Chapter Text
Angus MacGyver had more than his fair share of heartbreak. Seen more than enough death and pain for several lifetimes. He had lost so much and so many people had been taken from him.
At almost 31 years old, Angus 'Mac' MacGyver had spent most of his life without someone. First his mom, then his dad. Losing his training officer, his fellow soldiers, then his fellow agents; He lost Nicki—first to a fake death, then to fake treason. He lost Jack to an open-ended OP, lost Charlie for the 'good of the many', lost his dad—again again again—to save his life. He lost his trust in his team when they lost their trust in him and lost his aunt—who he had only just met—so she could save his and thousands of other lives.
He had lost his autonomy. Lost trust in his government. Lost faith in himself, in his abilities, his knowledge. And somehow, he had managed not to crack under the constant pressure, the consistent pain, the hollowness left by all that loss and the weight it settled on his shoulders.
His friends, his team—his family—had marvelled at his abilities over the years, the speed at which his mind could attack a problem and pull a solution from nowhere. They had all feared for him, as long as they had known him, for one reason or another. But watching the shadow settle on him over the last couple of years had been... Jarring, to say the least. It had been chilling and frightening in a way nothing else ever had.
They were all—Matty, Boze, Riley, Desi, Russ—very used to seeing themselves and each other in life threatening situations, hopeless no-win scenarios. And they all felt relieved as the air came back to them, again and again, as the mission was complete, and everyone came home safe. Though, Safe stopped being such a relieving word, and began to change into more of haunted sound.
They were safe. They were home. They all got back to work. And every time they made it back, they all watched it tear at Mac a little more. Watched as cracks appeared and lengthened, the crumbling as his world seemed to settle farther into the dust. They all made it home, safe, and got back to work; They were safe, and Mac was breaking.
Then, finally, it seemed there would be a real breath of relief. Some real time for healing, and rest, and living again. Mac and Riley were nanobot free, there were no negative repercussions to the hyperbaric chambers—aside from a massive headache for Mac, and the Phoenix was fully autonomous. They had been working through some actual think tank stuff for the last few months, jetting around the world to do aid work, and save people—mostly—without getting shot at or almost blown up.
Matty had started applying for patents in Mac's name, without telling him, and surprised him with a file a half inch thick for Christmas that year. A file of thirty-two official and legal patents in mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering projects and designs that Mac had worked on over the years. He only personally owned twenty-one of the patents, sharing the other eleven with various people—including but not limited to Frankie, Boze, and Riley. But they were more than he had expected, and this was the first time he welcomed someone keeping something from him. First surprise he had happily—and a little tearfully—accepted in years; Probably since before the Phoenix was DXS, honestly.
The team had fallen back into a comfortable and familiar pattern and all of them had begun to rebuild themselves and their bonds as they got used to this new new Phoenix. Mac and Desi had talked it over and finally ended things, though it was mutual and much more beneficial than the first break up. Not only were they able to continue working together, but they were also now able to do so much more smoothly. They still sniped at each other in the field and over the coms when they were stressed, but any animosity caused by a mission was left behind before they got to exfil. Riley, Bozer, and Mac started hanging out the way they used to, and just trying to find their old friendship. Russ did his best to support the team instead of just funding it, making a name for himself in saving lives instead of taking them. And the Phoenix foundation flourished.
That had been the last five and a half months. Patching cracks, reinforcing breaks, and all around trying to heal from the misery and constant stress of the roller-coaster that was the last couple of years. The team was trying to do all of that even more for Mac. They tried individually and together—though it was through unspoken agreement—to support and protect Mac as much as possible.
Angus MacGyver wasn't considered a genius for nothing, and though they were incredibly subtle, he still noticed—and was exceedingly grateful. He didn't say anything to them, trying to say thank you without words. He didn't know if he could find the words, honestly, and he was afraid of jinxing it—this peace and comfort—if he did say anything about it. So, he stayed silent, the team stayed silent, and everyone started to live again instead of just barely surviving.
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Matilda Webber, Director of the Phoenix foundation, was now standing in the war room waiting for one of her 'kids' to come and have the rug ripped out from under them again. She stood staring at the screens in front of her, not seeing them or taking in the information they displayed. Mattie wanted more than anything, to skip this part. Mattie wanted, more than anything, for the hurt that she knew she was about to inflict to disappear already before it began. Mattie wanted, more than anything, not to do this to her boy.
