And so we made it to the end of season two. What a ride. Very long compilation of finale thoughts ahead: Don't read if you haven't watched and if you don't wanna read, feel free to skip to the story.

Really dislike Mac's dad. Really, really, REALLY dislike him. Like, a lot. That scene in the lab when they were fighting about Mac's mom broke my heart.

So thankful that the writers weren't dumb enough to make Jack one of the bad guys, I was terrified that he was going to be in on the secret about Mac's dad and I wasn't prepared to handle that. I think that would have been enough to make me wash my hands of this fandom, honestly.

And I'm glad that things worked out well with Mac and Matty in the end because I have always loved and trusted her (unlike Thornton who, for some reason, I didn't trust from the beginning. Literally, from the moment she walked down the staircase in Lake Como I got a bad vibe.)

The whole Riley thinking about leaving Phoenix to go work for the Coltons thing seemed SO RANDOM to me! Like, I get that they needed somewhere for her to go after Mac quit but that was really fast and totally out of character for her. No disrespect to the Coltons, because I'll take any opportunity for more Coltons, I love them, and I think Riley and Billy are pretty cute together. It was just so sudden, I literally rewound it and listened to him say that twice just to make sure I was hearing him right because I couldn't believe it.

Leanna is quite possibly the most boring, vanilla, uninteresting character they could have written, in my opinion. I'm guessing that season 3 is gonna find her and Bozer still working at Phoenix with Matty. They wouldn't have thrown in the random thing about Riley working with the Coltons unless they plan on her ending up there, at least for a while, and obviously Jack isn't going to be there without Mac (Right? RIGHT?!). But I don't think Mac would want Bozer to quit, especially since Leanna is there now, just because of him. So they're all going their own separate ways but then Murdoc is going to show up, or Charlie is going to call about a lead on the Ghost, and the team's going to get back together again for one last job to finish what they started and then they will realize how much they missed each other and how much they need each other and blah blah blah, we'll be back to normal by the second episode. Or at least I hope so.

Overall, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, I was prepared for way worse. The thing that disappointed me the most, though, was that we didn't get another piece of the Cairo puzzle for the opening! I just expected that we would get that for each finale but instead of Jack singing, and Bozer yelling about Mac not buying Cheerios and "Mac, my mummy thinks you're hot." we got Elwood. So disappointing.

Part One

Part One

"So basically, this is like you huntin' for me." Jack said, not entirely joking, the new information about his partner's life kept coming in waves and Jack hadn't had time to process any of it. And if he was feeling overwhelmed, he could only imagine how Mac was coping.

Mac didn't bother with a response, just sent Jack a glare and Jack could see just how fed up his partner was with all the curve balls MacGyver Sr. kept throwing his son's way. "Mac…" He started but the younger man stopped him with a raised hand.

"Don't Jack." Mac said with a defeated sigh. "Don't ask me if I'm okay, cause you know I'm not. I'm so far from okay at the moment… Don't ask if I need to talk about it cause we don't have time. Just, let's go, alright? Get this over with."

Mac was making valid points Jack knew, and he probably wouldn't have pushed the issue any further, would have just kept going with the mission, following James's lead, but when Mac moved his hand back down he saw the splash of red and his priorities immediately realigned. The mission faded to the background, the importance of finding Walsh, everything centered around Mac.

"Let me see." He ordered, grabbing Mac's forearm as his partner moved to turn away from him. "Mac. Stop."

"It's fine." Mac huffed as Jack pulled the side of the younger man's coat away and found, sure enough, a slice in his plaid shirt, just below his collarbone.

"That don't look like nothing." Jack argued, undoing the top buttons of Mac's shirt, personal space falling to the wayside when his partner was injured.

"It's just a scratch." Mac assured, knowing better than to argue about Jack checking him over.

"From his knife or that stunt with the window?" Jack asked, careful fingers exploring the wound.

"I honestly couldn't tell you." Mac said, voice indifferent. "Don't even really feel it now, to be honest. Don't feel much of anything."

"What are you two doing?" James MacGyver's voice cut through their conversation, causing Mac to flinch. "We need to get going."

"Hold on, now." Jack said, keeping one hand on his partner's shoulder, for comfort or to keep Mac from fleeing, he wasn't sure. Maybe a little of both. "We got a bit of a situation here." He nodded to Mac.

