MacGyver (2016) One-shots and drafts

You Have To Care

Inspired by Mia554's "I Need To Know This". One of my favorite ones by her. The title I used for my alternate ending* -or something like that- comes from a cartoon; for some reason I remembered that story as soon as I heard that sentence. I feel like both titles sound just as demanding.

*her version says you and Mac made up, then he just stayed with you until you healed, but I took it from the moment their discussion was over, and 2 weeks later.
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It had been only a week since the infamous stabbing that took place in a small Kazakh town, and y/n's wound was healing nicely, but not fast enough. Stubborn as she was, she refused to accept how long her recovery would take, and was eager to go back to the Phoenix Foundation to fight the bad guys herself.

As for Mac, he had just come back from another successful mission, alongside Jack and Riley, and after a quick briefing at the War Room, he took off to his home were y/n was reluctantly waiting for him. She wasn't even allowed to help in any way, since Matty insisted she take a little more time to rest; for her body to fully heal and to get her mind together. Yet Mac only knew half the reason.

Y/n had actually had another slip during a mission, about a month ago, and even though it didn't harm anyone, it put her team's task at jeopardy; she misheard the intel, yet her team caught it through the coms and quickly stepped in for her, so it just left her with a warning that only she, her teammates and Matty would know anything about, and it would be the first and last one she'd get. In this line of work there's little to no place for mistakes; for things to go sideways, and she knew it. But again, she was stubborn.

Mac walked in through the front door, announcing he was home, but heard no answer. -She must be asleep-, he thought, so he headed to their room where he expected to find y/n resting, but instead, she was standing in front of the big mirror which faces the bed they share. She had lifted her top just enough to get a look at her wound, no longer covered. It occupied a small spot next to her bellybutton, and so far it was okay. But she stared at it with discomfort.

"Y/n, I thought you'd be sleeping by now", Mac said, hoping to lighten up her mood. He was aware she had been fixated on her wound, and tried to keep her mind off of it.

"Yeah, I'm not tired" Her voice showing indifference, but Mac just shrugged it off. This mood had grown on her the last couple of days, and he hoped it would grow out of her.

"I thought that since I'm back we could do something together", Mac said, placing his bag on their bed. his dirty clothes and some other stuff weighing it down. "But first tell me, is there something wrong?", Mac finally asked.

"I'm not really in the mood for anything right now, alright?". It was clear now, y/n was upset. She had unknowingly raised her voice.

"It's okay, we can just not do anything?" Mac wasn't sure what to say, or if he should've said anything at all.

Y/n quickly lifted her head and dropped her top, then turned to face Mac.

"See, that's the problem, Mac. I have been doing nothing for the last week and I'm tired of that. Back at Phoenix I felt I was of use, and I served a bigger purpose, but I got distracted and they took that away from me. I blew it". She was hurt.

"Y/n, that was not your fault. I thought you said that guy overpowered you and- " Y/n interrupted him

"That's not true, Mac. That's not what I mean..." She seemed calm and sat down slowly, holding her abdomen and Mac's arm which he offered as support.

"A couple of weeks before my mishap... something else happened". Mac had a stern look on his face.

"Matty and I agreed we'd keep it to ourselves and my teammates for that mission, but truth is I got distracted and nearly ruined everything. I've been dwelling on it for almost a month now... but I'm done thinking. I don't ever want to think about it, n
or about this" Y/n said that while motioning towards her abdomen.

Mac sat down too, and he had a compassionate look on his face. "I wish you had told me sooner, I'm your boyfriend and your partner, you know you can trust me. And mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of, doll"

"You're not disappointed?" She seemed so fragile then.

"No, not at all. You know how most of the time I'm not even sure if my inventions will work, and I've also had mistakes of my own. But I have learned that you shouldn't just try and shrug any mistakes off. You have to care, you must embrace them and learn from them in order to move on". Mac thought for a second... "Is this why Matty won't let you go back to at least handle desk or lab work?" It didn't take him long to figure that out...

"Exactly. She insisted I let my body and my mind recover, but, you know, I didn't wanna prove her right." Y/n quickly raised her eyebrows, though her gaze dropped.

"Well, at least you know what's wrong now... Is it okay if I suggest we lay down and cuddle while you tell me more about everything that's happened?"

"Okay" Y/n's eyes glistened with hope now and she had a little smirk. Mac could be a bit too technical sometimes, but all those words he said were exactly what she needed to hear.