Right Here Waiting For You pt1

                                        Right Here Waiting For You
                                        A MacGyver and Nikki Story
                                                       Part 1


Mac flipped through the channels of his TV with his remote, trying to find something decent to watch. It was Friday night, and so far nothing seemed to be on. He had returned from a long rough mission the day before, and Pete was generous enough to give him a day off.

He had slept in this day, getting up around nine or tenish, instead of his usual five thirty or six o'clock AM time. After eating breakfast which consisted of his famous banana whole wheat pancakes, and syrup, and a glass of orange juice, he took his usual shower, then shaved, brushed his teeth, and got dressed. He combed his shaggy blond hair, then hurriedly straightened his bed. It had been awhile since he had restocked his cupboards, so he wrote down a list of things he needed, then grabbed his brown leather jacket, and car keys, then shoving the list in his coat pocket, he headed out the door, and hopped into his jeep. Luckily he had plenty of gas, as he started up his jeep, then pulled out of the parking lot of the marina where his houseboat was stationed, then headed off to the local grocery.

Fortunately, he managed to find everything on his list. This was his favorite grocery store, and they always had whatever he needed. The people at the store knew him really well, especially the young bag boys, who sometimes helped him carry out his groceries whenever he bought more than two or three bags of groceries, because he always gave them good tips. Today was one of those days, as one of the young bag boys loaded up several bags of groceries into a grocery cart, and followed Mac outside to this jeep. After the young boy finished loading the groceries into Mac's jeep, Mac handed the young boy a dollar bill, and thanked him, then got into his jeep. The young boy thanked Mac, and smiled. "You're welcome," replied Mac smiling. The young boy stuffed the dollar bill into his pants pocket, then turned around, and pushed the grocery cart back into the store. Mac made sure his groceries were secured in his jeep, then started up the engine, and headed back to the houseboat.

It was an hour after lunch when he got home, and he was starting to feel hungry. Having bought quite a few groceries, he walked down to his houseboat, and retrieved a wagon he had bought so that he could transport all of his groceries to his houseboat at one time, without making several trips. He pulled the wagon up to the jeep, then loaded up all the groceries into the wagon. Luckily he was able to get them all in the wagon then carefully pulled them down the ramp that led to his houseboat, and pulled them up to his front door. He unlocked his door, then proceeded to carry in his groceries. After he had finished bringing in his groceries, he shut his door, then began putting away the groceries. He happened to find some sliced turkey he had picked up at the deli in the store, and decided to make himself a turkey sandwich.

After he had finished putting away the groceries, he set about making his sandwich. He had bought some pita bread at the store, and took a piece of pita, then sliced it open, and stuffed in a couple of slices of turkey. He spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on his sandwich, then put his sandwich on a small plate. He took some apple juice out of the fridge, and poured himself some juice, then picked up his juice, sandwich, and napkin, and walked over to his couch. He set his drink and sandwich on the glass table in front of his couch, then picked up the remote, and turned on the TV. He flipped over to a local news and weather channel, and listened to some news and weather while he ate his sandwich and drank his juice. Nothing earth shattering was going on in the world that needed his attention, and he was glad about that. And what little was going on, could be handled by the police, or other law enforcement personnel.

He listened to some sports and noticed that one of his favorite hockey teams got creamed by another team, and that was a bit disappointing. "Oh man! I was so hoping that they would win this game," he remarked wistfully and sighed. He finished eating his sandwich then finished drinking his juice. He wiped his mouth, then pitched his napkin on the table, and sat back on his couch and watched the weather and the rest of the news. He was glad that there was no rain in the forecast, which meant that it was going to be a beautiful day. He thought he might take his boat out for awhile, and do a little fishing. He turned off the TV and set the remote on the table, then picked up his plate, napkin, and glass, and took them in the kitchen. He threw away his napkin, then put his plate and glass in the dishwasher. He set about gathering up his fishing equipment, and some bottled water, then found his lucky fishing cap which was a redwings cap, and put it on, then headed out the door.

He was right. It was a beautiful day, with blue skies, gentle breezes, and fluffy white clouds floating aimlessly in the sky. He put his fishing gear and bottled water into the boat, then untied the boat from the dock, and quickly hopped into the boat. He pulled the rope into the boat, and laid it in a corner in the boat, then walked over to the driver's seat, and sat down, and started up the engine. The engine made a sputtering sound as it started up, but finally made a humming sound as Mac slowly revved up the engine, and put it into gear then steered it away from the dock. He noticed there was plenty of gas in the tank, which meant that he wouldn't have to worry about getting stuck in the middle of the harbor with no gas in the tank. He always made sure he had a full tank of gas just for that reason.