James took a step closer, peering at the wound as if it were a cell through a microscope. "Nothing life threatening, just a flesh wound." He declared. "You've had worse. Push through it and let's get moving."

Jack felt Mac's shoulder drop in defeat slightly, the situation turning into one more time his father had disappointed him, had chosen the job over his son, before he braced himself, as if preparing for a punch, and straightened his posture. "Yes sir." He said softly.

James nodded, and turned to walk away, clearly expecting both men to follow him.

"We ain't going anywhere until he's patched up." Jack announced, internally pleased at the way the other man's steps faltered in shock, he wasn't used to someone standing up to him, ignoring his direct orders.

"I think you're confused, Jack." James said, without bothering to turn to talk to Jack face to face. "Either about exactly whose orders you are defying or the importance of this situation, I'm not sure. But either way you need to get some common sense through that thick skull of yours and do what you were trained to do, what you were hired to do, and start following orders."

"Oh I know exactly who I'm ignoring." Jack said. "And I don't give a damn. As for what I was hired to do? My job is to take care of my partner. That's my mission. If you want to run off and leave us here, go take care of your buddy-gone-bad, be my guest. You leavin' is nothing new. But if you want our help, and somehow I get the feeling that you know you're gonna need it, since you went through the inconvenience of bringing us along this far, you're going to wait until I make sure my partner is alright."

"Jack, don't." Mac said softly. "It's not worth it, let's just go."

"You are always worth it." Jack insisted, the double meaning behind the words ringing through loud and clear. "And he can either be on his merry way or go get me the first aid kit from your Jeep."

James turned and walked back into the building without a word.

"You think he's bringing back the med kit or taking the car?" Mac asked when the man, Mac's long lost father, he had to keep reminding himself, was out of earshot.

"We'll find out soon enough." Jack reasoned, ducking his head to meet Mac's eyes. "Either way gives us a chance to talk."

"I don't want to talk, Jack." Mac sighed, walking over and leaning against one of the window sills that lined the brick building.

"Don't wanna talk to me?" Jack asked, following his partner but taking care not to get too close, knowing that feeling stifled would just make Mac pull away even more. "Or don't wanna talk in general?"

"In general." Mac assured with a small smile, the first Jack had seen so far on their current mission.

"Good." Jack smiled back. The moment was interrupted by James walking back through the open doorway, first aid kit in hand. "Guess we know which one he picked."

"I found the med supply box but there isn't a suture kit in it." James announced. "Although I'm not sure why…. You know, Angus, your little improvisation trick is cute but you don't have to force yourself into those situations all the time. Use a little common sense and you won't have to go digging up a fish hook and dental floss next time someone needs stitches."

"It's not deep enough to need stitches." Mac said, hanging his head so that his hair fell over his eyes.

"And we've both been patched up by that little fishin' hook, dental floss trick. Saved our asses more than once." Jack defended.

"Fine. Let's take care of this so we can get on the road." James said, pulling Mac's jacket away from his shoulder with a tug.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jack asked, standing up and taking a step closer to Mac's father. "Get your hands off him."

"He's my son, Dalton." James said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him."

"No." Mac snapped, his eyes meeting James's with fury. "Apparently you can't. You don't just get to show up after fifteen years and pretend like everything's fine, like I'm still that six year old kid who just fell off his bike and needs you to fix his scraped knee."

"Hey." Jack said, stepping between the two men. "I'm all for you two having this conversation, but maybe not now, alright?" He took the first aid kit from James's hands and turned to his partner, eyebrows raised in a silent question.

Mac nodded and Jack balanced the medical kit on Mac's knees as he began digging through it.

"So you'll let him do my job." James scoffed. "Interesting."

"He's been doing it for the past seven years." Mac replied. "Sorry if I trust him more than you."

James stared at his son for a moment and Jack swore he saw a flash of hurt pass through the man's eyes. After all he had put Mac through, he couldn't be bothered to care. "I'll just go wait in the car then." James decided, walking away without another word.

"Sorry." Mac said softly, once his father was out of hearing distance and Jack had begun cleaning the scratch on his chest. "I didn't' mean to put you in the middle of that." He shook his head, as if trying to erase the memory. "I just kinda lost it."

