Chapter Text
I think you had me at Mr. MacGyver
Chapter 12 – With no one else but you
One week later…
Riley groaned as the sunlight streamed in through the partially opened blinds and danced across her face. That alone told her she would be late for work, but even so, she honestly couldn’t bring herself to care. She didn’t feel anywhere near ready to wake up, her body screaming its fatigue as it worked against her, her stomach announcing its uneasiness as Riley slowly rolled. It was almost as if she had walked into a glass door that she had assumed was open, exhaustion hitting her unexpectedly on impact.
Her mind wandered back to the night before when she had dragged her tired self to bed, Mac joining her, worried, the clock in the lounge room having not even crept past 9 pm.
“This isn’t like you, Riles,” said Mac, as he placed a kiss on her head. “I’ve seen you exhausted over the years but never like this.”
Riley sighed as she snuggled closer to him, a strong arm wrapped around her, holding her close. “I’m okay, I promise. Just really tired.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Maybe I shouldn’t go...”
On the verge of sleep already, Riley pushed herself to shake her head. “No, you…” she paused as yet another yawn consumed her. “You haven’t checked in with Frankie in weeks. I’m fine…just working too much…need to find a better balance, delegate more…” she trailed off, no longer able to keep her eyes open.
After a moment, she felt him pull her closer and kiss her again. “I love you.”
“Hmm… I love you too.”
Reaching out her hand, Riley found nothing but cold sheets beneath her fingers, Mac clearly having long left their bed.
Finally, opening her eyes fully, she spied a note beneath a single, long-stemmed two-tone rose that had no doubt come from Evelyn’s garden laying atop his pillow. She smiled tiredly as she picked up the rose, noting that no prickles remained. As she brought it to her nose and drew in the sweet scent, her gaze was caught by the sparkling diamond ring adorning her finger as it met the sunlight.
Memories of that night only one week ago came flooding back. She saw the moment Mac slowly dropped to one knee, his smile as he slipped the ring onto her finger, and then, their tangled limbs caught up in the sheets as they lost themselves in each other once everyone had left following a night of pizza and beer in celebration.
She was someone’s fiancée. More specifically, she was Angus MacGyver’s fiancée, and she loved it.
Her cheeks began to ache from the smile that remained on her face as she picked up the note, the familiar scrawled handwriting that was uniquely Mac’s staring back at her.
Riles,
I couldn’t bring myself to wake you, not when you looked so peaceful.
I want you to know how proud I am of you. The Artemis Foundation is already achieving amazing things under your guidance, and you haven’t even had your official launch yet. But I’m worried about you. I’ve never seen you so exhausted.
I’ve arranged for you to have the rest of the week off. No arguments. Lounge around with Zeus and do as little as possible. Parker, Sara, and Brooklyn have everything under control.
I love you, Riles – so damn much.
Mac xx
Riley sighed in content, her heart full as she relished the feeling of being loved by Mac. He was everything and more, and she honestly found herself, now and again, wondering how on earth someone who had made as many mistakes as she had, had managed to find herself a man so genuine, loving, and kind-hearted. From the moment Mac had released those handcuffs binding her wrists with nothing but a paperclip all those years ago, she had known that there was something special about him; he would be someone she could trust, and that was something Riley Davis didn’t do easily. She had just never expected that he would be the man to break through every piece of armour she had put up around her heart, claiming it unknowingly, both of them oblivious to the ever-growing feelings of the other.
As she grabbed her phone, she saw a text from none other than Mac.
A week away just you and me. Resort with white sandy beaches or lakeside camping under the stars? Either way I get you in that black string bikini…and out of it. Your call xx
Riley laughed as she snuggled back into the pillows, the familiar and welcome scent of cedarwood inviting her in. She would never get enough of it, that earthy, masculine scent that was all Mac.
Re-reading his message Riley pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as images of Mac doing just that played before her. Of the many things she loved about Angus MacGyver, only she got to see this playful side to him. In Mac, she had seriously lucked out; he was everything a woman could want in a relationship, in a partner - both emotionally and physically. He was kind and gentle, loving and supportive, but right alongside that, he was fire and passion, and he wasn’t afraid to take control, and that was something Riley had always liked, and with Mac, she was learning to enjoy that again.
