Acrophobia + the Jack Star

Summary: Military Fic / Pre-Series - Mac can compartmentalize like no one Jack has ever met, but even his young EOD has his limits. Jack discovers Mac's fear of heights, the hard way.

Authors note: I used to write quite a lot of prose and fanfiction, but it's been a while so my fanfic writing is seriously rusty. I admire so many of the writers here I would truly appreciate some of your feedback. If you have any constructive advice or helpful hints I would truly love to hear them. Thank you for your time.

- Paris

thank you to ElJay, akaJipster and Nureek for their help on this fic...All mistakes are my own

DISCLAIMER: No money was received or exchanged. I do not own MacGyver or any of its Characters.
This is purely for fun.

Chapter One

MacGyver tried not to flinch as small rocks and dirt rained down on his head.

'Angus! Man, You okay?'

MacGyver didn't say anything; he wasn't sure he could. His partner's voice echoed off the ravine's walls, sounding far away. A quick nearly overwhelming relief made his knees weak for a moment, Jack was okay. He repeated it over in his head a few times before he allowed himself to believe it, Jack was okay, Jack was okay. His brain tried to be logical, of course, Jack was okay. But apparently logic wasn't his strong suit at the moment.

He moved his hand slightly but as more pebbles trickled by his hands, his heart rate picked up and it was harder to catch his breath. His ears were ringing, there had been an explosion. He should be used to those, if only he had worked faster…. He pushed that thought from his mind, for now, right now he had to focus on not moving. He felt something drip from his right ear. It was an irritating tickle but there was no way he was moving his hands to scratch at it. He may never move his hands again. Nope, they were alright, right where they were.

He didn't believe in luck, or fate or anything such thing, but it was times like this that made him think just maybe Jack was right, not that he would ever say that out loud, but maybe the universe did have a sense of humor. He did just get blown over the side of a cliff after all, much like Wile E. Coyote, but there wasn't anything funny about this at all. Mac tried to take a deeper breath, but it came out as a choking gasp.

It was hard to hear out of his one ear, being to close to the blast was the likely cause. His eyes burned with sand, his hands ached and his right knee shook, but none of that mattered, not moving was the only thing that mattered.

Pebbles rained down on him from above again. 'Mac?'

'No,' it was a hoarse whisper at best, talking loudly meant his chest cavity moved more than it should. Even deep breaths were risky.

Even though the voice sounded tinny and far away, 'Oh thank god, but dammit now I got to say it! Soooo, how's it hanging?'

'Go away.'

'Go away? Dude, I know you are smart and all, but unless you can fly I don't think you are climbing up on your own.'

'Not moving.' He whispered.

Jack must have sensed the irrationality of his usually extremely rational EOD tech because his voice changed, and became calmer and even. 'It's okay man, deep breaths. we'll sort this out.'

Mac didn't waste his shallow breaths with a reply.

earlier that day...

They had been together in the Sandbox for nearly 181 days and had fallen into a bit of a rhythm. They had gotten used to each other's quirks and ticks, and Jack had disclosed nearly every story he could think to tell of his life back in Texas. Jack had done his best to get to know his little bomb nerd too, even though the kid was extraordinarily tight-lipped. But he knew enough to know, tonight the kids head would be in the stars.

It was late, or early, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Jack and Mac had been sent out to relieve another EOD and his Overwatch who had been out in the field for nearly twenty-four hours. They would drive their Humvee to within 3 clicks of the rendezvous point and hike in from there. Jack and MacGyver had both memorized the terrain map. It would be a fairly easy walk, flat not a lot of hills, the problem was that also left them pretty exposed. But that's also why they were headed out at 1 am. Hopefully, the bad guys were all tucked into their beds and didn't have the same night vision goggles they did.

Jack parked their vehicle and finished covering it was a tarp. Mac was already looking up at the night sky. There was almost no light pollution out here. As much as MacGyver missed Los Angeles the anthropogenic light made it nearly impossible to see the stars at night. Mac spotted the yellowish-white star 'Canopus' right away, it was just a star, yet it was weirdly comforting, and he would often seek it out. It was the second brightest star next to Sirius, he liked to think of it as the 'Jack star' because he could almost always spot it fairly close to Sirius… they were like war-buddy stars, as Canopus usually couldn't be seen in the states easily.

Jack locked the Humvee and came to stand beside Mac and let out a low whistle. 'It certainly is something isn't it?'

Mac just hummed in reply but after a moment. 'The Geminid Meteor shower should be starting in about a week.'

'I remember back on the ranch seeing them this bright, but it's been a long time.' They both stood there for a minute or two, just enjoying the sight. It wasn't often the two soldiers got to enjoy a moment of calm like this. Jack could almost taste the memories of his childhood, lying in the cool grass, as his horse snacked nearby. Fireflies landing on his toes after he had kicked off his boots. God, had he ever been that young, starring off into the great expanse, wondering what his future would hold? Jack smiled to himself, he probably spent more time thinking about girls then he had about his future.

