I don't own MacGyver.
Mac + Fallout + Jack was the most amazing, intense episode ever! I'm still reeling from everything that happened in that episode. This story practically wrote itself. Some spoilers ahead! Oh, and you don't necessarily have to read my story The Dark Place, but I do reference it here. Anyway, please read and review!
Everything was blurry as Mac opened his eyes. He was back in the fallout shelter, looking at the confining gray walls and feeling the effects of the ketamine. He saw Jack try to load the extinguisher to bust the steel door open. Mac rushed to help him, only to have it fly across and hit Jack square in the chest. Mac watched, horrified as his best friend collapsed in agony. He rushed to Jack's side and tried to help him, but didn't see how.
"You can use that," Jack gasped out as he pointed to the gun on the floor.
Mac froze in horror as he realized what Jack was asking him to do. He slowly stood and shook his head. "No," he said softly.
Jack grabbed Mac's arm with his shaking hand. "Y-You can. You know there's no other way."
"No!" Mac said. He knew Jack was right. But staring at the weapon...Mac wished he could go back in time and he and Jack would be at his house planning their Manniversary trip to Vegas or lounging by the pool. Mac never thought he'd ever have to...no, he thought. He couldn't.
Jack seemed to read his thoughts. "Mac...y-you have to do this. I'm dyin'. I need you..." He groaned in pain.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, Mac knew Jack was right. He stood and loaded the gun. He heard a myriad of voices in his head: mostly telling him there was no other way. Mac closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, knowing he had to do this. He pointed the gun - a position he never wanted to be in.
"I'm so sorry," Mac said numbly.
Writhing in pain, Jack seemed to sense Mac's hesitation. He used all his strength to raise his head and shout, "Do it!"
Mac pulled the trigger. Jack's head hit the floor and his eyes closed. Mac couldn't stop shaking, even as Griggs came in and told him of how he and Jack got just a sample of what happened to him after his capture. Before Mac could punch the former CIA agent in the face, his former colleague raised the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger. Mac numbly watched the lifeless body crumbled to the floor. He looked at Jack and saw the red blossom on his chest was now bigger. Mac's eyes widened in horror as he knelt by his brother. "No," he whispered. He ripped Jack's shirt open and was horrified to see blood coming from a hole in his chest while the blood pack they made for their ruse still sat untouched. "No, no, no. Please, no!" Mac sobbed uncontrollably as he realized his best friend was gone. He pulled at Jack's clothes and buried his face in the crook of Jack's shoulder. "Please, NO!"
"Mac?" a voice said in what felt like a hundred miles away.
"Please, Jack," Mac sobbed. "Don't leave me!"
"MAC!"
The younger agents eyes snapped open and he gasped for air. He glanced around and realized he wasn't in the fallout shelter - he was at Phoenix Medical. His eyes darted around as he took in his surroundings. Then his eyes focused on the man in front of him - Jack Dalton.
"Mac?" Jack asked as if he were talking to a frightened animal. "It's okay, brother. You're okay."
The blond shook uncontrollably as he looked at Jack. The dream had been so real. With a trembling hand, Mac touched Jack's face. "You-you..."
"Yeah," Jack said. He knew Mac was dreaming about their time in the fallout shelter. He knew Mac didn't need him to say something trite - he just needed to know he was there. Remembering how the blond talked him out of a nightmare months before, Jack repeated what Mac said to him. "I'm here, you're here, we're okay."
Mac let his hand drift down to Jack's chest over his heart. He was never more relieved to feel the steady thump of Jack's heartbeat. They'd escaped. It was all a nightmare.
"J-Jack," Mac choked out before he sobbed uncontrollably. His best friend was alive.
Jack pulled his shaking best friend in a hug, careful to let his ear rest above his heart so he could hear the steady rhythm and know they were really okay. "I got you," Jack whispered as he held Mac close.
Mac sobbed, so grateful to hear Jack's heartbeat and hear his voice. He knew they could easily have been in Griggs' place with Hadley. He knew they were really lucky to have each other, and Mac didn't take any moment with his best friend for granted.