Smiling, she noted the time and, after a quick calculation, deduced that Mac still had an hour left of his flight to Boston.
Hmm…lakeside camping under the stars sounds tempting…especially if I’m covered by nothing but you xx
As she pressed send, her smile slowly faded.
Riley had never been the needy type; she had never needed constant attention in previous relationships. And even now, with Mac, she didn’t expect it.
Mac would often tell her how her mere presence calmed him; it always had. She brought a sense of balance to the craziness that surrounded him. And now for Riley, despite how far she had come since her abduction and how she felt strong and more like herself, in truth, it was Mac who balanced her, and without him, she found herself feeling a little lost.
Reluctantly, Riley pulled herself up, her feet making contact with the cool hardwood floor as Zeus sat up instantly from his position by the doors leading to the deck before he nuzzled at her bare leg. As she gave the German Shepherd a loving pat, his big eyes looking at her, Riley tried not to let the fact that Mac would be gone for three days get her down, even as she could feel the tears start to swim in her eyes.
“It’s three days,” she sighed. “We can cope for three days without him, can’t we. We’ve had to before,” she added as she scratched playfully behind Zeus’ ears earning her a bark in response.
-
It was late in the afternoon, around 5:00 pm, when gentle knocking on the front door pulled Riley from her video game as she lay curled up on the couch, Zeus having made himself like a blanket, laying over her bare legs. It was in this position they had spent most of the day, Riley dozing in and out, watching trashy daytime TV and munching on her favourite rice crackers, and phone calls from Mac and her Mom somewhere in-between.
Zeus was on his feet almost immediately, moving towards the entryway ahead of Riley before positioning himself between her and the door as it opened – ever the protective guard dog.
“Evelyn,” acknowledged Riley as Zeus retreated slightly. She noted the bowl of what looked like soup in her hands, and she smiled. “Let me guess,” she said, gesturing toward the bowl. “Mac asked you to check in on me, didn’t he?”
The older woman returned her smile. “He may have called this morning while we were out.”
Riley shook her head but enjoyed the full feeling in her heart. “Come on in,” she said, stepping back as Zeus moved to rub his head against Evelyn’s leg in a familiar welcoming gesture.
“No Arthur today?” questioned Riley as they headed for the kitchen. It was rare for him not to visit alongside his wife.
“Oh, he’s busy in the garage, tinkering with some old weather station,” she prattled off happily. “He said he might pop over tomorrow, electronics being more up your ally than his,” she laughed.
Welcoming the company, Riley made some coffee as she listened to Evelyn share her excitement for her granddaughter's upcoming ballet recital. Riley smiled as she recalled an afternoon months ago when she and Mac had helped out and babysat the little girl - Hallie was six years old, and her world revolved around fairies and ballerinas.
With Evelyn, conversation was just easy. From early on in their friendship, Riley had loved listening to her stories and her experiences growing up; they would often talk for hours.
A little while later, Riley found herself apologizing as she yawned, her body wanting to rest yet again.
Evelyn merely smiled, a subtle twinkling flashing in her eyes, and Riley was sure she had seen it before, elsewhere. Riley listened to the older woman’s gentle voice as she recalled how tired she felt all those years ago when she took up the Principal role at the Elementary School she taught.
“I remember trying to find that balance between work and home life,” she shared. “It was a struggle, David was barely two years old at the time, and then,” she added, smiling, her eyes radiating happiness. “Then I found out I was expecting our sweet Alice.”
Riley smiled.
“Trying to chase after a busy toddler and run a school while my body wanted to do nothing but sleep,” laughed the kind-hearted woman as she stood from her stool. “I’m just thankful I had my Arthur.”
“He’s a wonderful man,” offered Riley sincerely.
“As is that doting fiancée of yours,” replied Evelyn as she began heading for the door.
Riley couldn’t deny that; Mac was an amazing man, and being loved by him was something that she would never take for granted.
Stepping out onto the front porch, Evelyn turned and smiled that warm and comforting smile that reminded Riley of her grandmothers – that re-established relationship the only good thing to come from her time with Billy Colton.
