AN: I'm back from going up north, so I should be back for more semi-regularly scheduled episode tags. This is my eighth tag in my personal challenge to write a tag for every episode. This is a tag to 1x08, Corkscrew. Technically, I think this isn't actually canon compliant because I kind of recall in my mind Mac mentioning that he never actually told Jack that Nikki came up to him in the diner, but let's just pretend that he did, because this was the best tag I could write for this. Anything else - something about NIkki or about Murdoc - really would have been just a drabble, and I wanted this to be more than a drabble, although this is still a little shorter than I wanted it to be. Oh well. I know the title sucks, but I couldn't think of anything better. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
The moment the waitress walked away, Mac was pulling out his phone and calling Jack. As always, the man picked up in seconds.
"Nikki was here," he said the moment he heard his partner pick up, not waiting for Jack to say anything first. "She was here and she brought a gun and three more agents for back up."
"Are you okay? Where are you? I'm comin' to ya," Jack rushed out. Mac could hear him opening the door to his Shelby and starting the motor.
"Yeah, Jack, I'm fine," he replied after a pause. "It's the diner with those pancakes you love." That was all the explanation Jack would need. He could find it from that description.
"Are you sure all of Nikki's henchmen are gone? Should I be worried that something is gonna happen to you or that diner in the five minutes it's gonna take me to get to you?" Jack asked. Mac couldn't hear anything else, which meant that his partner was already on the road.
"I'm pretty sure they're all gone, yeah. They all walked out after her. There's just me, a few other people, and the employees here now. I'll be okay until you get here."
Mac hung up the phone before Jack could respond. His first instinct was to call Jack, it was always to go to Jack, but he needed a little time to process what had happened on his own as well. Nikki had been there, right in front of him, pointing a gun at him underneath the table, and telling him that he shouldn't trust Thornton, but seemingly that he should trust her. How could Nikki ever think that Mac would trust her again? After everything she did, it was a miracle that Mac had mostly relaxed on his crusade to find her. But, it was a tough pill to swallow that Nikki, who had been the love of his life, had put out a hit on him and his team, his family. He couldn't believe the Nikki he knew now was the same woman as the Nikki he gave everything too. She had been his first love - well, there had been Frankie, but that had been different - his first actual relationship, his first-
Mac didn't want to think about it anymore, didn't want to think that maybe the only reason she had ever been with him was for the physical aspect of their relationship. But how could he know? She had said that her feelings for him were real, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that she tried to turn literally any interaction between them into an excuse to get down and dirty together. Was that all it was then? Was that all he was to her? Just a body to satisfy her desires with?
Mac leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair, taking a deep breath. Now was not the time to get emotional about his insecurities. That time would be later, when he was alone in his room or on the deck - or maybe with Jack, a small part of him thought, then quickly pushed the thought away.
No sooner had Mac pushed his darker thoughts away and taken a sip of his coffee than Jack had thrown open the door of the diner and visibly relaxed at the sight of his young partner, alive and well. The man quickly walked over and slid into the booth across from Mac, right where Nikki had sat with a gun only minutes before.
"What happened? Are you sure you're okay?" Jack asked, his voice completely serious. He didn't even glance at the menu listing his favorite pancake specials on the table.
"Well, I just sitting here, and when I looked up, Nikki was sliding into the booth, and pointing a gun at me under the table." Jack bristled at the threat to his partner, but didn't interrupt. "We argued, but it didn't go anywhere. She claimed she didn't put the hit out, but she didn't elaborate. But she told me I shouldn't trust Thornton, that Thornton was directly responsible for an agent's death and covered it up. I mean I don't believe her, of course, but I just don't understand what she's trying to do," he finished, shaking his head, refusing to meet Jack's eye.
"Son," Jack started, resting his hands on Mac's wrists, forcing the kid to look at him. "That woman is a psychopath who just loves to play mind games with you. She is so confident in herself that she thinks she can just walk back into your life and mess it up again. But she knows you're dangerous too, that's why she felt the need to threaten you in order to talk to ya, and bring all her henchmen with her. Now we'll use that to our advantage. We'll get security footage from here and try to ID her friends, which will get us one step closer to catching her.
"As to what she said about Patty, that's more of her mind games. You and I both know that she's saved our hides more times than I can count, and she's done countless things for this agency and for this country. She would never betray that, and you know it. Does Nikki expect us to believe that Thornton would hire an assassin to take out herself as well? Not likely, bud, you know that. You're smart enough," Jack finished with a small grin, releasing Mac's wrists and relaxing back into the booth.
Mac was quiet for a minute, fiddling with a loose string on his jacket, but finally spoke, saying, "I know you're right, but still, something doesn't seem right. If she really is just a psychopath, then it makes sense, the confidence and charisma and manipulation, but if not, we could be missing something big," he said, worry thick in his blue eyes.
"Hey, man, worry about tomorrow's problems tomorrow. I know it's easier said than done, but just for tonight, relax. We caught another psychopath, and we should be celebrating!" Jack said with a smile, but Mac could see the worry hidden underneath. "So how about you follow me home, and we'll watch Die Hard? That's always a good classic to watch after a successful mission. Bozer ain't gonna be home until after all the debriefing, and your house is still a mess, so you're bunking with me until then, and that's that. Now come on, let's go," Jack said, throwing some money on the table and standing up, his hand extended to Mac.
The blond was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, so he didn't argue, rather, he accepted Jack's outstretched hand to help him stand with a small smile. The two walked out to their respective cars, and Mac followed Jack home, just as Jack knew he would. The kid walked into his partner's apartment as if it were his own - most of Jack's neighbors thought Mac was Jack's college-aged little brother who came home to Jack on weekends and holidays. Jack didn't bother telling them otherwise - and plopped down onto the couch with an exhausted sigh. Jack dimmed the lights, sat down next to him and handed him a bottle of water, and turned on the TV, Die Hard already queued up. Within a few minutes, Jack could tell that Mac was nodding off. The kid had a lot on his mind, so he wasn't surprised.
Mac really was trying to stay awake, but the comfort of Jack's couch, the familiar sound of the dialogue of Die Hard, and Jack's comforting presence only inches to his left made it very difficult. There were so many thoughts running through his mind, but they all faded away as his body's needs forced themselves to the surface, and Mac began to doze.
Jack, of course, was prepared. He lowered the volume of the movie, and adjusted the recliner of the kid's seat on the couch. The blanket hanging over the back of the couch was quickly thrown over Mac, the far edge covering Jack as well. Over the course of the movie, Mac fell further and further asleep, and his head fell further and further onto Jack's shoulder. By the end of the movie, Mac was in a deep sleep, and Jack was nodding off as well. Turning off the TV, Jack briefly considered getting up and going to bed, but then he glanced at the kid asleep, practically on top of him. Jack let out a light scoff. Who would ever believe that this kid who has grated on every single one of his nerves when they had first met would be here on his couch today, asleep, his head on Jack's shoulder, and his hand now resting on Jack's chest.
Jack smiled again, and carefully fully reclined both seats on the couch so that they were basically horizontal. He had to stop for a moment when Mac seemed to stir, but the blond quickly fell further asleep, turning and snuggling deeper into Jack's side. The former Delta could hardly believe how far the tables had turned himself, but, nonetheless, he lifted his arm to cover Mac, and let the kid snuggle in even more. He assumed neither one would say anything in the morning, but that was okay. It wasn't as if anyone but them would know anyway.
Jack fell asleep with a smile on his face.