Matty watched quietly as the elder agent comforted the broken man. When she got the call from Jack, she couldn't get help to them fast enough.
Jack held the trembling young agent as his cries slowly stopped. He swallowed thickly, knowing how lucky they both were.
Taking a long, deep breath, Mac pulled away and looked at his best friend. He was never so happy to see the smiling, chiseled face of Jack Dalton than he was at that moment. He glanced at the tear stains on Jack's shirt and sheepishly smiled. "S-Sorry."
"Don't be!" Jack assured him. "I just care about you."
Mac sighed shakily. He wasn't in the fallout shelter, he was in the familiar Phoenix Medical ward. And Jack was right next to him, just as he'd always been. Running his hand down his face, Mac asked, "What happened?"
"We pulled Griggs out, and I found his phone," Jack explained. "I called Matty. Sent her pictures of Griggs and the hole we were in. She sent rescue. We got a chopper home and Griggs is in jail. You were so exhausted, you passed out in the chopper."
Mac felt his body drift back down on the bad as he exhaled a long sigh. He didn't realize he was still shaking until Jack wrapped his trembling hand in both of his. Mac looked at the calloused hands holding his. "I-I..."
"It's okay," Jack quickly assured him.
"N-No," Mac said. "I-I thought...it didn't work." Mac's wide, tear-filled eyes met Jack's concerned ones. "We were...you were..." Mac couldn't say the words.
Jack tightened his hold on Mac's hand. "Hey," he whispered. "Look at me. I'm here. You're here. We're okay."
A small smile found it's way to Mac's face as he looked at Jack. Months before, he'd talked Jack out of a nightmare with the same words. He placed his other trembling hand on Jack's steady ones. "Thank you."
Jack softly smiled. "There's no place I'd rather be." He knew Mac would truly be okay.
Matty walked in and softly cleared her throat. "Guys, Doctor Thorpe is going to want to look at both of you. No arguments." Both men nodded, knowing it was protocol. The woman softly smiled at her two most valued agents. "Good to see you again, blondie. Both of you."
"Thanks, Matty," Mac said.
Jack nodded. "What about Griggs?"
"He's in a psychiatric hold," Matty said. "They're going to keep him for a while. What happens after that, I don't know." She pursed her lips as she looked at Mac and Jack. "You two were lucky. Don't forget that."
"Yeah," Mac said with a choked sob. Before the dam of tears could burst again, Jack squeezed Mac's hand. "We got out of there, Mac. We're alive. No matter what happens...we're okay."
Mac's blue eyes focused on Jack's brown ones. He knew Jack was right. "Yeah," he said softly. He and Jack really would be okay.
Jack stayed with Mac through the whole day, waiting outside the door as the Phoenix psychiatrist talked to him and assuring him he'd still be there if he wanted to sleep. As much as Mac didn't want to, he had to admit he was exhausted. The events of the last few days took their toll as he closed his eyes and rolled on his side, lying on the standard hospital bed.
Thinking Mac had finally fallen asleep, Jack stood from the chair he'd been sitting in and stretched. "Don't go," Mac's timid voice said. Jack couldn't help but smile at the younger man. "I'm not going anywhere," he whispered.
Mac turned over and looked at the man he'd been through so much with. "You'll be here, right?"
"Absolutely," Jack said, and he meant it. "You're stuck with me."
Mac couldn't help but smile at Jack's reassuring smile. He took the elder agent's hand. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Jack said. His gaze never left the younger man as the blond drifted back to sleep. Jack took his seat on the couch and allowed himself to close his eyes. As much as it scared him to see the younger man have such a nightmare, he knew Mac really would be okay.
Mac drifted further into sleep, sometimes mumbling about cowboys and worms. Jack simply reached over and took Mac's hand. The younger man instantly calmed, and Jack could tell he was sleeping fitfully.
"It's okay, Mac," Jack whispered. "We're both okay." And both men knew they truly were okay.
The End