“You’ll find your feet, sweetheart, of that I’m sure,” she said warmly. “Things will get easier, especially with Angus by your side.”
Thanking Evelyn for the soup and the company once again, Riley closed the door and headed back towards the couch, Zeus waiting alongside expectantly. As she snuggled down and Zeus returned to his position across her legs, Riley turned on a re-run of Rick and Morty, which she managed to watch only for a few short minutes before her eyes began to close. As she drifted off, pieces of her conversation with Evelyn began replaying in her mind.
“…I remember feeling so tired all the time… trying to find that balance between work and home life… it was a struggle… Then, I found out I was expecting… my body wanted to do nothing but sleep….”
Riley’s eyes flew open, and she sucked in a breath, her body frozen.
She felt Zeus lift his head as if recognising something was wrong. She laid there, still, as her brain struggled to do the math.
Her feet suddenly pulled out from beneath Zeus’ weight and hit the floor as she moved toward the kitchen, where she grabbed the faithful backpack she still used for work. Riley rummaged through it until she found her small toiletry bag, upending its contents onto the bench. Her eyes darted from item to item as her fingers pushed aside the make-up, medications, and spare toothbrush and toothpaste travel combo until finally, they landed on the unopened box of tampons.
She glanced over toward the fridge where the Rick and Morty calendar stared back at her, the bright red circle surrounding one single day from the month before standing out like a neon sign amongst the mix of both Mac’s scrawl and her neater handwriting.
She was late.
Riley swallowed slowly, her heart racing as she all but ran to their bedroom, pulling open the draw on her bedside table in a frantic search for the small square box that contained her contraceptive pill. She had taken it like religion every morning for months now, the IUD that had held the tracking device long since removed.
She couldn’t be…
And then she saw it. Pushed toward the back of the drawer, out of the box, was one almost empty packet. She picked it up, and then on shaky legs, she sat herself down on the edge of the unmade bed, three missed tiny tan coloured pills staring back at her. At that moment, everything began to come together – her period being late, the exhaustion, the aversion to her favourite foods, the seemingly constant tears, even down to Zeus not wanting to leave her side.
Riley sucked in a deep breath.
“Oh my god,” she whispered.
+ + + +
As Mac made his way through the familiar yet subtly different grounds of MIT’s East Campus – his destination, the Clinical Research Center - he was hit with a feeling of nostalgia as he took in the numerous students scattered around. Some sat around tables while others were spread out on the thick green grass beneath the white oak trees that were again full of foliage in the late spring.
This had been his life, briefly, days filled with long-winded lectures from professors who hadn’t always taken kindly to his improvised suggestions during practical components. Yet, as he looked around, Mac felt the rarely surfacing sense of disappointment rise at never finishing his Degree all those years ago, regardless of the Honorary Bachelor of Science Degree he had received from Western Tech – a gesture of thanks from the admissions board in light of everything he had done to ensure the safety of all students and staff while shutting down a local radical group of terrorists. But, while grateful, it just didn’t bring with it the same sense of accomplishment; he hadn’t earned it from years of endless late-night studying and social life sacrifice like his peers.
But as quick as those feelings of disappointment appeared, they quickly vanished as Mac saw a couple walking hand-in-hand. He smiled as he was reminded that even though the path he had chosen to take in life had been fraught with challenges and heartache - serving abroad as an EOD specialist and then here, on home soil - it was a path that had led him to Riley and that was something Mac would never regret.
As he stepped from the busy halls and into the research lab, making his way to a small, familiar room at the back, Mac was immediately confronted with a light-hearted argument.
“Ah, Mac! Finally, a voice of reason,” began Sandra, the young female lab assistant. “Help us settle something for our entry into the Journal of Oncology.”
“Please,” added Frankie, as she sat back from the scope and turned her attention to the computer screen. “These two have been debating the one sentence for the last hour.”
Mac smiled. “Alright, let's hear it.”
He stood and listened as Ben launched into a technically heavy explanation about their research, and while Mac was impressed, much of what he was saying would be lost on others.
“That’s the right idea,” acknowledged Mac, his peace offering to Frankie still in hand. “But can we put it into layman’s terms?”
“We can,” taunted Sandra teasingly as she sat atop the desk. “This guy, not so much.”
