MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE
LA
'…Maybe I should go put together some dark chocolate mousse or something, you know, help him set the mood…'
Riley, on his laptop screen, looked incredulously at Bozer.
Mac and Beth were on a special date at a nice, slightly-fancy restaurant. Yes, the two of them were very weird, but she knew that there were some things that they definitely had normal preferences for.
'Bozer, the best good bro thing you can do is stay in your room…maybe with headphones on.'
'…Yeah, you're probably right…'
Riley snorted.
'Probably?'
'…I love my bro, but there's some things I don't wanna see…or hear.'
The next morning, a Saturday, Bozer leisurely got out of bed and wandered into the kitchen (he figured it was safe now, since it was morning and all – he knew that Mac had come home last night; he'd seen and heard his car pull in at around 9, and he'd caught a glimpse of Beth with him, which he'd taken as his cue to turn the volume on Jurassic Park up), to find his BFF's girlfriend stirring pancake batter, hair in a loose braid, wearing jeans and a comfortable-looking striped long-sleeved T-shirt.
Beth smiled at him and waved as best as she could, considering she was holding a whisk with one hand and the pancake batter bowl with the other.
She looked so put together, that for a moment, Bozer wondered if she'd actually stayed the night, or whether Mac had driven her home sometime after Bozer had fallen asleep and she'd come back for breakfast in the morning.
Then, his BFF popped up from where it appeared he'd been under the sink.
'All fixed, we don't have to explain to Bozer-' He immediately shut up as he noticed his roommate. 'Uh…morning, Boze.'
For a moment, Bozer debated asking exactly how the sink and/or the plumbing associated with it had wound up broken.
Then, he decided that he really, really didn't want to know.
A free word of advice.
Don't attempt to demonstrate to your girlfriend how it is possible, albeit highly improbable, that common, everyday usage of a kitchen sink can lead to a cascade of events triggering a movie-style spurt of water at a quarter to eleven after sharing half a bottle of wine with said girlfriend, especially not while she is wearing an extremely flattering, to a distracting extent, dress.
MAMA COLTON'S DINER
LA
As Riley walked up to the counter at Mama's to pay the bill, leaving Bozer, Mac and Beth at their booth (she'd insisted that this time was her treat), the extremely handsome man in a very well-cut, well-fitting coat with a cocky swagger who'd walked in a little while earlier and immediately went to hug the diner's proprietor, Mama Colton, looked up from his slice of buttermilk pie and smiled at her in a way that was almost a smirk.
(He'd been watching her, pretty subtly, but she'd noticed.)
(She got the feeling that he'd let her notice deliberately.)
(That if he'd wanted to look without being noticed, she'd never have known.)
'I'm Billy, Billy Colton. Lovely to make your acquaintance.' He nodded at Bozer, subtly, then turned back to her. 'He your boyfriend?'
Riley shook her head, well aware that it was probably a little too fast and a little too awkward.
'No, no…we're just friends. And I'm Riley.'
He eyed her for a long moment, and she had the feeling that he knew exactly what had gone through her head.
'You're the kind of woman who's awesome and badass in every single way…except when it comes to romance-'
She snorted.
'You don't know me.'
He raised his hands in supplication, but that knowing, almost cocky, smug, look didn't leave his eyes.
'No, but I've met women like you, and I'm a bounty hunter. In my line of work, if you don't get really good at reading people, you'll get in trouble real fast.' He looked straight into her eyes, and despite the fact that it was obvious he was pulling the moves on her, there was something genuinely…caring, concerned, perhaps, in his eyes anyway. Like he really, really wanted to impress what he was saying on her. A very brief thought, the thought that Mama Colton clearly had raised her kids right, flashed across her mind. 'You need and deserve a man that you can count on. One that always comes through and never lets you down. One who'll show you proper respect and appreciation, who'll buy you flowers just to do that…' He nodded towards Mac, who'd just handed Beth something made out of a paperclip and an empty sugar packet that'd made her burst into giggles. 'Like MacGyver does for Doc Florence Nightingale.'
His nickname for Beth made Riley give a snort of laughter.
'You know, he's only bought her flowers once.'
Billy actually looked genuinely surprised at that.
(Riley supposed that good at reading people or not, Mac's particular brand of weird was really, really, really weird and took some getting used to.)
'He is definitely a man who's been raised to show a woman proper appreciation and respect.'
Riley nodded, having heard plenty about Harry Jackson.
'Oh, yeah, definitely. But we're talking more…a potato sack dress, aloe vera in an upcycled pot made from old pipes and gears, a pancake-making toaster…' Billy's left eyebrow had risen almost comically high. 'They're really weird, but it works for them.'
