Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

User avatar
uniquelyjas
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:55 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by uniquelyjas »

Well, first of all, I'm glad Mac's physical therapy went so well and that he is recovering quicker than expected...but that's Mac! I'm not surprised he was able to talk the doc into discharging him early...LOL! Sooooo, it seems like he's in a pretty good place psychologically speaking...at least for Mac. That he's ready and willing to tell Nikki he loves her (again) is awfully huge given his fear of commitment.

As for Nikki, she seems to be in a pretty bad place and throwing up a lot of walls around her regarding Mac. She still feels jinxed and guilty for both Adam AND Mac now! She says she wants to protect Mac, but how? By pushing him away...again? And what's this about an "offer on the table"? Does her trip to D.C. have anything to do with it? Is she taking a new position? Leaving town? Leaving Mac? Oh boy, only a few chapters left to work everything out! I know you've said from the beginning this story would explain why Nikki no longer appeared on the show but please don't let her break Mac's heart!!
User avatar
Wathorighh
Posts: 289
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2021 3:10 pm
Location: South of Hamburg/Germany

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by Wathorighh »

Thanks for the new update. Have you been insomniac? However, it was a big surprise that the update was already online when I woke up.

I'm happy for Mac's on-going recovery. As I'm going through my knee recovery I know how quickly the muscles get smaller when you're not allowed to move them. Something Mac was definitely going through in your story and he has to built up a lot more muscles than I have with my knee/leg. ;) Hard work.

So Nikki seems to be on the run from her own feelings and because she is blaming herself. Hmm, I don't know what to think about it. It'll break Mac's heart I'm afraid. For some reasons, I'm afraid, Mac is going to find an empty apartment. :? Phew, I hope I'm wrong. So can't wait for the next part.
**Andrea**
User avatar
bluegirl
Posts: 873
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2019 6:16 am
Location: Deutsch-Wagram, Austria

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by bluegirl »

Wathorighh wrote: Thu Dec 30, 2021 11:20 pm Have you been insomniac?

So Nikki seems to be on the run from her own feelings and because she is blaming herself. Hmm, I don't know what to think about it. It'll break Mac's heart I'm afraid. For some reasons, I'm afraid, Mac is going to find an empty apartment. :? Phew, I hope I'm wrong.
As a matter of fact, I had trouble getting some sleep that night... :(

You hope you´re wrong... about the empty apartment? About breaking Mac´s heart? About Nikki running from her feelings? Unfortunately, I can neither agree nor decline your ideas - that´s what those last three parts are dealing with - obviously. 8-)
The stuff is already there. I just find a different way to use it.
User avatar
bluegirl
Posts: 873
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2019 6:16 am
Location: Deutsch-Wagram, Austria

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by bluegirl »

uniquelyjas wrote: Thu Dec 30, 2021 3:08 am I know you've said from the beginning this story would explain why Nikki no longer appeared on the show but please don't let her break Mac's heart!!
Hmmm... can´t give you any guarantees on that... :roll:
The stuff is already there. I just find a different way to use it.
User avatar
Daicy
Posts: 574
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2020 7:05 pm
Location: Kolín Czech Republic Europe

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by Daicy »

bluegirl wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 12:16 pm
Daicy wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 8:18 pm Great read, exciting, arousing emotions.

Nikki survived, wow ...Agents (ex-agents) caught, wow ... MacGyver is recovering as always.
Well, MacGyver should better be recovering - or I´ll run into a problem with staying in canon with season 4 - since this is NOT meant to be AU :roll:

As for arousing emotions - should I have added another 'tissues needed warning'? ;)


Quality works of art evoke emotions and sometimes catharsis. That was not a criticism. If it bothers me, I'll just stop reading. You don't have to give a warning. Emotions are a normal part of life. We all have them.

Chapter 18 seems cut to me. Mack's first physio therapy is described in detail in a half chapter and then hop and Mac is on a houseboat and Nikki is in D.C.. It is as if a piece of text is missing and the second part of the chapter suddenly has a different, less detailed style of writing.
Daicy :)
ergomac23
Posts: 1128
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2018 8:48 am

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by ergomac23 »

oh what a chapter ...i had a feeling Nikki would feel like she was to blame and start running away from Macgyver it's almost like they are to similar to each other each feel when something goes wrong that they are to blame for it they both have issues with commitment and fear so this relationship would always be hard for them one of them was bound to runaway from the relationship sooner or later :(
User avatar
bluegirl
Posts: 873
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2019 6:16 am
Location: Deutsch-Wagram, Austria

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by bluegirl »

Hi there! It´s Sunday morning - at my little part of the planet...

So... we´re heading for the 'three chapter finale'... Mac´s just out of the hospital and eager to surprise Nikki, eager to be reunited with her, eager to confess his love for her...