Mac laughed. “Okay, how about this,” he offered. “The cancer treatment uses toxins extracted from snake venom, which billions of years of evolution have taught to attack the weakest cells in a creature's body, to target cancerous tumours,” he concluded. “Something like that?”
Both assistants just stared at him for a second before Ben spoke.
“You just nerdsplained that perfectly.”
Mac could only laugh.
“Thanks, Boss,” they said, and with that, they were gone, headed out of the lab discussing their journal entry.
Mac turned his attention to his friend as she looked intently into the scope before her. “So glad you could make it,” she said as if sensing his stare.
“Here it comes,” he acknowledged.
“No, no,” said Frankie as she adjusted the scope to view the following sample. “It’s my fault. See, when you said you’d be checking in weekly, I interpreted that to mean, well, weekly.”
Mac cringed guiltily. “I know, I know,” he replied. “Just last week, I was on my way to the airport, and then Matty called, and I had head back to the Phoenix.”
“And the four weeks before that?” questioned Frankie seriously. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there are these things called phones….”
Mac closed his eyes and hung his head.
She was right. He had been a terrible research partner, especially when the hypothesis behind it had been his idea to begin with. Granted, the unpredictability of his job had played a part, but really, he could have tried harder. His absence was something he wanted to talk to Frankie about; he had another proposal for her. He just hoped she’d be open to it.
“I’m here now,” he sighed, mostly in annoyance with himself. “And I come with gifts, actually more of a peace offering,” he added as he held out the bag of blueberry muffins from what he knew was Frankie’s favourite Boston bakery.
He watched as Frankie lifted her head from the scope to finally glance his way, a small smile betraying her apparent annoyance as she took the bag from his outstretched hand. He stood back, his hands finding his pockets as he casually looked around, silence falling between the two.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” she started gesturing toward the spare lab coat draped across the chair to his right. “This research won't do itself.”
Mac smiled brightly. Frankie had always been driven and headstrong from the moment they had met. Mac could admit that he had harbored a crush on Frankie during their time together at MIT, but nothing had ever come of it, given she was five years older and had a boyfriend. Mac had also always seen her as being way out of his league. A double major in Mechanical Engineering and Biology Expert in DNA, Frankie had challenged his thinking and pushed him further, and while he had held his own and risen to the challenge, he was no Frankie. The woman was a genius, and if there was anyone who could help him bring this potential cure to cancer to the forefront of medical science, it was her.
Now donning a lab coat, he sat himself in the empty chair beside her as he glanced over her notes. “So, what’s new?”
As Frankie recounted the month's worth of research he had missed, Mac listened intently, hanging off her every word.
“I’ve managed to cut the toxicity to surrounding epithelial cells down to fifteen percent.”
Taken aback by her casual tone, Mac could only give a disbelieving laugh in response.
“What?”
Mac was smiling from ear to ear. “Frankie, that’s progress; that’s a huge deal!”
She returned his smile, but he noticed it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah, getting there.”
“I’m sensing a but,” said Mac after another moment of silence had passed between the two.
For the first time since he had stepped foot into the lab, his friend of many years really looked at him, and it was then that he noticed how tired she appeared.
Her voice was quiet when she spoke. “Mac, I can’t keep doing this on my own.”
Mac sighed, the guilt washing over him again. “I know, and it’s my fault you’ve had to. But I have a plan, well it’s more a suggestion, Riley’s actually,” he fumbled, his mind running away from him. “I mean, it would have more of an impact on you, and well, Ben and Sandra too, which I didn’t really think about, but it would be better, I think if-”
“Mac!”
He stopped, Frankie’s voice ringing through the lab, a slight smirk pulling at her lips.
“How about you just cut to the chase and ask me whatever it is you want to ask me, yeah?”
Mac shook his head as he laughed. “Right. You’re right,” he replied as he leaned forward, his arms resting on the desk, papers of testing and results scattered beneath his elbows as his hands clasped together. “What would you say to moving the lab to LA? When it's completed, the Artemis Foundation will have a state-of-the-art science wing, but you could run the lab out of an empty space at the Phoenix until then. It would be secure too, just like here,” he explained as he gestured to the space around them.