He steered his boat to a nice quiet spot in the harbor away from other people who were out boating, then slowly brought his boat to a stop, and turned off the engine. He walked over to the anchor and pitched it overboard to keep his boat from drifting, then took off his leather jacket, and put on his life jacket. He was a good swimmer, but he never liked to take any chances when he was out in deep water.

He remembered the time when he got mixed up with that woman Deborah, who tried to kill him by blowing up his boat and thinking that he had drowned in the harbor. Fortunately some divers who had been laying down mooring cable had found him floating in the water still alive, and had called an ambulance that came and took him to the hospital. He inwardly shivered at that memory, and thought how lucky he was that he didn't die. He had only suffered from flash blindness when his boat blew up, but that was only temporary. The main thing was that he was still alive.

He felt lucky to have friends like Pete and Nikki who came to see him in the hospital while he was recovering from the accident. He smiled as he remembered the kiss Nikki gave him, before she left his room. Of course that was just a friendly kiss on the cheek, compared the sudden passionate kiss she gave him when they first met. He ended up teaming up with her to help her put away the Canubian cultural attaché', Amir Sumal, who not only stole some valuable diamonds, but also killed her brother Danny, who was an insurance investigator.

They had met up at a party that Sumal had given, and he was looking for the computer that had a list of the diamonds that Sumal had stolen. Nikki had crashed the party by stealing an invitation from someone, then impersonated a maid. Of course he got in the back way by climbing up a balcony and into the computer room upstairs. They ended up in the same room, but were caught by one of Sumal's security guards. The security guard had caught them kissing, and he told the guard that Nikki was his fiancée and she was shy about showing public displays of affection. Of course she had initiated the kiss, so he just played along. They were able to escape the guard when Nikki knocked him out, then she ended up having him arrested for stealing a car. She later apologized, and told him that Danny was her brother and wanted to get Sumal arrested for murdering her brother. They teamed up, and with Pete's help, were finally able to get Sumal arrested. Afterwards, Pete hired Nikki as a full time employee, to work for the Phoenix foundation. It was then that they began to work as a team, and became very close friends.

As for Deborah, he felt sad that she had betrayed him by succumbing to greed and hatred for him, and at the same time, felt angry with himself for being so vulnerable, and allowing himself to trust her and believe in her propaganda about saving the environment. All the while, she intended to kill him for money, and allow Steven Knapp to destroy the marshland. However, being a negotiator, she ended up implicating Knapp, and sending him to jail. She ended up serving time as well, but since she had implicated Knapp, she received a lighter sentence. In a way, he was glad that she had gone to prison, but he felt sad that she had chosen a life of crime, instead of a life of honesty and decency. He knew he would never remember her as the loving, caring woman she made him believe she was, again.   

He shook his head and sighed, as he pushed that painful memory out of his head. Today was a beautiful day, and wanted to enjoy it. He picked up his fishing rod and tackle box, then opened up his tackle box and took out his favorite lure, then tied it to the end of his fishing line. He released the bail on his reel, then cast the lure out into the water. The sunlight flickered off the water, as small waves rippled across the water. He took out his sunglasses and put them on to block out the glare of the sunlight, as it flickered off the water. He really didn't expect to catch anything, he just liked the peace and quiet of fishing. He slowly reeled in his line hoping a fish would take notice, then paused and waited to see if anything was biting.

After a few minutes, he reeled in his lure, then cast it out again. He slowly reeled in the line once more, and this time, he felt something grab hold of the lure. He gave a sharp tug to set the hook, then started reeling in his line. There was a small battle as the fish tugged at the line, but in the end, he won, and finally reeled in the fish. He grabbed the fish by the gills, and held it up checking the size of the fish, then took out the hook, and decided to let it go. The fish had put up a good fight, so he decided to save it for another day. He cast out his line again, then set down, and waited for another bite.

He was getting thirsty, so he picked up his bottled water and opened it and took a drink. A small motor boat passed by causing a small wake in its path, and his boat slightly rocked back and forth by the wake. He watched the boat pass by and noticed it was driven by a beautiful blond in a sexy tank top, and very short shorts. She had a great tan, and a great body to match. She had her hair in a ponytail, and wore a cute cap, and sunglasses, and was joined on her boat by two other equally beautiful women, one a brunette, and the other blond. The other two wore shorts as well, but wore very tight fitting tee shirts, caps, and sunglasses. They waved and smiled, as they passed by, and he waved back and smiled. "Nice!" he commented quietly as he watched them ride off into the distance. He slightly blinked, and sighed. "I really have to get out here more often," he reminded himself.