But some of you sense trouble ahead... hmmm... Will his plan work out well? Will he end up as the one being surprised? In more ways than one? :roll:

Part 19 of 21


It was just past 7 p.m. when MacGyver parked his jeep in a side road of the Forster Lane, slid out of it and closed the door. Pete had taken care of returning the jeep to the marina´s parking lot during Mac´s stay in the hospital, and he´d also sent someone to mount the hardtop and the doors. Mac had noticed it when the taxi had dropped him off and had given Pete a quick call to tell him he was home and to express his gratitude for all that he´d done for him while he´d consumed his sandwich.

Pete Thornton had been surprised, but glad to hear the good news and had brushed off Mac´s thanks off with a quick: “Hey, somebody´s gotta clean up the mess of the trouble you´re so good at getting into…” MacGyver smiled to himself at the memory. Pete was his boss, his best friend, and at times he felt almost like the father Mac had lost way too early in his life. Mac knew he could rely on Pete, come what may. Pete would always have his back and support him. He treasured their friendship.

The sun had set about half an hour ago, the air was cooling down, and he had appreciated the doors and the hardtop being back on the jeep during his ride. MacGyver pulled up the zipper of his jacket a little more, felt for the key to Nikki´s apartment in the pocket of his jeans, and then walked off toward the Forster Lane. Some large truck had forced him to park in the side road because it was occupying several parking spaces next to the apartment building, but Mac didn´t pay attention to it as he came around the corner. His focus was directed to the windows of Nikki´s apartment, and he let out a relieved sigh when he saw light filtering through the curtains.

She is home, he thought and strode toward the entrance of the building. So far, so good.

His heartbeat sped up a notch at the prospect of seeing and surprising the woman he loved. Subconsciously he quickened his steps a little with excitement as he crossed the small park and let his eyes wander around. He noticed Nikki´s sedan across the park and was only halfway through it, when he spotted Nikki leaving the apartment building and hurrying toward her car. Mac instantly changed the direction of his steps.

“Nikki!” he called out to her. He saw her flinch with surprise – probably about hearing his voice – stop and then turn to him.

A quick glad smile crossed Nikki´s face while she watched MacGyver walk closer to her, back on his own feet. His movements still seemed a bit stiff, but almost back to normal. Nikki sighed with inner relief about his improved condition, but then her heart sank with the realization of the situation he had caught her in and her decision she had yet to tell him about. Of course, she thought. With MacGyver involved, I should have known that it wouldn´t work out as planned.

“Aren´t you still supposed to be in the hospital?” she asked with a chiding edge while she managed to return to her controlled, a little distant composure.

“I persuaded the doc to discharge me a little earlier.” MacGyver replied cheerfully grinning during his last steps and stopped in front of her. “I thought, I´d surprise you with the good news, since you couldn´t witness my progress over the last 10 days.” He took a moment to eye her all over before his dark eyes settled on her face.

“I missed you so much.” Mac continued with an earnest smile and reached up with one hand to caress her dark hair. He stepped even closer, wrapped her into an embrace, and bent down for a tender kiss. Nikki returned the kiss, but MacGyver noticed that her body didn´t soften to his touch as he was used to and she pulled back relatively soon. She then looked up at him with an uneasy, but otherwise unreadable expression while his hand rested gently on the side of her neck.

“You okay?” Mac asked with a soft voice. He wasn´t sure what to make of her reaction. He´d expected to see her happy, probably concerned, but nervous?

“Yes, of course.” Nikki assured, but broke the eye contact to scrutinize him all over. “You caught me off guard, that´s all.”

“Well, I guess, that´s what surprising someone is all about.” MacGyver replied with an impish grin. “I thought, you´d be happy to see me.”

“I am.” Nikki answered quickly. “I was just so concentrated on…” Her words trailed off to silence and she shot him a hesitant glance.

“I interrupted something important.” Mac said after a moment. “Sorry.”

Nikki only nodded silently. Her thoughts were running wild. Somehow she had to deal with this unintended and uncomfortable situation…

“You were heading toward your car.” Mac stated, straightened himself, and pulled back his hand. “Need to go somewhere?”

“No.” Nikki shook her head and half-turned to her sedan, again avoiding to look at MacGyver. “Just need to pick up some stuff I left in it and get it up to the apartment.”

Some icy edge was back in her voice, causing Mac to suspect she hid her worries under her cold façade, as usual. He chose to change the topic.

“Has your trip to Washington been successful?”

“Yes.” His question seemed to loosen something inside her because she turned and walked off to her car. “I´m sorry, I didn´t call as soon as I returned, but I was too caught up with work.” she answered over her shoulder.

“Yeah, Pete told me the study on the beach kept you occupied… and you supported him with other projects as well. I appreciate it.” Mac said while he followed her. “I´ll be back to help as soon as I can.”

Nikki sighed deeply and stopped a few steps away from her car.