“I could run the lab?”
“We. We could run the lab,” Mac hastily corrected. “I would be there whenever I’m not called away. I promise I will be there. No more carrying all of this alone. Partners, like I promised.”
Mac sat nervously, time seeming to tick by slower than usual as he waited for a response, any response.
After what felt like minutes, but in reality, was less, Mac spoke up, adding that he knew it was a big ask, moving her to a completely different state. “The Artemis Foundation would cover your accommodation – all expenses paid.”
Frankie inclined her head. “Taking advantage of your connection to the boss already, Mac?”
“As I said, it was the boss’s idea,” he countered, smiling.
Mac could see Frankie’s mind working in overdrive, much like his did.
Finally, she sighed somewhat dramatically. “Well, I’m not packing this up alone, you know,” her hand gestured around with a wave before picking up a muffin and leaning back in her chair. “I suggest you start over there,” she smiled around a mouthful inclining her head to the left. “Those results won't file themselves.”
-
Thirty minutes later, even buried under a mountain of paperwork – something he loathed – Mac was still smiling. He knew what he was asking of Frankie was huge, and honestly, he had already asked so much of her. He couldn’t fathom how he would ever be able to repay her.
“So, how is my now future boss these days?” called Frankie from where she sat, feet propped up on the desk, unapologetically eating another blueberry muffin. “I haven’t spoken to her in weeks.”
Mac huffed out a half-hearted laugh as he placed a pile of papers inside the faded brown records box. “Oh, you mean since you ratted me out?”
He glanced up only to find Frankie feigning innocence. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Mac simply rolled his eyes humorously. “Those photos were long gone, deleted, and yet somehow,” he said, pausing as he pointed the handful of papers in Frankie’s direction. “Five minutes on the phone with you and my terrifyingly capable fiancée had them salvaged and blown up on our TV screen,” he declared. “So yeah, thanks for that.”
Frankie merely laughed, the sound echoing around the room. “I’m not gonna lie, Mac,” she started. “Your future wife is a lot more fun than GI-Jane ever was.”
Mac couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. While Frankie had never openly acknowledged her thoughts about his relationship with Desi, he had gotten the distinct impression that she wasn’t exactly a fan. “GI-Jane has a name you know.”
Frankie sobered slowly. “I just never saw it,” she shrugged. “I mean, Desi, she seemed nice enough – scary – but kinda nice, but she just wasn’t…she wasn’t you. Desi didn’t get you,” she said, pausing. “Not like Riley.”
There was a momentary pause, Frankie’s words heavy in the air. Mac still hated that it had been so apparent to everyone around him, yet he had been so blinded by his consuming need to fix things that he hadn’t seen it. He hated even more so that it had taken a deranged psychopath like Murdoc to make him see what had been right in front of him all along.
Riles…
He stood, his hands still as she consumed his thoughts. She was everything, his equal. Riley challenged him and encouraged him, and she believed in him. And she had done all of these things since the day he picked the lock on those cold, steel handcuffs in that 4x4 room, her petite body dwarfed by the gaudy orange prison-issue jumpsuit.
All along, Mac had been surrounded by her kindness, selflessness, and her determination. He had been, without realising it, loved by her too. She had always been right there by his side, unwavering.
Riley Davis was everything good in this world, and she was his.
Frankie’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
“Oh, please tell me you zoning out isn’t what I should expect every day whenever someone mentions Riley?” she asked, her tone teasing.
Mac smiled broadly in return as his phone vibrated in his pocket. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he offered, using her own words from minutes ago against her, and as he pulled his phone from his pocket, he was sure he heard her mumble, give me strength, making him laugh.
As he glanced down, opening an email notification from the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, his laughter quickly gave way to a sigh as he read that, unfortunately, there were no available appointments at the Spa for tomorrow or Friday. Riley had wanted to go there for months now, but dates and times had just never aligned to allow it. Given how run-down she had been, Mac had hoped to be able to surprise her while he was away.
He was debating the idea of calling Matty – the woman seemingly capable of making anything happen – when he heard Frankie speaking.
“Sorry, what was that?” he asked distractedly as he placed his phone down on the tabletop.