He slightly blinked, as he felt another tug at his line. "I got a bite!" he exclaimed. He jerked the rod back to make sure the hook was set, then started reeling in the fish. It was obvious that the passing boat didn't frighten the fish. This fish put up a bigger fight as he struggled to reel it in. After a few minutes, he finally got the upper hand, and was able to reel in the fish. He reached down and picked up the fish by the gills, then held it up and noticed it was much larger than the first one he caught. He guessed it was a little over a foot long. He thought about keeping this one, but he didn't feel like taking the time to clean it, so he let this one go too. "Maybe next time," he stated as he watched the large fish swim away. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was almost five o'clock. He was having such a good time, that he didn't realize it was getting late. He laid his rod down on the floor of the boat, then pulled up his anchor, and hoisted it into the boat. After the anchor was secured, he carefully made his way over to the driver's seat, then cranked up the engine, and shifted the boat into gear, and headed back to his houseboat. Today had been a great day for fishing, not to mention, girl watching. 'What luck!' he thought as he smiled at the vision of those women passing by.

He slowed the engine as he pulled it into the parking dock at the marina where his houseboat was, then quickly turned off the engine. He took off his lifejacket and stored it in a box on the boat where he kept the other lifejackets and safety equipment, then picked up a large rope, and tied it around a metal bar that was secured to the dock so that his boat wouldn't drift out to sea. He picked up his fishing gear, water bottle, and leather jacket, then made his way back to his houseboat.

As he walked inside, he put away his fishing gear and water bottle, and hung up his jacket. He had a fishy smell about him, and combined with the sweat from being out in the sun, he decided to take a shower. He made sure his door was locked, then headed upstairs to take a shower. About an hour later after he had showered and changed his clothes, he noticed it was a little after six. Despite all those groceries he bought, he was having trouble deciding on what he wanted for dinner. He thought he would turn on the TV and watch something and hopefully he would think of something to eat.

So, here he was, sitting on his couch flipping through the channels and finding absolutely nothing on TV to watch. He thought about watching one of his old westerns he had taped, but he really wasn't in the mood. As the thoughts of those women he saw today passed through his mind, he happened to think about Nikki. He thought it was odd that she suddenly popped into his head. They were good friends, and despite the fact that they very seldom agreed on anything, they were good co-workers too. Since it was Friday night and he was feeling a little bored and restless, he wondered what she was doing. He glanced at the clock and had a feeling that she would be home from work about now. He picked up his address book he kept beside his phone, then opened it up, and found Nikki's number. He laid down the book, then picked up the phone, and punched in her phone number. "555-3082." After the second ring, he heard a clicking sound as Nikki picked up her phone and answered it.

"Hello," she greeted in a casual tone.

"Hey Nikki, what's up?" Mac replied as cheerful as he could muster.

"MacGyver?" Nikki replied a bit surprised to hear from her good friend and co-worker, especially on a Friday night.

"Yeah, it's me, Mac," he replied. "What's up?" he repeated.

Nikki slightly blinked then replied.

"Hey MacGyver. Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to call. Nothing much. I just got home from work. What are you up to? Is everything ok?" she asked throwing the question back to him. She thought there must be something wrong, if he was calling her.

Mac quietly sighed.

"Oh not much. Everything is ok. Just been taking it easy. Went to the store, then went fishing, and caught a couple of big ones. Didn't keep them though, but they were big!" he stated. Well at least part of that was true.

Nikki chuckled.

"Oh, so you were just calling me up to tell me what a fun day you were having, while I've been slaving away at the office," she teased.

Mac chuckled as well.

"Rough day at the office, eh?" he remarked.

Nikki sighed.

"Not too bad. Just the usual," she replied.

Mac smiled.

"That's good. Actually, the reason I was calling was, I was wondering, have you had dinner yet?" he asked.

"Not yet. Like I said, I just got home," Nikki replied.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Mac apologized. "Since you haven't had dinner yet, would you like to go out for a bite to eat?" he asked a bit tentatively.

"Really? Are you serious? Dinner?" Nikki asked a bit surprised. She and Mac rarely went out together, so she was a bit taken aback by his invitation.

"Yeah, you know, like two friends going out to dinner. Unless you have other plans, like a date or something," Mac remarked slyly pumping her for details.