“Would you please take all the time you need to recover?” she snapped at him and turned to face him. “You promised.”

MacGyver flinched back with her sharp reply and raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

“Whoa!” He grinned at her mischievously. “Never said I wouldn´t.”

But then his smile froze with her serious expression. Nikki still pinned him with an accusing stare. MacGyver drew in a deep breath and in doing so was once again reminded of the corset-like brace stabilizing his back.

“Nikki, I´m well aware of the consequences I might face if I don´t.” he assured her. “I will stick to the therapy plan… and I will take all the time it needs.”

Nikki´s face softened a bit with his words but just a moment later, when Mac wanted to step closer and console her with a soft kiss, her eyes left him, and she looked at something or someone behind MacGyver. Mac half-turned to see what had gotten her attention. He´d been so focused on Nikki that he hadn´t noticed the man in the grey overall coming up from behind. He was still a few yards away when he nodded a greeting to MacGyver and then addressed Nikki.

“We´re done for today, Ms. Carpenter. Everything´s loaded and will be on its way. We´ll pick up the rest on the day after tomorrow as planned.”

“Thank you.” Nikki nodded to him. “I´ll see you then.”

The man turned and left them, leaving back a baffled and silent MacGyver. He only understood when he read the print on the back of the man´s overall and the side of the truck he hadn´t paid attention to previously. Some moving company. His thoughts relaxed a bit. Of course, if I caught her in the middle of packing her belongings, it´ll be likely for her to react annoyed… Mac´s face lightened up a little.

“You´re moving?” he asked the obvious. “I can´t remember you mentioning it, but... Well, after all that has happened in your apartment over the last year, I can understand that...”

“Yes.” Nikki cut him off curtly and turned back to her car. “It is time for a change.”

MacGyver remembered the key in his pocket and retrieved it while he followed her again.

“Then I´d better give you this one back… guess, I won´t need it anymore.”

Nikki froze for a moment with her hand on the door´s handle, but took the key from him and stuffed it into her pocket. “Thanks.” Then she pulled the car´s back door open.

“Can I see the new apartment?” Mac asked with a beaming smile. He was already excited by the idea of Nikki finding a new place to live. “Or are you moving into a house?”

“It isn´t ready yet.” Nikki stated after a small pause while she bent down to reach for some cardboard boxes on the back seat. “I can´t show you tonight.”

“Oh, come on.” Mac chuckled behind her. “Can´t be that far. Maybe I can help with whatever there is still to fix. You know, I´m an expert with almost…” His teasing words trailed off to silence as he caught sight of some personal items she had kept on her desk. In her office. At the Phoenix Foundation´s headquarters. Why would she pack those? Why would she clear her office? His stomach tightened to a knot with a sense of foreboding. His breath caught in his throat. He had to swallow hard before he could speak again.

“Nikki, where are you moving to?”

Nikki left the boxes on the seat and straightened herself, but didn´t turn around to face him. Mac saw her draw in a deep breath.

“Washington, D.C.” she answered tonelessly after a moment.

MacGyver suddenly felt as if someone had punched him hard into his gut. His stomach turned. “What?” he all but whispered. His eyes widened with shock as he stared at her from behind.

“The Phoenix Foundation has opened up a bureau in Washington a while ago.” Nikki explained flatly but very determinedly. “With my knowledge of the area and the people, the executive board offered me to be a part of it… and probably take a leadership position real soon.”

She stood still and straight with her back toward MacGyver. He was too stunned by her words; he opened his mouth but didn´t know how to reply.

“This is a huge career opportunity for me.” Nikki added after a few moments of tense silence.

Mac felt his chest tightening, an icy cold rushed down his back and spread through him. Slowly, cautiously he reached out and softly touched her upper arm in an attempt to get her to turn around and look at him.

“But, Nikki…” he started out hesitantly, somehow afraid to hear the answer to the question he was about to ask. “What about us?”

When he saw her face the cold and hard expression he had been so used to before the summer was back. She didn´t even turn all the way to face him.

“Oh, come on, MacGyver, be serious.” she snapped at him with a mocking tone over her shoulder. “There never really was an ‘us’.”

MacGyver subconsciously drew back a little with her sharp response. The words felt like a stab to his heart. This wasn´t anywhere close to what he had come here for. His thoughts went berserk. His mind flashed back to that evening in Austria… on that secluded clearing… next to Starkoss´ house… and to their first morning back in the USA… waking up together on the houseboat… her words to him.

“But… you told me…” he muttered a little helpless.

“Stop it, MacGyver.” Nikki cut him off harshly. “I know what happened. I let your injuries get the better of me in Austria and I allowed you to push me even further. But realistically, there never was a future to this.”