Frankie, still reclined in her chair, feet up, stared over toward him. “I said, is everything okay? You’ve got that classic Mac look on your face when something hasn’t gone how you’d planned. I mean, if you need to leave, it’s okay. I understand.”
Mac picked up another pile of reports as he sighed again. “It’s not work. I was hoping to organise something for Riley while I’m away, a spa date with her Mom,” he began as he lowered the papers inside the box, his voice a mixture of frustration and disappointment. “Honestly, I’m worried she’s running herself into the ground with the start-up of the Artemis Foundation,” he added. “She’s been so tired lately; she can barely keep her eyes open past 9:00 pm. She’s usually such a night owl…” he trailed off as he gathered more papers. “I even brought home Chinese food the other night – her favourite – and she told me she didn’t feel like it and instead she had toast,” he continued, holding up his hands, full of paperwork, as he shrugged his shoulders. “The woman lives for Chinese food!”
He hadn’t said anything to Riley, but really, he was getting worried. She wasn’t herself.
Realising the room had fallen silent, Mac looked up toward Frankie as he continued filing away the mountainous, haphazardly stacked pile of papers. She sat staring back at him, seeming to chew her mouthful of muffin deliberately slow, her forehead slightly wrinkled, giving away that she was thinking at length about something.
“What?” questioned Mac after a moment when Frankie’s eyes continued to bore into his. He watched as she swallowed slowly, the action emphasised as she seemed to debate her words.
“Is there a chance it might be… because of something else…” she trailed off.
He scrunched his forehead in confusion. “Something else?”
There was a slight pause before she spoke again, as if she was giving him a chance to get there first.
“You said she’s been really tired, off her food,” reiterated Frankie, giving Mac that same look she had always given him back when she knew the answer but insisted he figure it out himself.
“You know that look is just as annoying now as it was back then,” he complained half-heartedly.
“Mac, think about it,” she added. “Biologically…”
It took less than ten seconds before he felt his breathing cease, and his eyes went wide.
“And… there it is,” drew out Frankie.
Silence.
“She’s pregnant…” he breathed, shock flooding through him.
He noticed in his peripheral Frankie stood from her chair, stepping toward him. “Quite possibly.”
“We…she’s on…” he fumbled, his brain working overtime while his heart began to constrict.
“Oh, please don’t tell me I need to remind the so-called genius of the statistics of birth control too?” she teased gently as she reached him.
Riley’s pregnant...
“I’m sorry, but I have to-”
“Go? Yeah, you do,” smiled Frankie, understanding covering her features.
Mac pulled her into a fierce hug, one she returned, and then, phone in hand, he was moving toward the door, nothing but getting to Riley his focus as the shock slowly merged with a sense of happiness.
“Don’t think this is getting you out of packing up this lab…” he heard Frankie call out as he dialed Matty.
He turned his body, all but jogging backward now, a grin spreading across his face as the familiar voice of Matilda Webber filled his ears. “Matty, I need you to get me back to LA….”
+ + +
The sun had almost set in the distance when Mac finally pulled up next to the GTO, the clock on his dash reading 8:38 pm. After somehow managing to allay Matty’s initial fears that something had happened, he stepped on board a private flight back to LA no more than thirty minutes after calling. He had then spent the next six-and-a-half hour return flight from Boston to LAX pacing and sitting, his knee bouncing with both nervousness and excitement, a million questions running concurrently back and forth through his mind – was Riley pregnant? Did she know? How would she feel about it? Was it too soon? When had it happened? We’re they really going to be parents? Should he call her? Should he just surprise her?
But of all the thoughts consuming him, Mac found himself coming back to one in particular. It was an image of Riley, her stomach swollen as she lay asleep in their bed, her favourite skull tank top she always wore riding up, and the only feeling he could associate with it was happiness.
Mac was almost out of his truck before he’d finished putting it in park, his feet moving him forward of their own volition. As he approached their front door, the light coming through the panes of frosted glass was causing a gentle ambient light to fall across the front porch and gave Mac hope that Riley was still awake.
Stepping across the threshold, he was immediately met with that image of Riley that he loved adorning the wall in the entryway – she radiated happiness, and every time Mac saw it, he was reminded of how damn lucky he really was. She was with him, she was his, and he was hers, and they were getting married, and now, quite possibly, it wouldn’t be just them and Zeus anymore.