"No, I don't have anything planned tonight. Sure! That would be nice. Thanks!" Nikki replied deciding to take him up on his offer. 'At least I won't have to cook tonight,' she thought.

Mac smiled.

"That's great. Mind you, this isn't a date or anything. We could even go Dutch, if you like," he commented half way joking.

Nikki chuckled.

"To tell you the truth MacGyver, I would be glad to have you buy me dinner. Anytime I can get out of cooking dinner, I'll do it," she stated earnestly.

"Well, I just didn't want you to feel obligated to me in any way," Mac stated earnestly.

Nikki smiled.

"Really MacGyver, it's ok. I promise I won't feel obligated," she assured.

Mac quietly sighed.

"Ok. I'll pick you up in..." he briefly looked at his watch. "thirty minutes. Is that ok?" he asked.

"That's fine. I just need to change my clothes. By the way, where are we going?" Nikki asked suddenly thinking that they may be going to some really nice restaurant. However, considering it was Mac, she wasn't quite sure.

Mac paused for a moment, then responded.

"How about either Chinese, Italian, sea food..." he replied giving her a few choices to pick from.

"What about Italian, as long as it's not too fancy?" Nikki asked. She was hoping it was casual. She didn't really feel like dressing up.

"Sounds good. I know a small Italian restaurant nearby where you don't have to dress up. It's really casual," Mac explained.

Nikki smiled.

"That's great, can't wait. See you in thirty minutes," she stated relieved.

"Ok bye," replied Mac.

"Bye," replied Nikki.

They both hung up at the same time, then Mac turned off his TV. He took out his wallet to make sure he had plenty of money, and smiled as he saw a few tens and twenties inside, then put his wallet back in his pocket. He straightened his shirt and checked his reflection in his window to make sure his hair looked ok, then put on his brown leather jacket, and picked up his car keys, and walked out the door. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason he was feeling a little excited about the idea of eating dinner with Nikki. He was glad she accepted his invitation to eat dinner with him, and was even glad that she let him pay for it too.

He thought that tonight he would take his brown and pale yellow '57 Chevy pick up truck that Harry had given him. That way in case it rained, he wouldn't have to worry about the roof leaking, or Nikki's hair getting messed up. She was always so neat in her appearance at work, but if she happened to get dirty, she never complained. Well, hardly ever. Fortunately he had plenty of gas in the truck. As he started it up, the engine purred and never sputtered or balked as he backed up, then turned around and headed toward the highway to Nikki's apartment.

Thirty minutes later he pulled up in front of Nikki's apartment building, 2723 Forster Lane, Los Angeles, CA. Her apartment was on the second floor, which was convenient, as it didn't take long to get there. Mac walked inside the building, then stepped up to the panel near the elevator, and punched the "up" button on the panel. The doors quietly opened, and Mac stepped inside. He punched 2 on the panel inside the elevator car, then leaned back against the wall, as the doors closed and carried him up to the second floor. The sound of a small bell ringing went off alerting Mac that his floor had come up. He waited until the doors opened, then stepped out of the car, and walked down the hall to Nikki's apartment. Apartment 212 was the number of her apartment. Mac pressed the door bell on the wall outside her apartment, and waited for Nikki to open her door.

Nikki had just finished changing her clothes as she heard the doorbell ring. She looked at her watch, and knew it must be Mac. "That was fast!" she remarked to herself. She quickly ran a brush through her hair, then walked out of her bedroom and into the living room and over to the door. She looked through the peephole in the door and saw Mac standing outside. She smiled, and opened the door.

"Hey, come in," she greeted as she stepped aside and gestured for Mac to come in.

Mac smiled and walked inside. He stood for a moment and studied Nikki's outfit, and smiled. She was wearing a long sleeved dark green velour pant suit that buttoned up the front and she had left two of the top buttons unbuttoned so that part of her chest was exposed. It wasn't too revealing but he thought she looked nice. In fact, he felt a little underdressed. He was just wearing his long sleeved gray striped boat shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes and his brown leather bomber jacket. He looked at Nikki and smiled.

"Nice! By the way, this place is really casual," he stated.

Nikki shut the door, then nodded, and smiled as she noticed Mac looking at her.

"Thanks! This is casual," she stated.

"You're welcome," replied Mac. "Well, anyway, you look great. Are you ready?"

Nikki nodded. "Thanks. Yes. I just have to get my coat and bag," she replied. She walked over to her closet, and took out a light weight tan jacket and her cloth shoulder bag. She put on her jacket, then draped the strap of her shoulder bag over her shoulder, then looked at Mac and smile.