Jack turned slightly and studied his starry-eyed companion. Mac wasn't that much older than he had been lying back in that field back in Texas. And for just a moment partner looked like the kid he was, staring up at the milky way. It caused Jack stomach to clinch a little, and it was, in a way, why Jack had been motivated to sign up for a second tour. Back on the ranch, Jack was famous for taking in the strays and the injured. He had nursed more than one bird with a broken wing back to health. If something needed his help he just couldn't leave it alone.

When they had first been paired up, Mac seemed like any other EOD specialist. A little bit of an arrogant know it all, who didn't know the first thing about actual combat. He was more than happy to show the kid his place when he found him messing with his gear. As time passed, Jack started to see past the technobabble and started to see the kid inside. No matter how hard Mac tried to stuff his emotions down, Jack started to see the bird with the broken wing and there was no way he could leave him alone, especially not out here. Mac needed a big brother, whether he was aware of it or not, and as MacGyver was MacGyver, he probably wasn't.

Jack would have liked to have allowed his young companion all the time he wanted to stare up at the stars, but sadly they were still on the clock. Jack gripped his friend's shoulder bringing his attention back down to terra firma. 'We better get hoofing it.'

Jack had his hand on his weapon and night vision goggles on, while Mac has no weapon and his goggles stayed pushed back on his helmet. MacGyver adjusted his pack as they walked, but his eyes kept drifting upwards.

Jack leaned over and bumped him, 'Pay attention, Carl's Junior, and put your goggles on.' Jack learned early on that annoying the kid, was the best way to keep him focused.

Mac Huffed and lowered his night vision. 'That name better not stick.'

Jack laughed. 'Alright, Angus.'

MacGyver's face screwed up like he had swallowed a lemon. 'You could try calling me Mac like I told you to.'

'Well, now where's the fun in that? Besides everyone has a call sign or nickname out here. 'Jack when on to justify himself. 'Look at the two we are relieving, Dubois and Anderson.'

'Scooby and Neo.' Mac replied. 'It does sound weird when you say their real names, but still, there has to be something better than Carl's Junior.'

'Would you prefer Wendy's?'

Mac punched him in the arm and Jack grinned.

They walked for a while, talking quietly about anything and nothing until they started to get close to their meetup. Jack crouched down and Mac lay on his belly using his night vision like binoculars.

'Got eyes on?'

Mac shook his head. 'Negative, but they should be at that ridge up there.'

Jack let his M4 drop in the straps attached to his chest as he pulled out his sniper rifle and looked through the scope. 'Get them on the radio.'

Mac clicked on his walkie. 'Bravo, this is Gamma two, how copy?

There was a moment of dead air before the reply came through with a low hiss. 'Hey, Carl's Junior! Good copy, you here to give us a break?'

Mac glared at Jack who let out a low barked laugh. 'What? I didn't say it.'

Mac let out an annoyed sigh before talking into his walkie again. 'Yeah, Scooby, what's your sitrep?'

The radio hissed again. 'About half a click south of our original coordinates. Close to the ravine's edge. We'll be glad to see you.'

'Good copy, we'll be coming up your six, be there in five, don't turn us into Swiss cheese.'

In no time at all Mac and Jack had arrived at the other two men's camp. Well, Jack would have used the term camp very loosely. It was more just a pile of climbing gear and some rucksacks. Jack had always liked Scooby, he was easy going with a fairly think Bronx accent. Neo seemed like a decent guy too, though Jack didn't know him as well. He was a family guy, with a whole brood if ankle bitters, at least five last he had heard. The men shook hands as Mac and Jack arrived, grateful for the relief. Neo did look exhausted, as he chatted with Mac for a minute, getting him up to speed on where he left off.

Jack turned to his friend Scooby for his own Sitrep. 'How's it going Scoobs?'

'Good, good, happy to head back to the TOC, and possibly eat some real grub and sack out for a while.'

Jack smiled, 'I can imagine.'

The heat never lets up in Afghanistan, not even in the middle of the night. Even though it was cooler then the day, it was still uncomfortably warm. Scooby took off his helmet running his hand through his hair which was damp from sweat 'It's been pretty quiet tonight, but you will still need to keep a lookout, Dalton. Around noon one of the locals was having fun taking pot shots at us from across the ravine. Not sure if he just got bored or what, but haven't heard from him all night. Still, keep an eye out.

'Check; anything else?' Jack questioned

'Anderson got about halfway through the mind field, they are tricky buggers and it's taking a while. Oh, and wait!" Scooby started patting down his pockets before he found what he was looking for and pulled out a worn piece of paper with check marks on it. 'this is the map TOC gave us of approximate mine locations, we checked off the ones we disarmed.'