Mac moved toward the kitchen, where he saw the contents of what appeared to be Riley’s backpack scattered all over the bench, and then he turned to look over at the couch – nothing. He felt a sense of worry begin to creep over him as he realised not even Zeus had appeared.
“Riles?” he called as he turned back toward the direction of their bedroom.
The familiar sound of Zeus’ barking seconds later had him running. As Mac stepped through the open door, he breathed in that overly familiar and welcoming scent of coconut and vanilla. At the same time, his feet easily navigated the uncharacteristically neglected clothing strewn across their bedroom floor, to the bed covers haphazardly half on the bed, half off. Finally, he skidded to a halt in the doorway of the bathroom as his eyes fell upon Riley, who sat cross-legged atop the toilet in black leggings and his grey MIT hoodie, Zeus sitting faithfully by her side while she held a pregnancy test between her fingers.
Tear-filled hazel eyes suddenly lifted and met his.
“Mac…” she breathed as he watched every emotion from fear, uncertainty to relief, and happiness wash over her tired features, her hair bundled adorably on top of her head, loose strands falling to frame her face.
At that moment, Mac was sure he had never seen her look more beautiful.
Dropping his hands from their hold on the doorframe, he took a small step forward into the bathroom, his eyes still holding hers. “Are you?’ he asked gently. “Are we…”
Mac watched Riley swallow slowly as a single tear slipped down her cheek as she nodded softly, a small hesitant smile pulling at her lips. “I’m pregnant….”
He closed the space between them and crouched down before her, hands resting on her thighs, bringing himself as close to her as possible as he felt the tears prickle behind his eyes.
“I missed my pill,” she whispered. “When I was sick…I didn’t mean for this to happen like this,” she added softly. “Mac, I thought….”
Mac smiled as he finished for her, his hands squeezing her thighs as a sign of reassurance, knowing exactly where her thoughts were taking her.
“Nothing about our lives has ever been standard, Riles,” he said gently as he moved to hold her hands in his, the test she had taken still clasped between them. “Married or not, planned or unexpected, scared or happy… I want to have this baby with you,” he added. “Riles, there is no one else I would ever want to share this moment with but you.”
He lifted his hand to wipe away the tears that had begun to now spill freely down her cheeks.
“Me too,” she answered, her voice small but happy.
Mac breathed deeply and rose to place a lingering kiss on her forehead, a sense of relief flooding through him. He hated the thought of Riley feeling scared and unsure, and he hated, even more, the idea of her sitting here tonight all alone had he not come home. Crouching back down, he cupped her cheek as his thumb gently wiped at the stray tears remaining. “What made you take a test?”
He watched as she huffed out a half-hearted laugh as she lifted a hand to wipe at the tears on her other cheek. “Evelyn,” she answered. “At your request, she came to check on me,” she continued as she teasingly rolled her eyes and all he could do was smile back wholeheartedly. “While she was here, she told me the story of when she found out she was pregnant with Alice.”
Riley paused and took a steadying breath, her voice quiet. “It wasn’t until after she left that my head caught up, and I realised my period was late. I found this,” she added as she reached over toward the vanity. He took the packet from her, three tiny tablets in a row the only remaining contents. “Then it all just made sense. The exhaustion, food aversions, I cry all the time these days,” she sighed dramatically. “And, Zeus hasn’t wanted to leave my side,” she finished, reaching out to pet him lovingly.
Thinking back, Mac realised she was right. Zeus had always been Riley’s shadow, but lately, he had become far more protective and it was known that dogs could sense changes not only in their environment but also in their owners. Mac reached out and mimicked Riley’s actions as Zeus nuzzled at their hands in return. “You knew hey, buddy?” said Mac, unable to wipe the smile from his face.
“Wait, you’re supposed to be in Boston!” said Riley as she whipped back to face him. “How…”
This time it was Mac’s turn to huff out a laugh. “Well, after Frankie pretty much enlightened me as to what was undoubtedly the real reason for your exhaustion, and I felt like a complete idiot,” he shared as he continued to pet Zeus but brought his eyes to meet hers. “I might have called Matty and kind of, somewhat demanded she get me back to LA immediately.”