He nodded wryly, as if to say, I see, before looking at her in that serious way again.
'You deserve a great guy like that. One you can trust, 'cause…and I'm just guessing here, but I reckon you've got some trust issues.' He paused, as Bozer, unbidden, came to her mind. She chastised herself for that, because she knew he definitely, definitely would have noticed the way that her eyes flicked to him for just a millisecond. 'And you really do deserve him. You deserve to be as happy as you could possibly be.'
It really was as if he could see right into her soul.
It was a little disconcerting, actually.
It brought up her usual defences, that sarcasm, that snark, that she could wield to keep people at a distance.
'Again, you don't know me.'
Billy smiled, again in a way that was almost a smirk.
'Again, I'm a bounty hunter. If I couldn't read a mark, I'd be a pretty awful one.'
Riley raised an eyebrow.
'So I'm a mark?'
He smirked a little wider.
'I got my eyes on you.'
It was flirty, definitely, but also it seemed like there wasn't a lot of intent behind it, as if he knew a lost cause when he saw it.
That realization startled Riley a little.
Yes, she knew that she had very strong feelings for Bozer. She had for months now.
But to the extent that she now wouldn't even consider another very, very attractive and clearly good man?
Well, she supposed, she and Bozer had become a little closer (or should that be even closer?) since his break-up with Leanna.
Their video-game nights had become more frequent. She was helping him out with his latest movie project, starring Penny Parker. Just last week, they'd gone to grab lemon curd donuts from this awesome food truck he'd found out about online. The week before that, it'd been trying out freakshakes at another place he'd learned about via his (supposedly secret) food blog. And the week before that, they'd had gourmet hot dogs…
And it didn't really feel like it was just because they were the two third wheels, the two single ones in their group now, just hanging out because they had no-one else.
Billy's expression just grew more knowing, and he returned to his pie as his mother came over to process her payment.
Riley handed over the cash on autopilot, mind definitely occupied with other matters.
Meanwhile, Bozer was staring at Billy.
He knew it was absolutely irrational, but he didn't like him. Not at all.
Guys who wore hats and waistcoats like that, in his opinion, simply weren't good enough for someone as awesome as Riley, simply wouldn't treat her right.
(He completely and conveniently ignored the fact that he had a very similar waistcoat and hat.)
(Two, actually.)
Mac and Beth, watching Bozer stare at Billy, just exchanged a glance.
MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE
LA
As he watched Bozer glance at Riley while she wasn't looking (for the sixteenth time in thirty-six hours), then Riley look at Bozer while he wasn't looking (for the ninth time in the same time-frame; she was clearly more subtle than he was), Mac kicked himself internally, repeatedly.
He'd noticed Riley staring at Bozer over the last few months, of course he had, but he'd obviously misinterpreted the way she'd been looking at him.
He'd thought that look in her eyes had simply been concern, because she (like they all had, honestly) had had her doubts about his marriage to Leanna, or been worried about him after he'd been stabbed, mixed with a bit of longing or jealousy or fear, that she'd lose some of that closeness she had with Bozer because of his relationship with Leanna.
(Mac had, even, gone out of his way to try and comfort Riley about that, reassuring her that Bozer loved her and that they'd always be friends, even with Leanna in the picture.)
(Yeah, he'd really put his foot in it.)
(Noticing this sort of thing – at least when he wasn't an involved party – was reasonably up his alley. He was pretty decent at that, since he was observant by nature and had a brain that simply took in and recalled a substantial portion of the stimuli he was exposed to.)
(Interpreting it correctly…now that was definitely not up his alley. Objectively, he probably wasn't as bad as people thought he was, or as bad as he thought he was at times like these, but he definitely wasn't anywhere near talented at this sort of thing.)
He sighed internally.
Part of him really wanted to help Riley and Bozer get their acts together.
(It would be really, really nice for all of them to be happy and in love, after all.)
The rest of him knew that it probably wasn't the right thing to do.
A, he'd probably mess it up somehow.
(His track record was not the best. His attempts to help Jack and Riley properly reconcile in the first couple of months of their renewed relationship had actually made it worse.)
B, he wasn't convinced Bozer was actually ready to jump into another serious relationship.
C, it was Bozer and Riley's business, and while he admitted he'd done some nudging with Jack and Diane, he'd been nowhere near Riley or Bozer's levels of Parent-Trap-ing. Advice, encouragement, that was the level of involvement he thought was appropriate. Any more was getting too involved in people's private business.