"Dude, that wasn't you losing it." Jack said with a sad smile. "Trust me. You've got a lot of stuff to work through, you and him. And I have a feeling it's gonna get worse before it gets better."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Mac agreed.

"But hey, I'm here no matter how it goes down, okay?" Jack asked with a smile.

Mac just nodded and closed his eyes, trusting Jack to take care of everything for the time being, trusting Jack not to leave.

Part Two

Jack watched with the rest of their little family, now down one critical member, as Mac walked the length of the hallway, his eyes never leaving the form of his partner's retreating shoulders, until Mac turned a corner and was out of his sight. He closed his eyes, childishly wishing, hoping, praying even, than when he opened them again Mac would be there, standing in front of him, sly smile on his face because it had all been a bad joke, or that any second he would come barreling back around the corner, boots squeaking against the linoleum, realizing he had made a huge mistake.

But it hadn't been a mistake, Jack knew that, deep down. No matter how nauseous Mac's decision made him or how badly it hurt, like someone had reached inside his chest and pulled his heart out, replacing it with a block of ice, jagged and bitterly cold, it hadn't been a mistake.

"Um," Bozer's voice was the first to break the silence. "Did that just happen? He can't really quit. Can he?"

Jack took a breath, reminding himself that he wasn't the only one affected by the latest turn of events, and forced his eyes open, strategically not looking down the hallway Mac had disappeared through because he knew it would only hurt more. "Yeah, Boze. He can. He just did." He said gently, knowing that on a normal day he would be embarrassed at how choked up his voice was but not having it in him to care at the moment.

"So… It's over?" Riley asked and Jack knew she was crying before he even turned to look at her, which broke his heart even more.

He steeled himself before turning to face her, gently wiping away the tear tracks mascara was leaving down her cheeks with his thumbs before planting a kiss on her forehead and pulling her into a hug. "Yeah, darlin'. I think it is."

"Not exactly." Matty interrupted. "Just because we lost Mac doesn't mean any more of you have to leave. You still have a place here, all three of you."

"Is that why you hired Leanna?" Bozer asked. "Cause you knew that once he found out he wouldn't stay?"

"I was hoping I would be wrong." Matty said sadly.

"And you think that little girl with, what, six months experience, no offense Bozer, is going to just slide in here and replace Mac?" Jack asked.

"No." Matty assured. "Not even close. Leanna is a great agent and she will no doubt be an asset to the Phoenix, but I was thinking that if Mac decided to stick with his original decision it would be nice to have someone you already know joining the team instead of hiring someone nobody trusted. A familiar face."

"The team." Riley scoffed, the sadness in her eyes giving way to anger. "There isn't a team without Mac, Matty. Jack is Mac's overwatch, I wouldn't be here if they hadn't found me and pulled me out of prison, Bozer wouldn't even know about the Phoenix, let alone work here, if it weren't for Mac."

"I get what you're saying." Matty said gently. "And if any of you choose to follow Mac, well I can't say that I blame you, though personally, I'm hoping you don't. But I'm going to ask you not to make any rash decisions. Take some time, think things through. Please. Mac would want that much."

Jack looked down at Riley, with a questioning smile. She knew his mind had been made up the second Mac walked out the door. She nodded before breaking free of the hug.

"You do just that." Jack said agreeing with Matty and looking both Bozer and Riley in the eyes. "Both of you. Think long and hard about this before you decide. Mac wouldn't want you to leave because of him."

"I get the feeling you're not going to take your own advice?" Matty asked sadly.

"We're a package deal, Matty. Me and Mac. I don't' have a place here without him." Jack said, oddly at peace with the decision.

"Then you know what to do." She said nodding towards where James MacGyver was still standing in the war room.

Jack took a breath before walking through the doorway, knocking lightly on the frame as he entered. "James? Can we talk for a minute?"

"I'm still your boss, Dalton. I thought we already went through this." James said with a sigh, turning to face Jack, expression faltering when he saw the other man's face. "Well I thought I was still your boss…"

"Afraid you're going to have two sets of resignation papers to fill out this evening." Jack said. "And my 'sirs' are reserved for people who have earned my respect."

"I see." James said, motioning towards a set of chairs. "You wanted to talk?"