MacGyver´s heart seemed to skip a beat. “I never meant to push you… I´m sorry if you felt as if I did.” he said, now a little more determined despite the hurt he felt in his chest. “I really felt like…”

“Hold it, Mac!” Nikki retorted, still not turning to face him. “We had a nice summer, but that´s all there is to it.” Her voice had gotten back its chiding edge and she turned back fully to her car to pick up one of the boxes.

A nice summer? Her words echoed in Mac´s head as he licked his lips. There never was an ‘us’?

“When are you leaving?” he managed to ask in a carefully controlled voice despite his crushed feeling inside.

“My flight is due on Friday, around midday.” Nikki stated coldly. “I´ll ask Pete to give me a ride to the airport, so I´m not going to need your help, thanks.”

“That´s two and a half days from now.” Some of the icy pain MacGyver felt was turning into hot rage with her condescending tone. “When had you planned on telling me all this?”

“You were supposed to leave the hospital tomorrow morning, so…” Nikki straightened herself with one of the boxes in her arms.

“So?” Mac interrupted her angrily. “Two days left to break the news?”

“I certainly didn´t plan it to happen like this!” Nikki raised her voice as she finally turned around to face him. “A lot of the arrangements happened on very short notice… but I gotta move on with my life, MacGyver. Accept it.”

Mac was stunned silent with her last words for a few seconds. He was breathing heavily with the mixture of anguish and fury he felt within.

“A nice summer… that´s all it was to you…and now you gotta move on.” He repeated her words through clenched teeth, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Nikki only held the stare of his dark eyes quietly. “And you really expect me to simply accept all you said? Just like this… You can´t be serious…”

Nikki´s ongoing silent gaze and frozen expression cut like a knife into Mac´s soul. He couldn´t take any more of this. He stepped back a little from her. How could he have been this wrong in his judgment? Again?

“I had other plans for this evening as well.” MacGyver stated bitterly and half-raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “But I guess, what I wanted to tell you doesn´t matter anymore. Never mind… If Pete´s taking you to the airport, give the key to my houseboat to him. He´ll pass it on.” He took another step back as his inner hurt and bitterness took over. “I can´t promise I´ll show up at the airport.”

“I´d appreciate it if you won´t.” Nikki answered curtly.

Mac stood quietly for a few moments, eying her all over, searching for any clue that what he had heard from her during the last minutes hadn´t been true. But he found none. Something seemed to shatter inside of him with her last words. He bit his lower lip to keep his composure.

“Well then…” he said and drew in a deep breath. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” Nikki only nodded at him.

MacGyver watched her for another second, then quickly turned and headed off to his jeep.

Nikki stood stiff, tightly cradling the box to her chest, desperately striving to keep up her cold façade while she observed MacGyver walking away with hurried, long strides. She had to breathe deep to keep the tears under control that threatened to fill her eyes. As soon as he was around the corner, out of sight and out of earshot, she allowed her head to drop a little.

“I´m sorry, MacGyver.” she whispered with a breaking voice. “I sure hope, I managed to get you truly angry with me. It´ll make it easier for you.” All of a sudden she felt as if she couldn´t breathe freely anymore. Her gaze blurred with tears when she turned back to her car and slammed the door shut. “It´s better that way.” she muttered to herself, wiped some tears out of her eyes, and then forced her feet to carry her and the box she held back to her apartment.

*****

MacGyver slid into the driver´s seat and closed the jeep´s door with more force than necessary. The raw pain about what Nikki had told him still fought for the upper hand inside of him against the hot anger about the tone she had used to tell him. He sat frozen for minutes until some of his intense emotions ebbed away a little, allowing him a few more reasonable thoughts. Some defiance made its way to the surface of his feelings as he managed to push back the anger a bit. He drew in a deep breath to clear his mind and forced himself to think straight, to assess the situation logically – like he usually did when confronted with a serious problem.

It´s impossible I imagined all that I felt from her, Mac thought. This can´t be. She said she loves me, after all. Months ago… But what can I possibly do?

For a moment he was tempted to go back, to try and talk to her again, but realized as quickly that it would be useless today. They were both too angry and hurt by what and how it had been said. Mac ran his hands through his hair and rubbed them over his face. The thought of losing Nikki scared him. Some resignation threatened to rise inside, but he fought it back after a few seconds.

If only I had a little more time… if only I could get her to remember how she felt during the summer… before that darn evening and my mistake while defusing that bomb… if only I could apologize to her for all I did wrong… maybe, if Pete could offer her a job with a comparable career outlook around here… I might be able to convince her to stay… and we might get another chance.

A tiny glimpse of hope rose within him. MacGyver straightened himself and reached for the steering wheel. I´m not gonna let her leave without at least trying to fight for what we had. I gotta talk to Pete. Quickly, he thought as he fired up the jeep´s engine and drove off to the Phoenix Foundation´s headquarters.