“You told her?”
“Um, well, no, not exactly,” he explained a little sheepishly. “Aside from assuring her that I was fine and you were fine…she’s still actually waiting for my explanation.”
The sound of Riley’s gentle laughter filled his heart. He would do anything to hear that sound for the rest of his life. His eyes took her in again, and all he wanted to do was pull her close and kiss her deeply, this sudden need to hold her in his arms and protect her from the world engulfing him.
“I can’t believe we didn’t figure this out ourselves,” she said softly as her eyes glanced down to the test she still held in those long, black nail-tip painted fingers he loved to hold so much, two pink lines staring back at him.
Positive
Something inside of Mac warmed as she said, we not I. They were together in everything, two halves of a whole.
“We’re here now,” he answered. “I can’t lie, Riles…I’m happy, excited, and kind of terrified at the same time. But I’m right here, all in,” he added, his voice becoming thick with emotion. “Every step,” he promised her.
Mac watched as her beautiful hazel eyes danced with fresh, unshed tears.
“Mac, we’re having a baby…” she whispered in awe, her voice revealing her joy as if suddenly it had all become so real.
In response, he felt his own tears escape, spilling down his cheeks as he nodded. “Yeah, yeah, we are.”
+ + + +
Five days later…
Riley stood out on the back deck, the sea of lights of Los Angeles in the distance shining brightly as the gentle evening breeze surrounded her. In her hands, she held their sonogram, their first, taken only hours earlier. Her heart felt so full as she remembered the moment the sound of that little heartbeat filled the darkened room in the obstetrician’s office. It was their baby’s heartbeat, a tiny little person that would be half of her and half of Mac.
Her eyes closed as she remembered the look of awe in Mac’s eyes and the tears that gathered as he held her hand, his eyes focused on the screen, a voice so small she had barely heard it herself… I’m gonna be a Dad.
Riley felt her emotions swirl within her. This life – an actual job and career, stability, the love of a wonderful man, becoming a mother – it had once, for so long all seemed like an unattainable dream.
Then along came Mac so unexpectedly, and her whole world slowly shifted. The road to get here had been long and heartbreaking, but they had each other now, and she loved him. Fiercely and wholeheartedly, she loved him, and she wanted nothing more than to be his in every way she could be.
Riley could sense Mac before she felt him, a feeling of calmness washing over her as she continued to stare out into the night.
Strong yet gentle hands, fingers wide, glided protectively over her still flat stomach as he wrapped her body up in his arms, while his lips brushed a soft kiss to that spot just below her ear that never failed to ignite that spark deep within her. And even now, Riley felt her head tilt to expose her neck to him further, an involuntary action, her body responding to Mac of its own will.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked, his voice deep and resonating through every part of her as he, if at all possible, pulled her closer to him.
In contrast, her voice was soft and almost fragile as she spoke. “I want to marry you.”
He kissed slowly at her neck once more, her head falling back against his shoulder. “I know,” he replied, and she felt him smile against her soft skin. “I clearly remember you saying yes….”
“Mac…” she exhaled.
Riley turned in his arms, her own wrapping around his neck as her fingers found purchase in the hair at the nape of his neck, an action she found calming. Then, looking up, she found those deep blue eyes she was so easily lost in staring down at her. She could feel her emotions begin to shift again as reflected back at her, all she saw was love, desire, adoration, and protectiveness.
This time Riley heard her voice waver as she spoke, sharing that she wanted to marry him before the baby came, tears prickling behind her tired eyes. “I want that birth certificate to say baby of Angus and Riley MacGyver…because I want us both to be yours.”
Mac’s hands moved to cradle her face, those gentle yet calloused fingers she loved to feel across her skin wiping away her tears before he pushed the stray strands of hair from her face. “Riles…” he breathed softly.
And then he kissed her.
It was a kiss that was gentle yet deep and carried with it a promise of more. As one hand slipped from her face to wrap around her and pull her closer still, Riley felt everything travel from the depths of his soul to meet hers as Mac silently vowed that she would be his. He would be the man to love her unconditionally with everything he had, tomorrow and forever.
To be continued…