Jack sat down in the chair opposite of Mac's father, elbows braced on his knees, fingers intertwined. "What's your earliest memory, James?" He asked, staring at a spot on the wall just past the other man's shoulder. "How old were you?"

"I'm not sure what this has to do with your resignation…" James said. "Or my son, for that matter."

"Just humor me." Jack said with a wan smile. "See, I'd say I was about three. That's as far back as I can remember."

"Probably around there, yes." James agreed with confusion. "But if there is a point to this, Jack, please make it."

"Let's say that since you and I can't either one remember before we were three years old, Mac can't either. And you left when he turned ten, which means that he has seven years of memories with you." Jack said. "Sound about right?"

"I'm not proud of that number, but yes." James admitted.

"See now here's my point. I've put in seven years too." Jack said. "Since I started working with your son, James. Over the course of that boy's life I've been there for him just as much as you have."

"I was here, Dalton. Always." James snapped.

"Not when it mattered." Jack said, voice scarily calm. "You were sitting upstairs somewhere, safe behind a desk. It was me, who kept him alive over there in that desert, what times he wasn't busy savin' me. And it was me who signed up for this job when he decided to take it, cause I couldn't stand the thought of someone else watching his back. Nobody would do as good a job as I did. I'm the one that spends the nights by his side when he's hurt, layin' up there in medical and the one who spent years breaking through those walls he built around his heart so damn high because of how bad you hurt him. I have spent the last seven years of my life loving that kid. But the difference between you and me, James, is that I'm not stopping at seven.

"There's a lot of differences between you and me, Jack." James said, rubbing a tired hand across his forehead. "Just like there's a lot of differences between you and my son, who I must say, after officially meeting again, is less like me than I thought. But if you wanted to come in here and hurt me, you could have just hit me. That's more your style anyway, isn't it?"

"The only reason I didn't slam you into the ground so hard you're still layin' here come morning is because I know Mac wouldn't want me to. After everything you've done, he still wouldn't want me to hurt you." Jack hissed, standing up. "But you're right about something. That kid? He's nothing like you. Yeah he might have your big brain but he uses to fix things. All you do is break. You broke the heart of that little ten year old boy, who had already been through more than any kid should have to deal with, when you left. You broke his trust in people, in anyone loving him, even though he loves so damn much. And you did it again. Just now. You broke apart his family."

"Angus quit." James said, looking up at Jack. "He made that decision all on his own. As did you."

"He quit his job." Jack agreed. "But he didn't quit needing his dad. You just chose to stop being one."

"Dalton you don't work here anymore. I'm going to ask you to leave." James said, standing up and walking over to the wall of windows.

"You have one hell of an organization here, I'll give you that." Jack said sadly looking around the war room one final time. "It was an honor to work for it. You? Not so much."

He walked across the room, heading for the door but the bowl of paperclips on the table caught his eye. Mac's paperclips. He picked it up and tucked it under his arm as he left, the door closing behind him softly.

The hallway was empty so he decided to go check on Mac rather than track down Riley, Bozer, and Matty. He didn't have far to look, though. Mac's blonde head, slumped against the concrete wall, was the first thing he saw when he entered the Phoenix parking garage.

"What are you still doin' here?" Jack asked, sitting down beside Mac and stretching his legs out, his boots nearly touching his partner's. "Dramatic exits usually involve you, ya know, actually leaving the building."

"Didn't know where to go." Mac said softly. "And the Jeep's still in Mexico."

"Well c'mon." Jack said, patting Mac on the knee. "I'll give you a ride home."

"You mean to my grandpa's house?" Mac asked bitterly, Jack had never heard him talk about his grandfather like that before. His face must have shown his confusion because Mac sighed, letting his head fall back against the wall. "He knew. My grandpa knew. He knew where my dad was, who my dad was. He gave him updates on me. Like I was some project he was funding. Which, in a way, I guess I was."

"Damn, kid." Jack shook his head morosely. "I'm so sorry. About everything, but, that especially."

"Nothing's mine anymore, Jack." Mac said, and on any other person those words would have been the breaking point, but Mac's face was blank, impassive, as if he was feeling too many things to really feel any of them at all. "My house, my job, even you, he had a hand in everything."

"For what it's worth, he didn't seem too thrilled about us quitting." Jack said softly.

