AN: This is the eleventh installment in my personal challenge to write a tag for every episode. This is a tag to 1x11, Scissors. Like most of my tags, it's a bit shorter than I wanted it to be, but I am new at writing the dynamic between Mac and Riley so I will cut myself a bit of slack there. I hope they're both still in character, but I felt like this is something that they could kind of bond over. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
The party had been a good time for everyone to unwind for a while and just enjoy each other's company, but Mac felt he still had a conversation to finish. Riley had said something to Jack earlier that had really struck a cord with him, and Mac knew he wanted to talk with her about it.
There was still a full day of work tomorrow, so people eventually started to filter out and go home. Diane and Thornton were the first to bid everyone goodnight. Bozer then moved to put the leftover food away, and enlisted Jack's help. That left Riley and Mac alone together on the deck. Perfect.
"Hey, Riley, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yeah of course," she replied, seemingly happy that Mac wanted to confide in her.
"It's... well... it's kind of personal," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and staring at the ground. Riley leaned forward and looked at him, concerned.
"Is everything okay?" she asked. She may not have known Mac for as long as the others, but she could tell this was a bit out of character for him.
"Yeah, everything's fine. That's actually the point, really, that everything's fine."
Riley just stared at him, a puzzled look on her face.
"Well, it's what you said about Jack earlier," he continued, his voice low. Mac didn't fail to notice the way that Riley averted her eyes, almost in guilt. "I just wanted you to know that he's not gonna leave. Not again." Riley slowly moved her gaze back to the younger man. "I know he's not gonna leave you, because he's never left me. Now this is where it gets personal," he finished in a whisper, standing and beginning to pace. "I've always been afraid that he gonna leave me, okay? Because nearly everyone in my life does, so why wouldn't he? But that's the thing, no matter what I do, no matter what happens between us, Jack is always there. He's never left me, and he's never gonna leave you. Now that he has you back in his life, he's never gonna let you go, I promise you that," Mac said in a pleading voice, turning to face Riley, his eyes full of pure honesty. Of course, he had his doubts all the time that Jack was gonna leave him, and he still did doubt some times, but if he could help Riley to believe that the man never would, maybe he could make himself truly, deeply believe it too. Maybe he could make his owns doubts fade along with hers. Riley looked up at him with a gentle smile.
"Thanks, Mac. I know you're right, and thank you for admitting that to me. It really means a lot, makes me feel like I really am part of the team."
"Of course you are, Riley," Mac interjected, quickly sitting down in front of her. "You're a part of this family, you're the sister I never had." He paused, unsure if he'd maybe overstepped his boundaries. "This team is the only family I have. It's the only family I've had in years," he continued, his voice low but earnest. Riley looked away, but the smile never left her face.
"And you're the brother I never wanted," she said, her gentle smile changing to a playful grin as she regained eye contact and softly hit Mac's arm. "So what does that make Jack?" she added with a glance towards the kitchen where the two could see Bozer and Jack animatedly arguing about something that was definitely stupid based on their huge grins.
"That depends on the day really," Mac chuckled. "Some days he's the idiot best friend, others he's the supportive big brother, and sometimes..." he trailed off.
"He's the loving father," Riley finished for him in a whisper. "We're both pretty lucky."
"Yeah," Mac replied, still watching the two in the kitchen. They seemed to have come to a truce, with Jack extending his hand out to Bozer, who took it in a firm shake. They broke off laughing, then continued to put away the leftovers. "Yeah we are."