"Ok, I'm ready," she informed.

Mac smiled then opened the door and stepped aside so Nikki could leave first. They walked out of the apartment, and then Nikki took out her keys to her apartment from her bag, and locked the door. Once her door was locked, they walked down the hall to the elevator. Mac pushed the "down" button on the panel, then he and Nikki waited until the doors opened. As the elevator doors opened, they stepped inside, then Mac pushed "lobby" on the elevator panel. The doors slowly closed then Mac and Nikki quietly rode the elevator down to the lobby. The small bell chimed and the doors opened, then Mac and Nikki walked out of the elevator and headed for the doors of the building. Mac was a perfect gentleman as he opened the door for Nikki then escorted her over to his truck. Nikki briefly chuckled as she saw Mac's truck and gave him a smug look.

"Oh, we're going in the truck tonight. How quaint," she teased.

Mac opened the door to the passenger side, and smiled.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind. I didn't want to take any chances on the roof to my jeep leaking in case it rained. But don't worry, we have plenty of gas, so we won't be getting stuck anywhere," he assured.

Nikki smiled.

"That's very reassuring," she stated. She climbed into the truck, then when she was all settled in, Mac shut the door. He walked around to the driver's side, and got in, then closed his door and locked it. He noticed Nikki's door wasn't locked, then looked at her with concern.

"Lock your door, and put on your seatbelt," he stated.

Nikki briefly gave him a harsh look.

"Mac, I'm not a child," she stated a bit heatedly.

Mac looked at her ruefully.

"Sorry. I guess it's just a force of habit. I'd hate to lose a passenger, especially one as pretty as you," he stated earnestly and smiled.

Nikki was taken aback by Mac's compliment but she smiled at him just the same. He hardly ever complimented her, but she could tell by the way he looked at her, that he thought she was pretty. In fact he was looking at her that way now. She quickly locked her door, then put on her seatbelt. She smiled at Mac once more. "All set!" she informed.
Mac smiled, then started up the truck. The engine hummed as he shifted the gear into drive, then slowly pressed the accelerator and drove Nikki to the restaurant.

On the way to the restaurant, Nikki studied Mac for a moment and wondered whatever possessed him to ask her out. He said it wasn't a date, but the way he was acting, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Mac glanced over and noticed Nikki staring at him, and began to feel a bit uneasy.

"What?" he asked, then turned his eyes back to the road.

Nikki looked at him thoughtfully, and smiled.

"Nothing. I was just wondering why you asked me to go out with you," she remarked.

Mac briefly glanced at her, and smiled then looked back at the road.

"To tell you the truth, I couldn't think of anything to eat, not to mention, I was bored sitting at home watching TV by myself. So I thought since you and I are such good friends, I thought you might like to go out for dinner," he stated earnestly.

Nikki sat for a moment thinking about what Mac had said, and couldn't decide if she should be flattered or insulted. She wasn't quite sure which. But for the moment, she just looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks, I think," she replied a bit confused.

Mac briefly glanced at her and flashed her his most charming smile.

"You're welcome," he replied. He returned his attention back to the road.

Nikki shook her head and quietly sighed. She happened to notice his truck had a radio.

"Is it ok if I turn on the radio?" she asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Mac replied.

"Thanks," replied Nikki. She reached over and turned the knob on the radio until it came on. There was some slight static, that crackled as the radio came on. Nikki reached over and adjusted the other knob on the radio until she finally tuned in a station that played some classic rock music. A song by Richard Marx began to play on the radio that Nikki loved.

"Oceans apart, day after day, and I slowly go insane. I hear your voice on the line, but it doesn't stop the pain. If I see you next to never, how can we say forever, wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you. Whatever it takes or how my heart breaks, I will be right here waiting for you." Nikki quietly sighed as she listened to the rest of the song. She suddenly felt her heart grow heavy as she remembered how she and Adam used to listen to that song on his portable radio as they sat on a blanket on the beach at night, under a full moon and stars, before he died. That song brought back fond memories of when they were together and all the good times they had. And then in a blink of an eye, it was all gone. Adam was suddenly taken from her life, when he was tragically killed in a car bombing accident that was meant for her. It took her a long time to get over that, and ever since then, she was always afraid of forming any romantic relationships because she thought that anyone, who got close to her, would die. She felt that she was jinxed. So, because of that, she never got close to anyone again.

