Ten days later, it was Christmas Eve. Mac and Stacey were getting a few last-minute things ready, when they heard Sam come in.
“Merry Christmas, you two,” Sam told them, hugging his father and kissing Stacey.
They both returned his greeting, and Sam hung up his jacket in the closet, then joined them.
The three sat down to dinner, roasted chicken and all the fixings. Afterwards, they moved to the living room to open gifts.
Sam went first. “Thanks, Stacey. This is exactly what I need,” he told her, holding up the appointment book and calendar. Mac had given him a new green flannel shirt. “It’s perfect, Dad. My favorite color, too.”
“Is it the right size? I wasn’t sure,” Mac asked.
“Yep, it sure is.”
Mac opened his next. “You noticed,” he said to Stacey, chuckling.
“Well, yeah,” she answered with a grin. “I know you feel kind of lost without your knife… I would, too… and I figured you’d have fun with more gadgets on it.”
“You’re getting to know your old man way too well,” he teased. “Thank you, sweetie,” he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. Sam had given him a new University of Minnesota sweatshirt. “I kind of noticed the one you have is falling apart.”
“You got that right,” Mac answered. “I never know when it isn’t going to be able to stand just one more trip through the laundry,” he chuckled. “Thanks, Sam.”
Now it was Stacey’s turn. “This is from both of us,” Mac told her, handing her a small package, as he and Sam came to sit on either side of her.
She opened it… and saw the three gold hearts, intertwined with each other. She looked up at her father and brother, speechless.
“Stacey,” Mac told her quietly, “you’re my daughter, as much as if you were my own flesh and blood, and I love you more than you will ever know. I know you’ve been feeling a little out of sorts and not quite sure of yourself or your place in the family. I hope this helps a little, to remind you that you’re as much a part of my family as Sam is.”
She looked at Sam too. “I’ve always wanted a sister, and you’re just the sort of girl I’d always hoped my sister would be,” Sam said. “I love you, Stacey.”
“I love you both,” she answered, barely able to speak. Mac took the necklace out of the box, and put it around Stacey’s neck, fastening it. She looked down at the three hearts, shining against her white blouse, then looked at her father and brother again… and knew this was really where she belonged now. Her eyes overflowed with tears, and the three embraced each other.

The night went on, with a game of Trivial Pursuit, and the usual teasing and laughter that had become common to the little family by now. Finally, Sam said he had to get home, that he was leaving on another assignment in a few days, and they said goodnight to him.
Mac and Stacey sat on the couch, gazing at the tree, Christmas carols playing on the stereo. Finally Stacey spoke, leaning back against her father, fingering her necklace.
“You know, Dad, something’s occurred to me in the last few days.”
“What’s that, sweetheart?” he asked, slipping an arm around her.
“My mom and dad will be with me no matter where I go. I understand that now. I know I’ll see them everywhere from now on, in the sun and the rain and the wind, in the people I meet… everywhere. I can forgive them, too, for their weaknesses, because I realize they were no better and no worse than anyone else. Now that I can understand that, I can really let them go. I know I need to forgive those idiots who held me hostage, too, but that’s a lot harder. And now that I’ve been able to let Mom and Dad go, well, I can love you and Sam that much more, and not be so afraid of losing you. I know it sounds weird, and paradoxical, but there it is.”
Mac looked at his daughter. “Stacey, I don’t know sometimes where you come up with this stuff. You’re at least as wise as I am, maybe more. But I think you’re right. There have definitely been times when I’ve especially seen Harry in the people around me. My friend Mike Forrester, too. I could swear, too, that I’ve heard Mom’s voice on the wind more than once. I guess I can let my family and friends go now because I’m not afraid of losing them forever. They’ll always be with me.” After a moment, he added, “I think I’m finally learning to love, too, without being captive to fear. It took me almost fifty years, and that in itself is kind of scary,” he said with a chuckle, “but I’m tired of being afraid.” He held her gaze a moment longer, tears in his eyes, and when he finally trusted himself to speak, his voice was husky, with a catch in it. “Thank you for teaching me how to love like that, honey. You and Sam have both had a hand in it. I’ve needed that for a long, long time.” He kissed the top of her head, and she looked up at him with a look that combined deep love, gratitude, joy, and release from the shadows that had haunted her for so long. Mac knew that there was a similar expression on his own face, as his own shadows and demons had finally let him go, too.
They sat there in silence, both warm in the light of family love, until Stacey fell asleep with her head on MacGyver’s shoulder, as her favorite carol, “Silver Bells,” played softly on the stereo. A few moments later, he found himself drifting towards sleep as well, his head leaning back against the couch, and an odd, warm feeling right around his heart, as if the two of them weren’t alone…
And as Mac drifted off to sleep, he could have sworn he heard, just on the edge of consciousness, a soft rustling, like the wings of many angels. It was as if James and Ellen MacGyver, Harry and Celia Jackson, Steven and Kim Rick, Charlie Robinson, Mike Forrester, Booker Wilson, and many more were gathering round, to bring them peace as they shared their first Christmas as father and daughter.