*****

MacGyver found Pete Thornton behind his desk, engrossed in conversation with several men from the research department when he stormed into Pete´s office with only a brief knock on the door. Pete looked up, waved him closer, and interrupted his discussion for a moment.

“Hello, MacGyver, didn´t you say you were planning to have a quiet evening today?” He greeted Mac with a pleased smile, but it froze when he saw the tense and serious expression on his friend´s face.

“Pete, I need to talk to you. It´s important.” Mac said quickly without reacting to Pete´s greeting and only nodding to the lab guys. Pete looked up at him silent for a second.

“Of course.” he then agreed and turned to his guests. “Would you please excuse us?”

Pete Thornton had a good idea of what this conversation with Mac would be about, and he dreaded it, but knew it was bound to happen. When Nikki had approached him with her wish to take the job offer in Washington, D.C., he had tried to talk her out of it. In fact, they had spent almost half a morning talking about the situation, her relationship to and feelings for MacGyver, but in the end, she had still insisted on leaving. As the offer had come directly from the executive board, Pete had had no handle against it.

As MacGyver´s best friend he felt miserable with her decision and her having him promise back then that he wouldn´t tell Mac about it. Keeping that promise had been truly hard for Pete over the last nearly three weeks. He could empathize with why she chose to act like this but wasn´t happy about it. Pete knew how much the relationship with Nikki meant to his friend. When he watched MacGyver half-turn and observe the men leave, Pete deeply hoped that Nikki had found the right words to explain it to him. Then Mac should at least be able to understand her motivations.

As soon as the doors had closed, MacGyver turned back to his friend and boss. “It´s about Nikki.” he said tensely. “She´s about to move to Washington.”

Pete sighed and sat back on his chair. “The offer to her to work for our bureau there has been on the table almost since the executive board had finally hired her last year.”

Mac drew in a deep breath to keep his composure. Of course, Pete would know about such an offer. “Yeah, she told me it´ll be a huge career opportunity.” Mac replied with a bitter tone in his voice. He took a small pause to sort his thoughts. “Pete, I need your help.” he then continued a little firmer. “If you can find her a comparable job around here… we might be able to persuade her to stay… and I might get a chance to help her remember the emotions we shared.”

Pete was surprised by MacGyver´s request and confused with his last words. Help her remember the emotions we shared, it echoed in Pete´s head. As far as he recalled his conversation with Nikki, she clearly knew about her deep feelings for Mac; she knew how much she cared about him. What, in God´s name, has she said to him?

“I don´t know if…” Pete started out, but trailed off to a few seconds of silence. He did his best to not let his inner turmoil show on his face. “MacGyver, what happened?” he then asked a little clueless.

Mac started pacing the office in front of Pete´s desk to cope with his inner pain and tension.

“I drove over to Nikki´s apartment after I had called you.” he related after a couple of seconds. “I wanted to surprise her with the good news of being released from the hospital since I hadn´t seen her for ten days… only I ended up being surprised.” Mac stopped in front of Pete´s desk and looked directly at him. “I caught her in the middle of getting her stuff packed into a moving truck. Her personal belongings from her office here, at Phoenix, were already in boxes in her car.”

Pete looked up silently at MacGyver and noticed how he barely controlled his inner chaos under a thin veneer. He quietly waited for his friend to continue, to find the right words.

“When I asked her where she´s moving to, she told me about this great new job…” Mac finally said low. “That she´s gotta move on with her life… that there´s no future for us… that in fact, there never was an ‘us’.”

Pete´s stomach tightened with MacGyver´s last sentence. That was about the complete opposite to what Nikki had told Pete. Why would she…? For a moment he was angry at Nikki for having him swear that he wouldn´t tell Mac a single word about their conversation. But in the next, Pete´s anger turned against himself for agreeing to it in the first place. His thoughts ran wild. How would he be able to honor his promise to Nikki and at the same time console his best friend in his anguish? How could he prevent increasing MacGyver´s suffering even more? Pete drew in a deep breath. Only everyday platitudes came to his mind. Meaningless platitudes in this situation.

“Mac, I´m so sorry.” he said nevertheless after a few moments and watched MacGyver lower himself into one of the chairs across his desk.

“I can´t believe that I´ve been that wrong… again.” Mac replied crestfallen, not facing Pete anymore but staring into the distance. “I mean, you´ve seen her… you´ve been with us.”

“I have.” Pete sighed. He knew which other mistake Mac was referring to. Deborah. He knew how deeply her betrayal had affected Mac. Seeing his friend that lost and almost broken by what Nikki had said tore at his heart. But at the moment he didn´t even know how or if he´d be able to help him. Suddenly MacGyver turned to him with a both pleading and determined expression.

“Pete, I really need your help… Can you find her a similar career opportunity around here? If you´ll talk to her, she might stay and we´d probably…” he asked, but his words trailed off to silence when he saw Pete´s frozen face. Pete cleared his throat and took another deep breath.