"There was probably an ulterior motive behind it." Mac said. "I was probably just playing right into his plan. That's what I've done my whole life." He paused, Jack's words finally catching up with him. "Wait, what do you mean 'us' quitting? Jack please tell me you didn't." He said in panic.

"Course I did." Jack said with a grin. "You didn't think I would stay there without you, did ya?"

Mac closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ruin this for you too."

"It's fine. We knew this wasn't gonna be a forever gig." Jack assured. "And sure, it's a little earlier than we planned on leavin' but given the circumstances, I don't think anyone's gonna be shocked by it. I couldn't stay here and do my job knowing who was really in charge, not after how he did you."

"Thanks." Mac said, voice barely above a whisper. "For everything."

"Of course." Jack slung an arm around Mac's shoulders. "But we're focusing on you, for a minute, not me, okay? What can I do?"

"I don't know, Jack. Honestly. I just… I just want out of here." He said, though he didn't make any move to get out from under Jack's arm.

Jack sighed. "I get the feelin' that wherever you end up goin' you're not gonna want any company."

"I just need some time to process everything." Mac agreed. "You wanna drive me to go rent a car?"

"You ain't renting no car." Jack argued, reaching a hand into his pocket. "Take mine."

"I'm not taking your car." Mac protested, pushing away the keys Jack handed to him.

"I'll catch a ride home with somebody." Jack assured. "And at least if your off drivin' around all over creation I'll know your in a car that'll get you home."

"Okay." Mac agreed, turning to look at Jack fully for the first time since his partner had showed up in the parking garage. "Thanks." Something caught his eye as he reached over to take the keys from Jack's hand. "Is… Is that the paperclip bowl?" He asked.

"Oh." Jack huffed a laugh, reaching his hand into the mass of silver steel and letting the clips fall back into the bowl between his fingers. "Yeah. I couldn't just leave it there. Didn't feel right, letting your dad keep 'em." Jack explained sheepishly.

"You're the best, you know that?" Mac asked, amazed once again by his friend's heart.

"Oh, yeah. I'm well aware." Jack teased.

Mac smiled back. "I think I'm going to go, then."

Jack nodded. "You be careful, you hear? And check in tonight. I don't care where you go, so long as you don't leave the country without giving me a heads up, but just check in, alright? You don't even have to tell me where you are, just let me know you're safe. If you need me, I'll drop everything, be right there."

Jack stayed sitting there, against the cold concrete wall of the parking garage as his car pulled out of the building for the last time, letting the paperclips fall from his hand. Letting Mac drive away was one of the hardest things Jack had ever done, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He didn't know how James MacGyver had ever left that boy, but one thing was for damn sure, Jack wasn't going anywhere.

Part Three

Mac had forgotten what a quiet night sounded like, after living in LA for so long. And those nights that he was out of the city he was usually on a job and didn't have time to appreciate the peacefulness of nightfall. But now he had nothing but time, so he walked, slowly, through the well manicured lawn, with only the moon lighting his path. It had been years since he had been there but his feet trekked forward as if they remembered the way. He hadn't meant to drive up to Mission City, for a while he was simply driving, taking a right at the first intersection he came to, a left at the next, and somehow he had ended up heading that direction, it hadn't felt wrong so he kept going.

His journey back to his hometown may have not been intentional, but driving to the cemetery gates certainly was.

It was standing there, looking exactly how he remembered it, though he tried no to picture the place too often. It had been close to ten years since he had been there but the slab of stone, carved into an angel, still caused his chest to ache. He pushed on though, not stopping until he was in front of the grave.

"Hey mom." He said softly. "It's been a while, huh?"

He looked up at the sky, at the countless stars, and sat down, leaning against the tombstone so he wouldn't have to see the words carved their. Her name. Her birthday and the day she died, that little dash between the two dates that was somehow supposed to symbolize her entire life.

"I don't entirely believe that you can hear me," He continued. "But a friend of mine says you can. He talks to his dad all the time. So I'm gonna give it a shot."

