couldn't find Mac's phone number, but I called Cynthia at Challengers," Judy Fairfax said, breaking the silence. "She promised to tell him about your accident as soon as he gets in."

"Thanks," Jo responded before a handsome man in a white lab coat asked permission to enter.

"Hello Ms. Fairfax. I'm Dr. Chandler, the on-call neurologist."

Joanna smiled at him as her heart pounded faster. The rate increase having nothing to do with the pain in her head but with the handsome physician in front of her. His dark brown hair was cut short and neatly styled while his blue eyes seemed to twinkle of their own accord. She could tell he was fit, even with the lab coat draping his tall frame. Her eyes automatically strayed to his hands which held a metal clipboard. No wedding ring. Yes! When she looked up again it was to find him watching her with a knowing smile that made her blush. Finding her voice, she introduced him to her parents.

"I have the results of your CT scan and I must say you are a very lucky lady." He moved closer the end of her bed. "Aside from the cut on your forehead and the contusions from the seatbelt, you only have a very mild concussion. Now that we know you have no further injuries I'm prescribing something for your headache."

She heard her mother breathe a sigh of relief. "When can we take her home?"

"Normally I'd say as soon as she feels up to it, but given the length of time she was unconscious I'd like to keep her here the rest of the day for observation. If everything checks out she'll be home before bedtime." Then he turned his attention to Joanna. "Of course, she'll have to promise to follow all my instructions and take it easy for the next few days," he said with a wink that caused her stomach to flutter.

"What about work? Mac needs me?"

"Who's Mac?"

"My boss." Joanna thought she glimpsed a look of surprise on her mother's face but she was too focused on her own concerns to question it.

"Well, he'll just have to be patient. I don't want you trying to resume all your normal activities at once."

As if their conversation had conjured him, she looked to find MacGyver standing in the doorway. His shaggy, dark-blonde hair, brown, beady eyes and oddly shaped lips a stark, and unwelcome, contrast to the attractive doctor.

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MacGyver stood in the doorway to the emergency room bay that housed Joanna and her family. She was sitting up in bed, listening to something the doctor was saying, a white gauze dressing peeking out from beneath her bangs the only obvious indication she had been in a car wreck. Since Cynthia had given him the news he felt as if a steel band was wrapped around his chest, his worry so intense his heart physically hurt. Having imagined the worst, he went weak with relief at the scene before him. Her clear, sharp gaze finding him was his undoing.

"Oh baby, I'm so glad you're alright," he said huskily as he strode to her bedside and embraced her gently, pulling away when her muscles stiffened.

"Do you hug and call all your employees 'baby'?" she asked, almost accusingly.

He figured she must be teasing, which released even more of his tension.

"Only the special ones," he replied softly before reaching for her again. This time her body became even more rigid if that was possible. Confused, he straightened and took a step back sending a questioning glance toward Judy, but the older woman only shrugged.

"Care to introduce us, Ms. Fairfax?" Dr. Chandler asked cheerily, apparently trying to cover the awkward silence that had descended upon the room.

"I'm sorry. Dr. Chandler, this is my boss, Mr. MacGyver. But everyone just calls him 'Mac'. None of us know his first name."

At her declaration MacGyver's blood ran cold. She didn't remember his first name. Worse, she didn't seem to remember not remembering!

"Could I speak with you in the hall, doctor?" he asked, ignoring the look on Joanna's face which was a mixture of concern, surprise...and fear.

"What's wrong with her?" Mac asked, frustrated and more than a little anxious.

The doctor hesitated.

"Look, you can get permission from her mother to tell me how she is if you need to."

The doctor sighed. "There's actually nothing to tell. Except for a bump on the head she's fine. Given a couple day's rest she'll be good as new."

"But she's not fine!" Mac exclaimed, loud enough to garner quelling looks from the nursing staff. He continued in a lower tone, "She doesn't remember me!"

"She seems to know exactly who you are, Mr. MacGyver."

