Okay, this is my last part...for now.
I was really on a roll! Whew! I'll be posting more of this story later. For now, enjoy the frenetic pace of my writing!
Exile Part Six
Rated: PG
Five years later…
A frightened, anguished cry alerted Nikki to MacGyver’s room inside the cabin. She found him sitting upright, shaking and sweating, a terrified expression on his face, and she knew he had just awakened from the nightmare that had been troubling him in his sleep.
“It’s okay, I’m here,” she said, embracing him, listening to his rapid breathing and heartbeat.
He still felt very warm, and she didn’t think it was merely from his disturbed sleep, either. She thought he had a fever, that he was becoming ill. Her suspicions were confirmed when he began to cough and sneeze. He was developing a cold. She was surprised given the deprived, squalid conditions in which he had condemned himself to live in that he had not become ill more often. As she continued to hold him, stroking his sweat-dampened hair and back, he began making grunting sounds as if he was trying to say something but had forgotten how to communicate effectively and articulately, enforcing a strict vow of silence for five years, finding speech awkward, unaccustomed to it, not holding a regular conversation with anyone in a long time, living alone in his own world of pain, torment, and isolation. Nikki released him and looked at him, brushing back a matted clump of his hair from his sweaty forehead.
“You’re sick,” she said to him. “I’m going to make you some tea, okay? It’ll make you feel better.”
She smiled at him and was about to stand when MacGyver grabbed her hand, staring at her earnestly.
“What is it, Mac? What are you trying to tell me?” She asked. “Come on, you can say it. Don’t be afraid. I won’t judge you. You should know that by now.”
“K-kill…” he stammered, furrowing his brow in frustration, struggling to find the words again. “I k-killed h-him…”
“What? Killed him?”
“P-pete…I k-killed h-him…”
“No you didn’t,” Nikki said, smiling at him. “You didn’t kill him. After all this time I would think you should know that.”
“B-but I d-did,” MacGyver said. “H-how…how can you…how can you be here knowing that? How can you…forgive?”
Nikki gradually began to realize the secret source of MacGyver’s pain and inner torment all those years. “MacGyver…you think…you think Pete is dead?” She asked, stunned.
MacGyver nodded. “Well he is, isn’t…isn’t he?” He asked.
“No,” Nikki said. “You’re misinformed. I don’t know how to tell you this, but he survived. He’s been alive all these years, waiting for you to return.”
MacGyver stared at her, incredulous. “No,” he said. “No, it isn’t true. You’re just…trying to make me f-feel better…I-I d-don’t believe…”
“Believe it,” Nikki said, squeezing his hand. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“B-but in the hospital…I saw…”
“I know. It was scary there for a moment, but he pulled through. The doctors managed to revive him. He recovered and returned to his position as Director of Operations for The Phoenix Foundation.”
“No,” MacGyver said, turning angrily away from her. “No. You’re lying to me.”
“Why would I do that to a good friend?” She asked. “It’s the truth. You left and went into seclusion before anyone could inform you of the good news. You decided to punish yourself before getting all the facts. You just assumed he was dead all these years without considering that perhaps he might have survived. You’ve been torturing yourself needlessly all this time. Don’t you see? That’s the main reason I came here, the main reason Pete and I worked so hard to locate you. We had to tell you. You had to know. All is forgiven. It’s time to come home, to resume a normal life. It’s time to heal.”
“He…he wants to see me? After all this time?”
“Especially after all this time,” Nikki said, smiling. “He misses you. When he found out you were gone, he was devastated. He knew you blamed yourself for what happened to him. He worried about you constantly and even thought you were dead after awhile. It affected his work because he wasn’t sure how to continue operations without you. It was difficult and painful for him to find a suitable replacement. He searched for you, and I helped him, but we found nothing until at last we learned the location of your cabin.”
“I…I c-can’t believe…” MacGyver said, looking at Nikki sadly. “I abandoned him w-when he needed me…I…I shot him…and then I…how could I…?” Tears were in his eyes. “He must think I’m a terrible person to do that to him. Why would he want to see me after all that?”
Nikki hugged him, stroking his back. “Because he loves you,” she said. “I love you too, Mac. All of us at the Foundation do. We want to see you back. Things haven’t been the same since your long absence.”
“I…I don’t know…how could I…? It’s been so long…I’d have to think...”
Nikki released him, looking at him. “Of course,” she said. “It won’t be easy to readjust to your old life at first. I know that. You’ve undergone so many dramatic changes these past few years that no one expects things to automatically return to normal. It will take work, and time. That’s all right. We understand that and will do everything to make you feel comfortable in your old life again. Things won’t be exactly as they were before, but I assure you that they’re close to what they were before all this happened. Pete is alive, and you’ll be reunited with him. But ultimately the decision is up to you. Take your time and consider it. I’ll be patient. So will Pete. After all, we’ve waited five years just to make it to this stage. That’s a start, an important first step. Where you choose to go from here is up to you. It’s your life, your journey. Don’t be afraid to do what you feel is right, MacGyver.”
He looked at her with watery eyes and sneezed loudly, covering his nose. Nikki looked at his flushed complexion, rosy nose, and disheveled hair, thinking he looked rather boyish and adorable. She smiled at him, flicking away another stray lock of his hair and stroking his hot cheek.
“Make your decision,” she said. “First though, I’m going to help you get over this cold.”
***
Five years earlier…
It was late at night. Nikki stared out the window of Pete’s hospital room into the darkness.
“MacGyver…” a hoarse voice groaned weakly behind her accompanied by the rustling of sheets.
“Pete?” She asked, turning towards his bed and switching on a lamp. “Pete, can you hear me? It’s Nikki.” She took his hand. “How are you feeling?”
Slowly, Pete opened his eyes, a welcome sight that filled Nikki with tremendous relief even if they were only open partially to slits and looked glassy, still recovering from his serious chest wound.
“Where’s…MacGyver?” He asked, his breathing labored, struggling to ask the simple question.
Nikki looked at him sadly. “He’s gone,” she said, sighing heavily.
“Gone?”
“Yeah I…well, I don’t know…I’m not sure how to tell you this. He was here, but then he just…vanished. No one has seen him since, and I’ve been checking into his whereabouts while you’ve been here recovering in the hospital, coming up with nothing. No leads whatsoever.”
“Why?”
“That’s a good question. I think it’s because he blames himself for what happened to you, for shooting you. You were…dying when he left. The doctors had to work hard to revive you. I think the sight of you in the hospital, dying from a severe gunshot wound that he inflicted…well, it was too much for him to take, knowing he was at least in some part responsible for it.”
“I…I don’t…”
“Here,” Nikki said, helping him sip some water, gently lifting his head.
“Thank…you,” Pete said when he was finished, gasping, his eyes open a little wider. “I don’t…blame him, you know. Wasn’t…his fault…”
“I know that and you know that,” Nikki said. “I don’t think MacGyver knows that, and it’s going to take a long time for him to realize that, and I’m doubtful if he ever will. He’s running, Pete. Running from himself, running from what he’s done and what happened. I don’t know where he is or if he’ll ever return to us.”
She felt Pete lightly squeeze her hand. She looked at him and saw tears in his eyes and a small smile on his lips. “Hey,” he said. “We’ll…find him. Don’t…worry. He’ll come back to us. We’ll…find him.”
“Yes we will,” she said, and she believed him, too. She just never imagined it would take five years.
To be continued…
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
--Henry David Thoreau
brains+brawn+beauty+personality=MacGyver