And then along came MacGyver. He was different. She thought of him as this seat-of-the-pants renegade who took way too many chances, and yet, always came out on top. She was always amazed at how he was able to accomplish so much in such an unprofessional manner. She often wondered how he was able to stay alive. His M. O. was so unorganized, and yet everything he did, turned out right. For the most part, she got along pretty well with Mac. Sometimes they argued, but she respected the way he did things, and he respected the way she did her things. And that made for a good working relationship. They became good friends too. She watched out for him, and he watched out for her. Being friends was good. He was the best friend she ever had. She never felt any pressure from him, and always felt that she could speak her mind around him, and he always listened. She really liked Mac. He was a little hard to figure sometimes, but she liked him nonetheless. She quietly sighed, and brushed away a tear that came to her eye, as thoughts of Adam flashed in her mind. Mac noticed how quiet she was, and glanced around and noticed the far away look in her eyes.

"Are you ok?" he asked with concern as he noticed her looking a little sad.

Nikki nodded and managed a smile.

"Yes, I'm fine. That song just reminded me of Adam that's all. We used to listen to that when we were dating," she reflected.

Mac looked at her with compassion and smiled.

"That's nice," he replied. He knew what a sensitive subject that was talking about her husband, so he decided not to bring up the subject. He knew how guilty she felt about how Adam had died. Even though he tried to tell her that it wasn't her fault, she still had a hard time shaking the guilt she felt, after Adam was killed. However, he understood what she felt. There had been times, when he had felt guilty for something that happened to someone else, even though it really wasn't his fault. So, in a way, they had something in common. They were both carrying around a lot of excess baggage that they needed to get rid of. Maybe tonight they would find a way to do that. He returned his attention to his driving and quietly sighed, then glanced around and looked at her with concern. "Would you like me to change the station?" he asked.

Nikki shook her head.

"No, it's ok. I like that song," she replied.

"Ok," replied Mac. He briefly smiled, then focused his attention on the road ahead. A few minutes later, he smiled as he saw the restaurant coming into view. "We're almost there," he commented.

Nikki looked ahead and happened to see the name of the neon restaurant sign glowing in the night. "Bellá Cuciná Itáliáná," she read. "Is that where we're going?" she asked.

"Yep," Mac nodded and smiled. As he got closer to the restaurant, he looked around toward the parking lot and noticed quite a few cars already in the parking lot. He briefly frowned. "Hmm, maybe I should have made a reservation," he stated anxiously. As he pulled up to the restaurant, he turned on his directional signal, then pulled into the parking lot, and began slowly driving around looking for a parking space. Nikki kept her eyes glued to the parking lot as well, as she helped Mac look for a parking space. Luckily it was a fairly large parking lot. As Mac drove around the lot, Nikki finally saw an empty parking space. "There's one Mac," she informed pointing to the space ahead. Mac smiled, then quickly pulled into the space, and put on the breaks. He put the truck in park, then turned off his headlights, and turned off the ignition. He took his keys out of the ignition, then looked at Nikki, and smiled. "Good job! Thanks!" he complimented.

Nikki looked at him modestly and smiled.

"No problem," she replied.

They took off their seatbelts, then Mac unlocked his door, then opened his door and got out. He locked his door and shut it, then walked around to the passenger side to help Nikki out. She had already opened her door by the time he came around to her side, so he held the door as she stepped out of the truck. She looked at Mac and smiled.

"Thanks," she commented.

Mac smiled.

"No problem," he replied.

Nikki stepped aside, as Mac locked the door, then closed it. He placed his hand against the middle of her back as he looked at her amiably, and smiled.

"You're going to love this place," he remarked.

Nikki looked at him with curiosity.

"How did you find this place MacGyver?" she asked.

Mac looked at her smugly and smiled.

"Just lucky I guess," he replied. "Let's go, I'm starving," he added.

Nikki quietly laughed, then she and Mac walked to the restaurant. Mac had parked a few yards from the entrance, having to park almost near the back. But considering it was a cool night and it wasn't raining, not to mention he noticed there was a full moon and the stars were out, he enjoyed the semi long walk to the restaurant with Nikki. She looked so pretty in the moonlight, and her smile seemed to add to her beauty. He always thought she was pretty, but he just never had the nerve or the occasion to tell her. He liked Nikki and respected her, but he just never thought of her in a romantic way. He guessed they were just too busy either saving each other's butts or doing other things to really take time to get to know her better. Now that they were together, and nothing was going on, he thought this was a good time to start.

End of Part 1