"It's not like that. Joanna's not my employee, she's my business partner. We're close friends.. Very close. And she most definitely knows my first name. Yet she's acting as if we're practically strangers!"

The doctor hugged the clipboard he was holding to his chest and lowered his head, mulling over this new information.

"I don't know what to tell you. She passed all our memory tests, both short and long term, with flying colors. And she does remember you to some extent." Here Dr. Chandler paused for what felt like an eternity. "I suppose, if she doesn't object, I could ask her more questions. Dig a little deeper, so to speak."

"Thank you," Mac let out the breath he'd been holding. "Can we do it now?"

The doctor smiled. "No time like the present!"

Together MacGyver and the doctor reentered Joanna's room.

"Ms. Fairfax, would you mind if I asked you some more questions about people who have come into your life within the past few years?"

"No, not at all," Jo answered the doctor, a little too warmly for Mac's peace of mind.

Over the next thirty minutes MacGyver's heart broke piece by piece as he listened to Joanna describe her relationships with Pete, Connie, Cynthia, Sam, the kids at Challengers, her co-workers at the high school, and even Penny and Jack with love and affection. Only when she spoke of him were her answers vague, emotionless, and annoyingly polite. Even Frog garnered more regard than he did.

"Well doctor, did I pass?" she asked once the inquiries ended, smiling coyly. Mac's stomach dipped. Was she flirting with her doctor?

"You did just fine," Dr. Chandler assured her. "Now it's time for us to leave so you can get some rest if you want to go home later."

As MacGyver followed the neurologist and Jo's parents out the door, he heard her gently call his name. His breath caught. Had this past half hour jogged her memory? He quickly returned to her bedside.

"I just wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier," she said softly, her gaze lowered. "I know how much you care about everyone and I appreciate your concern."

Mac swallowed around the lump in his throat but remained silent. Her words had been so formal. So professional.

"Could you do me a favor?" she asked shyly.

"Anything."

"Could you go to the bookstore and pick up the novels I ordered for the club? I want to get them up on display before Pete and the Phoenix review board arrive."

"You got it," he promised. "Now try and get some rest."

His heart heavy, he stepped out into the hallway and joined Mr. and Mrs. Fairfax who were already deep in conversation with Jo's doctor.

"What did I miss?" MacGyver asked.

Doctor Chandler turned to him. "I was just explaining that Ms. Fairfax appears to be experiencing a case of dissociative amnesia, though I've never seen it this specific before. She remembers you and experiences with you, but she cannot recall her true feelings for you. It mostly happens when the victim has experienced emotional trauma. They use their amnesia as a defense mechanism when something is too painful to deal with. However, according to her mother, you two have had a very positive, loving relationship. To be honest, I really can't explain it."

"So what do we do about it?" Mac asked, his mind spinning with this new information.

"I don't believe there's much we can do," the doctor sighed. "The mind is a funny thing and there's still much we don't know about it."

"Yeah. I've heard that before," MacGyver muttered.

"There's a very strong chance all her memories will return on their own after she's recovered from the shock of the accident. The best thing is not to pressure her to remember. Let it come naturally. I want to see her in a week for another CT scan, just to make sure we didn't miss anything. If her memory of you still hasn't returned, we'll discuss further options."

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MacGyver sank down on his couch Tuesday evening, head in his hands. He wasn't sure which was worse: Not seeing Joanna at all, or seeing her at Challengers every day, interacting normally with everyone but him. As the doctor had predicted, Jo had returned home late Saturday evening. According to her mother, she spent Sunday resting and returned to her teaching job Monday morning but chose to skip her shift at Challengers. He couldn't blame her. Recovering from a head injury, no matter how minor, was always more physically challenging than one would expect. And he ought to know.