But she wouldn't get what she wanted and had resigned herself to that fact when she had called him down from his office. Though resigned to what was about to happen, she still felt the air stolen from her when the door opened behind her, a steady and warm deep voice speaking out as it did.
"Matty, you wanted to see me?"
Matilda Webber turned slowly, until her boy 'blondie' came fully into view, and sadly watched the tentative smile on his face fade to concerned seriousness. She walked over to the chairs they had set up in the back of the room and set her iPad down on the table next to Mac's bowl of paperclips. Placing both hands flat on the table, Matty closed her eyes, and said, "Close the door, Angus."
She felt the charge in the air shift, knew that she had put him on edge, not just with the sentence, but with her using his first name. Matty had been vastly different from Thornton from the get-go, from asking everyone to call her by her name—a nickname at that—to handing out her own nicknames like candy. She understood she had never called Mac by his first name unless she was addressing him by his full name to someone else. And she knew Mac was also aware of this fact.
"Sit down."
"Matty—"
"—Everything, and everyone is fine, Mac," Mattie said, looking up to see the fear in his eyes refracting through the still healing cracks, and continued, "It's good, I promise. I just want you to sit down. Please."
Mac nodded and sat, leaning his elbows on his knees so she could look at him in the eye. Matty wanted to smile at that; Mac had given her respect from the get-go, a subtle nod to her abilities and skills with everything he did; He did everything he could to subtly give her the run of the playing field and never made her feel like she had to earn it from him. Even when he had been hurt and felt betrayed, he had treated her as an equal, completely and without even a little bit of doubt. And she couldn't do that for him, not always, with the division of power and the responsibilities she had. Now was one of those times.
"Jack is alive."
Mac froze, and Matty watched as the blood drained from his face. True Scott that he was, he had always been pale, even after a couple of years in the sandbox. But the shade white that had fallen over him scared Matty enough to want to call for medical. But she waited for a moment, as Mac swallowed thickly and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes, and in haled sharply through his nose, held his breath long enough to deeply concern the woman in front of him, and then pushed the air back through clenched teeth.
"Where—How?"
His voice was cracking even on his breath of a whisper, and a piece of Matty's heart shattered with it. She took her own deep breath, and stepped toward him, slowly laying her hand on his knee when he didn't flinch away. She waited and Mac opened glassy eyes to meet hers, prompting her to speak.
"Some old contacts of mine in the alphabet soup let me in on some rumours’ floating around. An American agent matching Jack's description being held in a black site. I was kept in the loop, and made my own inquiries, and when a team was mobilized to retrieve the agent, I was one of the first to know."
"When?"
Matty knew from his face what he wanted to know.
Matty knew that it would almost hurt more than the first blow.
"A few months."
Mac looked like his had been slapped across the face and punched in the stomach, sucking in a breath, and doubling over to settle his face in his hands. He shook, but not with sobs. Matty watched, deciding to hold contact until he brushed it off, and waited for Mac to stop fighting for control. He eventually let out a shuddering breath and spoke through his fingers.
"Why didn't you tell us? Tell me?"
"I didn't want to give you false hope. I wanted to wait until we had concrete information, proof that it was Jack, and that he was okay, before I pulled all of this up for you. I couldn't be afforded that same luxury, Blondie."
Matty ended her sentence on a laugh, but it was damp and forced, and both knew it. Mac pulled his head up, eyes watery and settled on the woman on front of him. He scrunched his eyes closed as the first tears fell and let out another shaky breath as he looked to the ceiling.
"When... When is he...um?"
"A black OPs CIA mission was sent in, took down the terrorist group in control of the black site, and liberated eight high level intelligence and military personnel, including Jack... At 0400, LA time... Yesterday morning."
Mac just sat, gasping in a breath, as the tears fell without restraint now. With his questioning look and bobbing Adams apple, Matty nodded, knowing he couldn't make the words come out.
"I was working with my old contacts, getting the logistics worked out to get our boy home, before I told anyone. So that I could confidently tell you that he will be on US soil be tonight, and back in LA by tomorrow afternoon. I've got contacts and resources working on getting his status as KIA and his declaration of death reversed. We are working to get him set up with his old information, reinstating everything from his SSN to his holding accounts back up and running before he gets home.