He decided to let them be, for now.
If this got ridiculous…then he'd re-evaluate.
FOUR MONTHS, SIXTEEN DAYS LATER
(HEY, MAC'S A FAN OF THE SLOW BUILD)
(JACK AND DIANE ARE TRYING TO LET GO)
(WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?)
RILEY'S RESIDENCE
LA
Almost nose-to-nose on her couch (they'd gotten super-competitive during a round of Halo), Bozer and Riley stared at each other for a long, long, long moment, neither of them quite willing to move that last, tiny bit, to jump off that cliff, hand in hand.
They'd both felt it, the last few months, felt it more and more lately. That ever-growing closeness, that ever-growing comfort, that feeling of rightness, of deep-in-your-bones contentment. And yet, at that same time, that ever-growing tension, that ever-growing spark.
It'd been slowly building, and it felt solid and warm and just right.
Like maybe, just maybe, the sort of thing that could end with telling your grandkids the story in armchairs in front of the fire, holding hands in the way that was considered so adorable in old people.
And then, they both moved at once…which led to them bumping noses, rather hard, triggering a round of swearing, and then fits of laughter.
Once they'd calmed down, Bozer just turned to her and smirked, squeezing her hand (when had he taken it?).
'Second time's the charm?'
Riley laughed, and leaned over and kissed him, then pulled back and smirked.
'The saying's third time's the charm, Boze.'
And she leaned over and kissed him again.
(Bozer totally understood how pedantic could be really, really annoying.)
(He was Mac's BFF. They lived together.)
(But at that moment, he'd never been so glad of pedantic in his life.)
TWO YEARS LATER
LA COUNTY CLERK
LA
Grinning, Jack (in his best suit) and Diane (in an elegant blue cocktail dress) walked hand in hand down the courthouse steps, followed by Mac and Bozer (in suits but no ties) and Beth and Riley (the former in a pretty pink cocktail dress, the latter in a jewel-green one).
The newlyweds stopped in front of Jack's Shelby Cobra, which had a Just Married sign attached to the back (in a way that would not leave a single mark on Jack's precious car, of course).
They turned to the two younger couples, brows quirked. Mac simply offered up a smirk with the tiniest hint of sheepishness in it, while Bozer gestured as if to say that they couldn't not have done it. Riley just beamed at her mom and now-official-stepdad, and Beth smiled and raised a shoulder a little sheepishly.
The two of them grinned and shook their heads, fondly exasperated, and Jack opened the passenger-side door for his bride, before getting in the driver's seat himself.
Mac, Beth, Bozer and Riley waved as Jack and Diane departed for their honeymoon, and as they disappeared from sight, a sweet-looking old lady who'd witnessed the whole thing smiled knowingly at them.
'Who's next?'
ONE YEAR AFTER THAT
BOZER AND RILEY'S RESIDENCE
LA
'…What do you think about this one? Is it too lemony? It is too lemony, isn't it? Here, try this one, it's pina colada! And this one's toffee, and we got mojito here…'
Bozer thrust several cake samples at his fiancée, who dutifully took a little bite of each, then shrugged.
'They're all delicious, Boze.'
He looked completely and utterly aghast. And also slightly manic.
Definitely more than slightly manic, actually.
'But which one is perfect? It has to be perfect, Riley! Perfect!'
He dashed off to make some other minute modification to one of the cake recipes.
(Bozer was baking their wedding cake. Riley was starting to think that this attempt to save money – non-courthouse-weddings were expensive - was a bad idea.)
(A Very Bad Idea.)
She shook her head, with much exasperated fondness.
(More exasperation at that moment.)
She really should have guessed that Bozer would be a total Groomzilla. He had the last time, after all.
Riley got up, walked over to her fiancé and removed his hand from his whisk gently, and channelled Mac as best as she could.
'Boze, it's not going to go perfectly. Stuff is going to go wrong. But you know what? No-one is going to care. We're not going to care, and that's the important part…'
THREE MONTHS AFTER THAT
RECEPTION VENUE THAT DOES REALLY GREAT FRUIT TARTS
(THEY'RE PRACTICALLY PIES!)
LA
Jack stood up and clinked his spoon on his champagne glass to get everyone's attention. As the room fell silent, he grinned and spoke.
'Hello, for those few of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting me, I'm Jack, Mac's Best Man.'
Bozer, sitting next to Jack, stood up and spoke.