Today, she had arrived at Challengers just after lunch to make sure everything was in order for Phoenix's visit tomorrow. He had teased her when he caught her rearranging the novels he had put out on display, but instead of a usual sassy retort, she sheepishly apologized and he quickly backpedaled to assure her that she had done a much better job than him. Later, he watched as she chatted with Cynthia as if they had known each other forever, patiently helped Suzy and Davey with their homework as always, and played a round of eight-ball with Raul and laughed heartily when he beat her. She even made a point of giving Frog some attention and slipped him treats when she thought Mac wasn't watching. It was only when MacGyver was near that she reined in her enthusiasm, allowing a mask of professionalism and indifference to fall. He knew the doctor had said not to pressure her to remember, but surely a little nudging couldn't hurt. After the grant review tomorrow, Mac would begin 'Operation Joanna'. At best, her feelings for him would return. At worst, he would simply have to get her to fall in love with him all over again.

Pete and a small entourage of Phoenix board members arrived at Challengers on Wednesday afternoon. Once introductions and greetings had been exchanged, a couple of the men sequestered themselves with Cynthia in her office to take a thorough look at the ledgers while others fanned out to inspect the recreation room and dormitory. The remaining men struck up casual conversations with some of the club members and volunteers, including Joanna. Her wide smile and hand gestures told MacGyver she was enthusiastically regaling the men with positive stories of Challengers and the community it served.

Once the evaluation was underway, Mac guided Pete to his office, helping his friend into a chair before taking a seat himself.

"So how's Joanna doing?" Pete asked, concerned etched on his face.

"The same," Mac sighed.

Pete was silent for a moment before responding. "Well, it hasn't even been a week since the accident. These things take time."

"I know, but it's just so...so…"

"Scary?"

"Yeah."

The older man began to smile. "I'll never forget that time you lost your memory and the bad guys convinced you that I was the bad guy. You even held a gun on me. Yet somewhere, deep down, you knew the truth."

"And you helped me find that truth. Even as I was about to shoot you."

"I guess it's your turn to do the same for Joanna."

"I'm already on it, Pete."

"I figured," he snorted.

XXXXX

"Well, that seemed to have gone well," Cynthia stated as she, Joanna, and MacGyver gathered in her office that evening.

"When will we know if our grant gets renewed?" Jo asked, more to Cynthia than Mac.

"Pete said it'll take a couple of weeks," MacGyver replied. "He told me we have nothing to worry about."

"I've heard that before," Cynthia sniffed sarcastically.

"Pete wouldn't lie to us," Joanna declared. "We need to think positive."

A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Excuse me," Rosie Garcia poked her head in. "All the kids have gone home for the night. Do you mind if I leave a bit early?"

"Not at all," Cynthia replied. "In fact, that sounds like a really good idea. It's been a stressful day for all of us." She gathered her purse and headed out, MacGyver and Joanna behind her. It was now or never for Mac.

"Hey Jo, hold up a sec!"

Joanna stopped and turned, but didn't say anything.

"I'm still kinda wound up from today. How about a game or two of air hockey before going home?"

A smile tugged at her lips and a fraction of Mac's anxiety dissipated.

"We haven't played that in a while, have we?"

"Nope."

"I'm still pretty bad at it."

"I'll take my chances," he replied. "How about we have a pizza delivered?"

"Sure," she agreed. "Just make my half of it normal," she said, wrinkling her nose.

Mac's heart skipped a beat. At last, a glimpse of 'his' Joanna! "You got it," he smiled.

And so it began. Air hockey games, pizza, and even a trip to the ice rink. Just like the old days. Joanna began to visibly relax around him and laugh and talk with him. His plan was working.

They didn't see each other on Saturday due to Joanna's follow-up CT scan. When he didn't see her at Challengers on Sunday he began to worry. Surely if the scan had shown something her mother would have called. Perhaps Jo just needed to rest. She had been pushing herself at the end of the week what with teaching, Challengers, and spending time with him. Had he pushed her too hard? After a late supper of yogurt and a banana he sat on the couch, staring at the box Neil had sent him sitting on the coffee table. He slowly opened it and took out his grandmother's rings, stroking the smooth gold and twisting them around the tip of his finger. Would these bands ever find the destination he had planned? Though more at ease in his presence, Joanna was nowhere near giving him her heart...or remembering that he already had it. And it was all his fault. If only he hadn't overslept that day, or not taken the time to open the mysterious package. If only he had gotten to Challengers before she left for the bookstore. He could've run that simple errand and life would have went on as usual. He read his mother's letter again, focusing on the last two words. Ice cream. How did she know he needed those words now, and would everything really be okay?