"But I needed to have things in motion before I told you. I—I'm sorry, Mac. I wanted there to be nothing for you—or anyone else—to have to worry about, except getting yourself ready for this."
"...Riley needs to know."
"I already called her down. But I knew that you needed to hear this first. She might have known Jack for longer, but the two of you went through more together. And... And I knew that out of everyone, you two would need each other in this, more than anything else. She should be down in a moment."
Mac nodded, and just stared at the glass behind her, somewhere else entirely. But the closest thing he had to a mom watched in relief as those cracks they had all tried so hard to repair didn't seem to get any worse. Matty was sure that he felt them, all of them, especially right now. But this wouldn't break him, just like nothing else did. She knew her kids were strong, they were talented in unbelievable ways, and she was so proud of all of them. But this made the ache in her heart twinge for a good reason, even as the throb of this new pain continued to press into her lungs.
She noticed the movement of Riley on the stairs outside the war room, and softly let go of Mac's leg. She nodded to Riley as she came up to the door, the younger woman taking in the scene through the glass and saw the panic flare behind her eyes at Mac's stillness. Matty saw the cool fear fall over her and watched her tense as she reached for the doorknob, and stepped through, shutting it behind her.
"Sit, Riley."
Riley nodded and moved around Mac to sit, not moving her eyes from Matty until she took her seat and finally allowed her gaze to flit to Mac and back again. That glance, of course, became the fastest double take Matty had ever witnessed, and watched as Riley tensed even further, watched her hold her breath for the terror that had to be forth coming for Mac to look the way he did. Mac for his part, closed his eyes and licked his lips, before he looked at Riley, offering her the most broken and wet smile she thought she had ever seen... Would ever see.
Mac didn't even look at Matty as he took a steadying breath, rolling his shoulder's as he huffed out a broken laugh. He looked up to try to get the tears under control, and he leaned forward, sniffling as he did. He looked to Riley and smiled again, only for it to falter as he watched her shake her head, her own eyes bright with unshed tears.
"Riley—?"
"—You are not dying."
Mac started for a moment, his brows furrowing in confusion, before understanding dawned on him. He shook his head and stood, before almost immediately falling to his knees in front of Riley and taking her shaking hands in his own.
"No, No... No, I'm not. No poison or—or, or cancer. I mean given my family medical history, which wouldn't exactly be surprising would it?" Mac laughs softly, brokenly with Riley, as she closed her eyes, and took a breath, the first tears sliding down her face.
"Riley... Riles," Mac said, waiting until her eyes met his, "Jack is alive."
Riley held his gaze and her breath for a moment, before turning to meet Matty's eyes. Whatever she saw there was enough to convince her that this was real, and not the most messed up prank-gone-wrong in history. She looked up and blinked as she gasped, and tried to breathe, the tears falling uncontrollably now. She tried to get her breath back, but it was released in a keening whimper that broke Mac's heart, and he let go of her hands, bringing one up to the back of her neck and the other binding behind her. She fell on him as she sobbed, silently, the warm wet patch on his shoulder a testament to her fallen tears.
"How long?"
The whispered question barely cut through the tense wet atmosphere of the war room. Mac couldn't quite think straight and try as he might he didn't know how to answer Riley's question. Luckily, Matty did.
"He just found out, just like you. Jack is on an army flight to New York, right now. He will be stopping there for another round of medical exams, and a very quick debrief regarding the Kovak Mission. He will be on a jet first thing in the morning, and if the weather holds out, he'll be in LA just after lunch tomorrow."
Matty said all of this with a small smile, a tear of her own having fallen. Riley looked at her from over Mac's shoulder; they were both holding on to each other like a lifeline, shaking softly and trying to breathe. Mac leaned back slightly, keeping his arm around Riley as he turned to look as Matty.
"What happened; what do we know?"
Matty nodded and picked up her iPad from the table next to them, fogging the windows of the room with a tap of her fingers, and looking up at the two in front of her.
"Vitez had her people scour the building, after the explosion, and they found Jack. They replaced him with a body double, similar enough to fool anyone who didn't know him, and put his tags on him. She then ordered them to get him medical treatment, hoping to get information out of him once no one was looking for him. We don't think she was planning on Jack having already figured out it was her and setting up a back-up plan.