“That offer came directly from the executive board.” he stated carefully neutral. “I can´t do anything about it. Offering her a job like this in the western division will take time. I already discussed that possibility with her.”

“You did?” A little more of the pain he felt was visible in Mac´s eyes. “Well, if that offer´s been on the table for months… Why did she choose to leave that quickly? Especially now? I don´t understand it…”

Pete didn´t answer at once. He´d known he´d find himself cornered at some point of this conversation. How could he possibly get out of this mess without hurting his friend even deeper? He couldn´t just lie to him, that was unthinkable. With an inner sigh, he gave in to the inevitable. He had to admit that he had known about it. All the time.

“It all happened a lot faster than we both had anticipated.” Pete started to explain. “Especially her preparatory trip to Washington and her flight on Friday. She came to me with her wish to take that offer almost three weeks ago…” He broke off when he saw first surprise on Mac´s face and then witnessed his expression freeze.

“Wait a minute… we?” Mac repeated baffled after a moment. “What do you know about that flight? Nikki said she´d still have to ask you to take her to the airport.”

“She must have forgotten that I already offered to …” Pete wanted to continue, to calm the situation before it got completely out of hand but was cut off by MacGyver.

“She came to you?” he continued sharply after all of Pete´s words had sunken in. “Three weeks ago? … You´re a part of this? You knew all the time? … And didn´t tell me?” The realization hit MacGyver like another stab to his already aching heart. He had been perplexed a moment ago, but now a mixture of bitter disappointment and hot boiling anger rose within him. Mac straightened himself in the chair and felt his stomach turn into a tight knot. Once more on this evening.

“MacGyver, Nikki had me swear I wouldn´t say a single word to you.” Pete tried to defend himself when he saw Mac getting furious. He just now noticed how big a mistake he´d made. “She wanted to talk to you herself. What she told me wasn´t…”

“Well, she did talk to me.” Mac interrupted Pete again harshly and pushed himself out of his chair. “Kind of… unlike you.”

Pete rose out of his chair with him. “I tried to convince her otherwise!”

MacGyver took a silent step backward, staring unbelieving at Pete. His best friend, the one he had thought he could come to and trust with everything. The one he had thought would do all he could to support him.

“I trusted Nikki about this. Had I known… I never thought…” Pete tried again.

“I thought I could trust you.” Mac stated coldly before Pete could finish and took another step backward as Pete came around his desk. “You knew how much she means to me. But you acted behind my back… both… together. And you kept it from me!”

“Of course, you can trust me. MacGyver, I´m sorry.” Pete hurried to assure and apologize. “I´ll try again… I´ll call her… I´ll talk to the board.”

MacGyver felt a red-hot rage burning deep inside and taking over his senses. His body stiffened as he straightened himself.

“Yeah, sure… nothing you couldn´t have tried during the last three weeks… while I was stuck in the hospital… don´t bother.” he replied bitterly through clenched teeth. “Never mind… thanks for your help, friend.”

With that, he turned, hurried out of Pete´s office, and slammed the door closed behind himself. He heard Pete call after him, heard him open the door and follow him, but didn´t pay any attention to it. Mac almost ran along the corridor toward the elevators. All of a sudden he felt like he couldn´t breathe freely anymore. He had to get out of here.

MacGyver caught an elevator car just before it was closing its doors on its way down, just in time to keep Pete from coming after him. He was thankful no one was there but him. His thoughts and emotions ran berserk in the sudden silence of the elevator. Mac leaned against the back wall of the car and rubbed his hands over his face with frustration. The hurt and anger Nikki´s words had caused now mixed with the bitterness and disappointment about how his best friend had obviously been involved in all this.

For three weeks. Without saying a single word. Without giving me even the slightest heads-up or chance to do something about it. They have kept it secret. Both. Together.

MacGyver puffed out a deep breath when the elevator reached the parking garage; he hurried past the security guard with only a grim greeting and strode to his jeep. He started the engine and drove off quickly, but didn´t care about the direction he took. He only felt the overwhelming urge to get away from all this, to get some distance between himself and the city.

*****

MacGyver hadn´t paid much attention to where he´d been driving. He had headed roughly north out of Los Angeles, passed Pasadena, and then chosen to turn west through the Simi Valley. Somehow he had ended up on the Pacific Coast Highway and was just past Santa Barbara when he noticed he had to refuel his jeep.

Mac stopped at some small, random gas station, filled up the jeep, and got himself some soda to drink. Just then he realized how late it had gotten and how far he´d driven in his fury. Nevertheless, he continued his way along the coast. The waning moon cast only little, but an eerie light over the cliffs and beaches of the nightly coastline. MacGyver tried his best to keep his concentration on the road and the scenery to somehow get rid of his intense emotions, but he hadn´t paid attention to the station he had tuned the jeep´s radio to. The fast, rocky songs from the early evening had long changed to softer tunes, to ballads, to songs about love, longing, and loss.