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Joanna pulled her parent's car up in front of MacGyver's townhouse late Sunday evening. After the accident, her beloved Chevy had been taken to the body shop, damaged but not beyond repair. She glanced at her watch and sighed as giant butterflies flitted in her stomach. Actually, it felt more like dinosaurs stomping around her midsection. What in the world made her think that coming to Mac's house and asking to speak alone with him was a good idea. She thought back to the days since her crash. Everyone and everything was just as it always was, except when he was around. She felt a tension between them that she wasn't sure had existed before, and every time she looked in his eyes she saw a flicker of pain. Then, today, she had found a crumpled up hockey jersey buried in her dresser drawer. Something wasn't right and she knew MacGyver was the only one who could provide the answers she sought.

She knocked on his front door and waited impatiently for him to answer. Perhaps he had gone to bed early. She was just about to leave, or more accurately, run away, when she saw him approach through the glass door.

"Hey!" he greeted her, his surprise obvious.

"Hey," she echoed back, forcing a smile. "I hope I'm not bothering you."

"You are never a bother. Please, come in."

Joanna slipped through the doorway as he stepped aside and led her to the couch where he sat down next to her. Close, but not too close, and she couldn't decide if she liked it or not.

"I was hoping to see you at Challengers today. How did your CT scan go?"

"It went fine. At least that's what they told me," she replied, hesitant to make eye contact.

"That's a good thing, right?"

"I guess," she shrugged, nibbling her lower lip and debating how to continue. "The thing is, I don't always feel 'fine', especially when I'm around you."

She heard his quick intake of breath and took a breath of her own. She had no choice now but to plow ahead, no matter how awkward this conversation became. She just hoped she wouldn't lose her job at Challengers over it.

"I feel like I'm missing something. That I've forgotten something. Something important. I remember working with you and spending time with you and your friends, but I don't remember how I felt when we were together and I know it probably sounds really weird and I'm probably making a fool out of myself but I can't shake the feeling that we're more than just casual friends. Then today I found this."

She pulled the rumpled up jersey from her oversized purse and held it out so the name placard faced him. She didn't need to see it again. The words had been seared into her mind...and her heart. 'Mac's Girl'.

MacGyver took the jersey from her, holding it almost reverently in his hands and blew out a sigh.

"You're not making a fool out of yourself and you're right, we are more than just friends," he assured her. "In fact, last Christmas I tried to propose to you but it didn't work out exactly as planned."

"That's when Jack had his accident and you went out to L.A. to be with him."

"You remember Jack's plane crash but you don't remember me proposing?"

She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?!" She motioned to the jersey he still held. "Or about you?! Why didn't you say anything?!"

Mac gingerly reached out and she allowed him to caress her cheek with the back of his firm, solid fingers.

"I wanted to, baby. I wanted to tell you so many times, but the doctor said it would be better if you discovered your feelings on your own."

"Do you love me?" she asked, feeling her face turn red at such a direct and intimate question.

"Yeah. I do," he responded softly, his eyes meeting hers with a shared sadness.

"And do I love you?"

"Yeah," he answered in a husky whisper.

"Then help me remember, Mac. Please help me," she pleaded as tears rolled down her cheeks and he moved close to envelope her in a comforting embrace that she could never in a million years imagine she could forget.