"He was in a coma for three months and woke up with retrograde amnesia. He was discharged from the hospital into the care of his superiors as far as hospital staff was aware. He was then transferred between several different black sites over the course of the next 8 months, before being dropped in the hole that was the last one, once it was deemed that any intelligence, he may eventually give up would be out of date by the time they broke him.
"He then spent the rest of his time at the black site gathering intel, and planning several escape attempts, getting four other hostages out in just under seven weeks. At that point, He was kept in complete isolation, but alive. Current intelligence suggests that the end game for Jack was as Leverage against one or all of us. They either never got the chance, or they were waiting for orders that never came. Whatever it was, I'm thankful for it. He spent over a year in their 'care', and apparently came out of it as heathy as ever.
"The medical reports I've gotten detail no physical attempts to torture him for information, aside from some new scarring. All of it is completely healed and considered old news regarding his health. He's still strong, though he's lost some weight, and he's got quite the beard. Otherwise, our boy is coming home in one piece."
Mac and Riley both took in Matty's spiel in silence, holding on to each other as she spoke, and smiling at her description of their unshakable Jack Dalton. As she finished however, Mac nodded and turned back to Riley. It was a split second and it startled both women when he slumped forward as though his strings had been cut, laying his head in Riley's lap. She pulled her free hand to card it through his hair, leaving the other wrapped over his shoulders as a warm and reassuring weight. Matty let them both process everything, all of them crying now, the only sound in the room their even breathing interspaced with soft gasps and sniffles.
Matty stepped forward, placing a hand each on Riley's arm and Mac's shoulder. She waited the few seconds until she could meet each of their now red rimmed eyes in turn, before she spoke again.
"You both have the rest of the day, and tomorrow free. Stay here, go home, go somewhere else; I do not care, as long as you're safe. You, both of you, go process. Okay? And take your time. I get any news, any change of plans, and you're the first two I'm contacting. You are still down as his next of kin, and you will be the first to know anything, understand?"
They both nodded and moved to stand. Somehow, Riley and Mac managed to keep a hold of each other, his arm at her waste and her hand on his shoulder. Each of their free hands searched to find the others, and squeezed in reassurance, as they passed tired wet smiles. They moved toward the door, breaking contact as Mac turned back to Matty for a moment.
"The others?"
"Both Bozer and Desi have been called down as well. Helpful thing known as 'pre-scheduled texts'."
Mac nodded, smiling at her again, and nodded, his silent "Thank you," seeming to reverberate throughout the room. Matty nodded back and had them close the door behind them. They both, by some unspoken agreement, moved toward the elevator. Riley had her arms wrapped around herself protectively, tightly, shaking softly again, and after he hit the up button, Mac stuck his hands in his front pockets. Riley turned to lean on the jam between the elevator and the wall, closing her eyes as she took in another shaky breath. Because of this, she was hidden from sight as Bozer made his way down the stairs to their right.
Mac, however, was on full display: tired slump of his shoulders, tense spine, red rimmed eyes. All of it so very visible, that Bozer almost tripped as he turned on the landing, his steps stuttering as his smile disappeared in a flash, and his eyes widened. Mac saw the movement and looked up, offering the best smile he could manage. That was what truly terrified Boze.
He knew that Mac was always the one to shoulder as much as possible, so others didn't have to, and putting on a mask to protect the people he loved. This look was obviously broken, and Mac was cracking around the edges, but he wasn't even trying to hide it. The tears on his face weren't stopping and he made no move to wipe them away. Bozer made it to the floor, his mouth open in a coming question, but Mac shook his head, the soft smile faltering for a second.
"Matty."
Mac's single, stuttered word was enough to make Boze stop, though the worry still came off him in waves. He nodded and turned to the room he had been called to, his steps faltering again as he saw Matty's own tears. But he entered the room, and Mac heard Matty telling him to sit, that they were waiting for Desi, that everything was okay. He heard the soft ding of the elevator as though from down the hall and watched as Riley spun and practically fell into the thankfully empty elevator.
As he took a step forward to follow, he saw Desi down the hall. As though in slow motion, he met her eyes, took in her face as the shock-fear-concern flit across her face in turns, and softly shook his head as she opened her mouth, just as Bozer did. Then he was in the elevator and the doors closed as Desi passed, heading into the war room.