The music got to him real fast, despite his best effort to focus on the road and the landscapes he was passing through. The lyrics of a duet called ‘The Last Unbroken Heart’ reminded MacGyver of the doubts he and Nikki had shared at the beginning, when first she and then he had shied away from giving this relationship a chance. But they had convinced each other to face their fears. It made him recall their time together in Austria, his frightful awakening on their first morning together on the houseboat, but then it fueled his anger. Hadn´t his heart been broken often enough?

Several minutes later, Roxy Music´s ‘Lover’ reminded Mac of how it had felt to have Nikki in his arms, to have her physically close. The memory of why they had been late for their appointment with Pete on their first morning back in the U.S. crept into his head. How soft and warm her body had felt against his. The scent of her silky skin and her hair returned. MacGyver couldn´t recall being that nervous about making love to a woman for the first time, but with Nikki… it had meant so much. And it had been so special.

Holding her, caressing her, kissing her had felt so good, so right. Witnessing her reactions to his touch and the pleasure he´d caused her had made it even more amazing, had made him feel the passion between them even more intense. With his angriness still raging inside, MacGyver tried to push back the pictures and the emotions that came to the surface of his mind but it was no use.

Their last evening on the pier behind Pete´s rebuilt cabin returned along with how contented and whole he´d felt then… the romantic rendezvous in the high-class restaurant he´d taken Nikki out to… the whole damn beautiful summer they´d shared. MacGyver had to swallow hard to keep his composure when the anguish about the prospect of losing all this took over and mixed with his wrath.

A small while later, when The Police sang ‘Every Breath You Take’, Mac realized he couldn´t safely focus on driving anymore. He was relieved when he spotted a sign pointing to the parking lot of a state beach within a few moments and let his jeep roll onto it while this song about love, loss, and futile longing was still playing.

MacGyver shut down the engine and sat there in silence, taking deep breaths in an attempt to preserve the last bit of his self-control. Then he left his jeep behind after a quick look around the parking lot. His car was the only one around, he noticed as he strode down to the beach. Nothing to be surprised about this late at night, Mac thought. A glance at this watch told him it was past 11 p.m. No one to be seen at the beach as well, he sighed inwardly. Good, being alone is exactly what I need right now.

Some clouds dimmed what little light the waning moon was providing, letting the water appear almost black under the nightly sky. Only the sand and some breaking waves added some lighter nuances to the scenery. MacGyver stopped a few feet away from the water line and stared out over the Pacific Ocean. Somehow the emptiness of the beach together with the darkness of the sky and the water matched his emotions inside. Some rage about how Nikki and Pete had acted toward him was still boiling underneath, but for the most part, he felt his heart aching with bitter disappointment, grief, and loss. Although he had subconsciously searched solitude, he all of a sudden felt extremely lonely… and broken.

While MacGyver watched and listened to the rolling waves more and more memories of the last one and a half years washed over him. He didn´t try to control them anymore. He was simply too exhausted by the intensity of it all by now. He still couldn´t fully comprehend what had happened, and why it had happened. Abruptly Mike´s and his last conversation popped into his head.

‘All those women in your life and you never learned a thing, did you?’

“Well, obviously I didn´t.” Mac replied low to himself as Mike´s words to him echoed in his head. He allowed himself to drop to his knees, sat back on his heels, and rubbed his hands over his face in frustration and defeat.

‘There never really was an ‘us’.’ … Nikki´s declaration replayed in his mind.

What warning signals had he missed this time? Had he angered Nikki too much by digging into her past again? But she hadn´t mentioned it anymore… Had he held back confessing his deepest emotions for her too long? But it had felt so true, so genuine, so much like the real thing this time… What had he done to screw up his relationship with Nikki? Why had Pete, of all people, been helping her?

The thoughts and doubts kept rotating in MacGyver´s head while he reflected on his memories, but try as he might, he couldn´t see any solution, any reason for what had occurred on this evening. Even the wide, black water of the Pacific Ocean didn´t help; Mac only felt as if it would swallow him and his dark thoughts, given some time.

He hadn´t cared about how long he´d been first standing and then kneeling on the beach, yet at some point he noticed tiredness adding to his emotional exhaustion. Gingerly he got back on his feet and slowly walked back to the jeep. Taking on the three-hour drive home wouldn´t be a good idea like this, Mac realized. I´d better find some motel around here for the rest of the night before I get into an accident.

He brushed the sand off his jeans before he slid into the driver´s seat, wearily thought about which direction he had to take for the closest town, and then took off. Fortunately, MacGyver had to drive only a short while until he found a small, run-down motel at the outskirts of the next village that was still open and had a vacant room. The old desk clerk eyed Mac suspiciously all over, seemingly not used to new guests showing up beyond midnight, but didn´t ask any inquiring questions. MacGyver was silently grateful for it, even if he wasn´t able to show it. At the moment he wasn´t sure if he would be able to muster up any patience with the man and he hated himself for it.