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That week, MacGyver made a point of spending as much time with Joanna as possible, and she did the same. They were practically inseparable from the time she arrived at Challengers until they left, often grabbing take-out on the way to his place where they would spend the evenings watching old Westerns, video-taped hockey games, or simply talking until the moon was high in the sky. It became harder and harder for Mac to watch her leave, and she must have felt the same as her steps became slower, their goodbyes longer. Her humor and friendship soon shone through and MacGyver could tell she was learning to trust him once again. But she wasn't progressing as quickly as he would have liked. She still found silence between them uncomfortable and shied away whenever he leaned in to kiss her, even if he only meant to give her a peck on the cheek or forehead. However, he was grateful for each step, no matter how small, and would do whatever it took and wait however long he needed to in order for her to rediscover her love for him.

Friday was a busy day at Challengers right from the start as the schools were closed for a teacher in-service day and all the kids had off, many with nowhere else to go. Thankfully the volunteers stepped up to make sure the club was fully staffed, but that left MacGyver with little to do. Joanna had told him she would probably spend most of the day at school so he didn't even have her presence to look forward to. He must have looked as pitiful as he felt because at noon Cynthia came to him with a white paper bag from the corner deli.

"A turkey club for her and a bunch of veggies on bread for you," she said, holding out her offering.

"But she said she probably wouldn't be in today."

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "Just because she doesn't come here doesn't mean you can't go there. Even teachers have to eat, you know!"

It suddenly occurred to Mac that he had yet to set foot in Joanna's classroom though school had been in session for about a month. If what she told him the night before was correct, the mandatory morning meetings would be finished by now and she'd be catching up on work. Not wanting to go the entire day without seeing her and risk losing any of the progress they had made, he quickly headed over toward the high school.

With the principal's assistance, he soon found Jo's room and leaned lazily against the door jamb. She was standing on the top step of a short ladder, her back to him, busily removing 'Welcome Back to School' decorations from her bulletin board and replacing them with colorful, laminated posters citing proper grammar and punctuation rules. His thoughts tumbled back to the first time he saw her, in very much the same position. Only today she wore sneakers instead of heels.

"Lookin' good," he observed cheerfully. But he must have startled her because she turned around quickly and began to sway. Taking two long steps he was at her side, his hands planted firmly on her hips until she regained her balance.

"We gotta stop meeting like this," she smiled down at him.

"You remember?" he asked cautiously.

"Of course I do!" she replied as, with his assistance, she stepped down onto the floor.

Instead of moving away from him as he expected, she stayed right where she was, so close she had to tip her head back to meet his eyes.

"It's not every day a damsel in distress gets rescued by a tall, handsome hero. Lucky for me it's happened twice...so far."

Her smile shifted into a sly grin as she reached up to slowly rake her fingers through his hair before gently urging his head down so his lips met hers in an achingly tender caress. MacGyver's heart stilled and his thoughts fled as he instinctively pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, mindful to keep it soft and undemanding, until she broke the connection.

'Mmmm, I've missed that," she mused, her arms still around his neck, her fingers teasing the hair at his nape.

"Jo?" he asked, his heart now beating triple-time.

"It's me, Mac. I remember everything. I remember us."

"But...how?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's all the time we've been spending together. I just woke up this morning and suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle fit, ya know? I was trying to finish up here and get to Challengers so I could tell you."

"I think I like this way better," he smiled. "But I still don't get why you forgot your feelings for me after the accident? The doctor said it can happen to people who want to repress certain memories."

Joanna shrugged. "Maybe my subconscious is still afraid of my feelings for you. I've never felt like this about anyone before and maybe a part of me is still afraid it may not last."

"Hey! I thought I was the one with commitment issues," Mac teased, earning him a watery smile before becoming sober.

"Aw baby, what can I do to make sure you know I'll always love you?"

"Promise to hang on to me and never let me go no matter what?"

"Count on it," he vowed. "And if I ever get knocked loopy, you do the same, okay?"

"You gotta mean 'when', not 'if'," Jo snickered, the warmth of her laugh lighting a fire deep within him.

Unable to recall a time when he had ever felt happier, he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground before kissing her again, this time more completely. When they finally separated, each of them breathless, she looked up at him with a light in her eyes that hadn't been there since her accident. Filled with sweet love and desire, he couldn't tear his gaze from her. She was back. His Joanna had come back to him...to stay.