'Good stuff.' Jack took the paper then grasped the other man's shoulder in a friendly manner. 'Mac and I got it from here, you guys are done in, head back and we'll have beers when it's all done.'

'Now that's a plan I can go with.' Scooby turned towards his EOD and grabbed some gear. 'Let's go Neo! There's a bunk with my name on it.'

Mac and Jack watched the other two soldiers head off for a moment before getting themselves situated. Jack eyed the climbing gear. 'What's with all the ropes?'

'Neo said they were using them as safety lines. Some of the mines are pretty close to the cliff's edge.'

'Why the hell would anyone plant mines along the edge of a cliff?'

'There are lithium mines below us. I think the Taliban were just trying to protect them. The problem is there is a town not far from here and a lot of the locals use this area for grazing livestock. A couple of kids stumbled on to the minefield last week. It didn't end well.'

Jack grimaced, 'Yeah well the Tali's suck.'

Mac nodded in agreement. 'Let's get to work.'

Time passed slowly but the night sky was finally starting to show a sliver of light. Jack rubbed his eyes which were sore from using the night vision goggles for so long. There wasn't much he could do other than keep an eye out for bad guys, and check off the mines on the list as Mac disarmed them. Mac just finishing one and stopped to get a drink of water. He was still attached to some climbing gear anchoring him to the stones near the cliff. He was covered in dust from laying on the ground as he disarmed the mines. The more MacGyver sweated the more the dust stuck to him.

'So what number was that?'

Mac took another gulp of water from his canteen, 'Um, eleven.'

'Okay good,' Jack checked off the list. 'So only two more then.'

Mac's brow creased. 'No three more.'

Jack counted the mines on his paper again, 'Nope, Scoob's map says thirteen.'

Mac frowned, 'You had the papers from TOC, I didn't get a good look at them, but I swear there were fourteen.'

'Well, shit.' Jack started searching his pockets for the paperwork. 'I just went by Scooby's because he had started marking them off.' Jack started to dump everything out of his vest pockets, then paused. 'Oh, crap.'

Mac looked at him. 'What?'

'I remember throwing them on the dash of the Humvee, I bet it's still there.'

'Jack that's 3 miles away!'

'Yeah, yeah I know.' Jack looked sheepish. 'I'm sorry bud, it's my fault for leaving them, but if you think there is a discrepancy we gotta be sure. '

Mac sighed and rubbed his face, smearing some of the dirt. 'Look, why don't you just go. We haven't seen anyone all night. I am lying down in a minefield, in the dark, even if someone came around I highly doubt they'll see me. You'll be back before its properly light.'

'Uh-uh, no way. I'm sorry brother but Scooby said there was a snipper milling about yesterday. I'm your overwatch. There is no way I am leaving you, get the climbing gear off and come with me. '

'You're not leaving me; you'll be back in half an hour; you have to be bored sitting here anyway.'

Jack was shaking his head but MacGyver didn't let him get a word in. 'Jack I'll be fine. What I am not fine with is having a bomb somewhere in this field that we don't know about. By the time you get back, I will have one more mine disarmed.'

Jack scowled. 'You're going to be a pain in my ass about this aren't you?'

'I can't say I have ever paid any attention to your ass before, so if you have any pain you should report it to one of the doctors when we get back.' Mac deadpanned then laughed.

Jack didn't find it as funny as his EOD did. 'If you're dead when I get back, I'm finding an exorcist so I can kill you myself.'

'I don't think that's how it works….'

'I don't care!' Jack shouted over his shoulder as he started walking away towards their parking spot.

Mac waved him off, took another swallow of his canteen and got back to work.

Jack hustled back to the Humvee at a jog and started swearing at himself when he did see that the papers were indeed sitting on the dash. 'Stupid, stupid.' He berated himself. It wasn't like him to be so forgetful. It wasn't an excuse, but a possible explanation could be all the weird hours he and Carl's Junior had been pulling the last few weeks. They were both running on fumes, and that was probably the main reason the kid hadn't wanted to hike back with him. Not that he would have ever admitted it.

Jack grabbed the papers, gave them a quick go over and sure enough, MacGyver was right, as always. Jack rolled his eyes and groaned, it would be a long while before his partner would let him live this one down. The kid barely trusted him as it was, and now he screwed up, it put him in a bit of a mood.

He recovered the vehicle with the tarp and started his hike back.

He was probably halfway back to the minefield when he heard it. The crackle pop, rice crispy sound of distant gunfire and it was coming from Mac's direction. Jack started to run full tilt, seemed like the sniper was back, and he had left Mac in that damned field by himself.

Then a sound that made Jack's heart seize in his chest, there was another couple of pops followed by a very large boom.

To be continued...