'And I'm Bozer, Mac's Best Best Man.' Jack shot him a look, and Bozer looked a little sheepish, raising his hands. 'Okay, okay, other Best Man.' Jack looked placated, and Bozer continued. 'If you're wondering how perfect I think Beth is for my BFF, let me tell you a story.' He paused for dramatic effect. 'When they first got together, I thought my crazy-mad-scientist-genius-puppy had gone and pulled a Dr Frankenstein and Frankenstein-ed her into existence.'
Jack chipped in.
'I still reckon that's totally possible by the way. As our boy likes to say, impossible isn't a scientific term…'
ONE YEAR, FOUR MONTHS AFTER THAT
MACGYVER FAMILY RESIDENCE
LA
As they finished assembling a change table (modified, of course, to go with the self-rocking, fire-, earthquake- and bullet-proof cradle that also played lullabies that Mac had made, as well as the solar-powered bottle warmer and satellite-phone baby monitor), Jack, Bozer and Mac wiped the sweat from their brows (assembling baby furniture was hard work, especially when there were as many parts as Mac had put in the stuff for his unborn son – he was directing, Jack and Bozer were really just labour), before the blonde motioned towards the kitchen and living room.
'I definitely owe you two a couple of nice, cold beers…'
'Hell yeah, son!'
Bozer pointed at the blonde.
'Help me out with building all of mine in a couple of months, and then we'll call it square.'
Mac chuckled, and nodded.
'Of course, I promise, Boze.'
They walked out of Mac's former bedroom (he and Beth had moved into the master after Bozer had moved in with Riley) into the living room, where Beth and Riley were sitting on the couch.
Both women were clearly, obviously pregnant. Beth's belly looked substantially bigger, since she was about two months further along, and also because she was so small and Mac, although not really a big man, being lean and not unusually tall, had apparently been on the big side as a newborn. Both of them were eating what looked and smelled like sardines on vanilla ice-cream.
Jack made a face and looked at their bowls.
'Seriously? And you criticize my eating habits?'
Riley glared at him ferociously as if she'd punch him if she could reach and/or could get up more easily. Beth narrowed her eyes at him fiercely.
Jack gulped, and turned to Mac and Bozer.
'Next time, you two gotta make sure they're not both knocked up at once. Both of 'em pregnant is way too scary.' The glares intensified. Bozer and Mac stepped away and raised their hands, Bozer gulping, wide-eyed, and shaking his head frantically, obviously washing their hands of anything Jack said. Diane strode over from the kitchen, and slapped her husband's arm and shot him a look. He just held up his hands. 'Uh…I didn't say anything, you guys didn't hear anything, right? Just Ol' Jack rambling…'
MATERNITY WARD
CHMC-LA
LA
A very exhausted, but extremely proud and happy Riley, and an equally-proud-and-happy but far less exhausted Bozer grinned at the precious bundle in her arms.
Jack, Diane, Mac and Beth, holding her and Mac's two-month-old, all filed into the room, all smiling widely, though Mac and Beth also looked exhausted.
Bozer grinned even wider, every inch the proud papa, and Riley passed him their precious, curly-haired bundle.
He got up and carried her carefully over to the rest of their family.
'Hedy, meet your Grandpa Jack and your Grandma Diane, and Uncle Mac and Auntie Beth and Cousin Nick. Everyone, meet Hedy Diana Bozer.'
AN: Yeah, really fluffy, overly-happy happy ending…but hey, it's a fairytale retelling! Special shout-out to Wynona Rose, who really wanted baby MacGyvers in Give Your Heart a Chance! (I only sorta did that here, but at some point, I'm sure I'll write something with more babies in it…)
Nicholas Harry MacGyver (Nick to most, Mini-Mac to his Uncle Bozer, named for Tesla and Mac's grandfather) and Maria Elizabeth MacGyver (named after Marie Curie and Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to get a medical degree in the USA, and sort-of her mother) are my headcanon Mac/Beth babies. Hedy Diana Bozer (named after Hedy Lamarr and Diane Davis) is the only currently-existing child of Bozer and Riley's that I've ever created in my stories. In this AU at least (she's an only child in a couple of my other AUs), she'll also wind up having a little sister, Ada Jacqueline Bozer (named after Ada Lovelace and Jack). Yes, I went to this much effort to name the kids…my brain is weird, and I like aggressively happy happy endings – real life can be really depressing, so why not give people great happiness in fiction, since you can?
The story of exactly how Mac and Beth broke the kitchen sink (titled The Kitchen Sink – yeah, creative, I know!) will post tomorrow. It's fluffy and silly and romantic (at least, I hope it is…) with lots of bad science flirting and Mac-being-distracted-by-science…until he realizes he's not that kind of crazy!