Mac unlocked the door, flipped on the lights when he entered the room, and let the door snap shut behind him. He dropped the keys on the table next to the window and stood silent for a moment, taking in his surroundings, before he cautiously shrugged out of his jacket. He´d noticed a throbbing next to his spine quite some time ago. The three hours of driving in his jeep hadn´t been easy on his healing back.

Not quite what the doc has told me to do, MacGyver thought wearily. Not quite what I had in mind either…

Mac hesitantly reached for the painkillers, Dr. Marrow had prescribed him, in his jacket´s pocket. He had taken them with him considering the possibility that he might have stayed with Nikki overnight; he´d been looking forward to that... but now? Mac quietly sighed to himself. He wasn´t a fan of medication at all, but the dull throbbing in his back had worsened to a nagging pain in the meantime. The cracked rib was complaining as well. He shook one of the pills into his hand, took the few steps to the bathroom, and swallowed it with a few gulps of water from the hand basin.

MacGyver avoided looking into the mirror when he straightened himself and returned to the bed. He sat down on it, slipped off his shoes, and then stretched out on his back with a quiet moan. He didn´t bother to turn off the lights but kept staring at the ceiling blankly. He sensed that many haunting shadows inside himself that he didn´t feel like adding darkness that would have engulfed him from outside.

The pain and the brace that stabilized his spine with every move he made reminded him of how closely he´d beat the odds of dying… once more. His thoughts started running wild in his head in the silence of the room… again. He´d been through a lot in the last one and a half years.

His lost love Lisa turning up out of nowhere, asking for his help, betraying him, but finally helping him and then dying in his arms. His friend Danny getting run over and dying before his eyes; Danny´s sister Nikki stepping into his life and rather being a nuisance at first. Mike Forrester falling and dying during their attempt to climb the Widowmaker. He still couldn´t stop himself from musing about what he might have changed hadn´t he pushed her away. If he could have prevented her death… Then Nikki almost getting killed by those terrorists… and Pete almost driven out of the Foundation by sabotage… Deborah, of course… His trust in her had almost gotten him killed… twice. That unexpected assignment in Austria and Czechoslovakia… where things had changed so surprisingly between him and Nikki… and those past wonderful months he´d shared with her.

MacGyver covered his eyes with his hands as he felt that some of these memories made his eyes water due to the intensity of his emotions. Loss, grief, bitter disappointment, quite some rage… and a lot of anguish. He sighed and took a few deep breaths to regain control over the tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks.

No, I´m not going to cry. I don´t want to. Wouldn´t be helpful anyway, he scolded himself stubbornly, now also angry about the lack of self-control he wasn´t used to from himself. I´m just on the brink of it because I´m so damn tired. Get some sleep, MacGyver!

The throbbing in his back had diminished thanks to the meds over the last few minutes, giving him a chance to notice how worn out he was. MacGyver wiped some of the stinging dampness out of his eyes with a curt gesture but kept his eyes covered by one of his arms. His exhaustion took over and soon he drifted off to oblivion before he had even covered himself with the sheets.
The stuff is already there. I just find a different way to use it.
User avatar
tvero80
Posts: 5125
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2014 12:29 pm

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by tvero80 »

Poor Mac :( Thanks for this very emotional chapter , bluegirl ! ( Nikki's lying about 'them' , right ? )
User avatar
uniquelyjas
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:55 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by uniquelyjas »

Wow! What an emotionally intense and jam-packed chapter...again! I hardly know what to say. Poor Mac, believing he's been betrayed by both Pete and Nikki. Poor Pete for being caught in the middle, and then unaware of what Nikki said to Mac. Poor Nikki for thinking she has to make Mac angry to help him get through her leaving. And is she leaving just because she thinks it will protect him from her and her "jinx"? You did such a wonderful job describing their emotions my heart aches. And in the motel, when you summarize what Mac has been through recently, it really puts things in perspective. Soooo, it looks like there's a lot to get cleared up in the next two chapters unless this is meant to end in pain and heartache for all.
User avatar
Monika
Posts: 1063
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:27 pm
Location: at Stralsund/ Northern Germany

Re: Point Of View - A MacGyver FanFiction

Post by Monika »

Oh man, you want to call out to Mac: Let the pain out. Men are allowed to cry too. Crying makes you free and takes the pressure off your soul.
But I also see Nikki as a very strong woman. Could I push Mac away like this?

Thank you bluegirl for this emotional chapter.

From Monika with love
"As long as I always think of you and wish me somethings which I think is unattainable, there is no reason to be hurt by others."
Post Reply