He fell silent for a while, not wanting to voice the words that he didn't even want to believe himself. "I found dad today. I'm not even sure if you knew he was gone, but, he was. He left. Well, but not really, it turns out. Turns out he was right there, all along. Pulling the strings to make my life go exactly how he wanted. Like I was some kind of puppet." His voice cracked and for the first time Mac allowed himself to break down. "I just don't know what's real anymore, mom. He lied to me, all this time. And he made grandpa lie to me too. And I don't know what to do, where to go, everything's a mess and I'm so damn mad…" His words trailed off, replaced by sobs. "And I miss you."

Mac didn't know how long he sat there, crying into the night sky, but eventually the tears subsided and he caught his breath, sighing in frustration and wiping his eyes. "Sorry. Apparently I'm even worse at talking to you than I am to people right in front of me."

"Sounds like you're doin' an alright job to me." A voice cut through the night, causing Mac to jump. "Jack?"

"You don't have to use words in places like this." Jack continued, walking closer. "She knows what you mean."

"What are you doing here?" Mac asked, looking around for some explanation. "How'd you know where I was?"

"I didn't." Jack answered. "But you forgot to call me, let me know you were alright. So I asked myself where I would go, if I'd had the day you just did. There was only one option."

"Hi there, ma'am." Jack said, stepping closer to the headstone and laying a hand on one of the angel's wings. "My name's Jack andn I'm a real good friend of your son's here, I'm gonna have a seat for a while if that's alright with you." He paused for a second before sitting down beside Mac.

"So did everyone leave?" Mac asked after a few moments passed, needing to fill the silence. "I ruined that job for all of you?"

"Matty's still onboard." Jack said. "And you knew she brought Leanna in, right?"

Mac nodded.

"Well Bozer decided to stay, but he says he's only doing lab work from here on out. Nothing in the field." Jack smiled. "He really likes that girl."

Mac nodded, some of the tension draining from his shoulders from knowing that he didn't cost his oldest friend his job.

"Riley's out though." Jack said softly, and Mac could hear the pain in his partner's voice from saying the words. "She, um, she said Mamma offered her a job. To come work with Billy and the rest of the Coltons."

"She's moving there?" Mac asked, as much as the news hurt him he couldn't imagine what Jack was feeling.

"Yeah." Jack nodded sadly. "She's flyin' down in the morning, to find a place. Coming back for the rest of her stuff at the end of the week."

Mac dropped his head into his hands. "I'm so sorry, Jack. This is all my fault. You just got her back, and things were so great and…"

"Hey." A soft hand fell on his shoulder. "Stop. We're not losing her. It's not like she's goin' off grid, never to be heard from again. She's coming back to LA to visit all of us. And her mom's there too. We'll be seein' her plenty."

"It's not the same." Mac said, voice quavering again.

"No. No it isn't." Jack agreed. "I ain't even gonna lie to you and tell you that it's gonna be better. But it's gonna be alright."

"How do you know?" Mac asked, eyes shining with tears getting ready to start falling again.

"Cause we're sitting in a cemetery, Mac. There are worse things that can happen to a family than someone movin' away and a couple others quitting their jobs." His voice turned gentler. "You of all people should know that, buddy. You can't always get what you want."

"So help me man, if you start singing The Stones right now…" Mac said with a small smile that quickly faded. "I still can't believe my dad was there, all along."

"I know, man. I know." Jack agreed. "It's beyond messed up. But there's plenty of other people who care about you and haven't screwed you over and lied to you your whole life."

"I think plenty means more than three, Jack." Mac joked tiredly. "Four if you count Matty, which, since she was lying to help me I guess we can."

"Hey, quality over quantity." Jack pointed out. "It don't matter how big of a family you got, what's important is how much they love ya."

"That's true." Mac agreed. He turned, looking at the angel behind him. "We're going to get through this, right?" He asked quietly, not sure if he was asking Jack or his mom.

"We always do, partner." Jack answered. "We always do."

"You're gonna have to stop calling me that." Mac said, elbowing Jack in the ribs. "Technically we're not partners anymore."

"No way." Jack said fiercely, leaving no room for argument. "You and me, we're partners. That don't stop just because we don't have the job to back it up."

Mac smiled, relieved. It didn't matter what the world threw his way, he knew he could handle it. Because Jack Dalton was his partner. And that was one thing that wasn't going to change.

The End. Wow. I'd love to hear your thoughts. On this chapter, the work in whole, season two, season three, anything. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed as much as I enjoyed writing it.