Mac struggled to breathe, everything was fuzzy. He hadn't been able to disarm the second bomb in time. Jack was laying on the other side of the room trying to get up. This wasn't the first time Mac had a bomb go off, each time it had been painful, but he had been able to get up a few moments later. This time, this time was different. It hurt so bad. He was curious to see what was hurting the most so he tried to get up, but that was a mistake. He cried out in pain. His stomach hurt like hell.
A muffled sound broke through the ringing in his ears again and again until he was able to piece together the words that were trying to make a message. "Mac?! My God! Matty's gonna kill me! Man, Mac? Can you hear me?"
"-ack?" Mac coughed out. "Hurts."
"Well, I wonder why man?! You have shrapnel sticking out of your gut." When the details of the surroundings were coming into focus he only really saw Jack and his complicated expression. Jack was really worried about something, but Mac couldn't bring himself to find out why. It had something to do with a gut, maybe Jack wasn't feeling well. "How do I fix this brother?"
"Fix what?" Mac looked dazed and confused into Jack's even more concerned eyes.
"Na-huh. You do not get to be like this today. You had your chance yesterday when you should have called into work, but not today." Jack noticed his partner beginning to slip into some peaceful state of unconsciousness and shook his head side to side to wake him up again. "Come on Mac!"
Everything began to fall into some kind of haze and the lines blurred into nothingness. Voices swirled around his head but didn't really make any sense.
"You stay away from him."
"Who else do you have, Jack?"
"I don't trust you."
"Well you're blonde boy scout bleeds out."
Was that Jack and Murdoc? Murdoc?! Panic rose in his chest for a solid moment before he lost all feeling again.
Mac woke to burning pain and the sounds of screaming, was that his own screaming?
"Mac, please let us do this. Please stop fighting us." This voice was Jack, but who else was there? He was fighting them? Fighting who? Why was he fighting and what for? Was he at least winning?
He could barely understand his own words or why he was saying them but they came out of his mouth anyway. "Jack, please…"
"Jack. Hold him." This voice sent a familiar sense of fear through his body. It was Murdoc, but why?
A smear of pain went across what little vision he had. "Sorry about this next part Mac." Jack said, With little to no warning reds and oranges danced across his vision and then nothing. Blackworms crawled their way into his view and he was lost to the world.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mac woke up in the back of a car, a moving car. Mac didn't recognize this car as a Phoenix issued car, he couldn't find Jack either. Mac tried to sit up but he got half way up before falling back down in agony. He took a moment to examine the bloodied bandages wrapped around his abdomen.
Mac concluded that he got hit by the shrapnel of the bomb and someone patched him back together. Now figuring out who that someone was and where was Jack was the hard part. Mac tried to sit up again but this time the pain didn't stop them it was a familiar voice.
"I wouldn't move too much, Boy Scout."
"Murdoc?" Mac froze. Too many things were happening at once, he needed it all to just stop.
As if Murdoc could read his thoughts the car slowed down and came to a full stop. The passenger side door flew open and Jack jumped in with a black duffle bag in hand. "How is he?" Jack ask Murdoc glancing over at Mac who had his eyes screwed shut in pain.
"Awake."
"He's...Mac!" Jack threw down the duffle bag and reached behind the seats to give Mac a familiar touch.
"Jack?"
"Yeah, bud. It's me."
"What's going on?"
"You have shrapnel sticking out of your abdomen, Angus." Murdoc sounded overly excited about the whole situation.
"Shut it." Jack said aggressively. The last thing he wanted if for Mac to be any more stressed than he already is. "The bomb was rigged to go off after the first two detonation triggers were deactivated. It had five of them, for a small bomb someone went through a lot of work to make sure that we went kaboom."
"Someone targeted us?" Mac scrunched his face up in pain after trying again to sit up.
"Stay put man! What part of 'we went kaboom and now you have metal in your gut' do you not understand?"
"I just need to see it." Mac panted as he tried to ride out the wave of pain. "If I have some tools than…" Mac's voice trailed off as his eyes rolled back.
"...Mac!" The voice was Jack. Familiar, warm, and comforting. "Crap! Angus MacGyver you better look at me before I lose it!" He was angry? No, worried. Mac imagined Jack looking frantic to figure something out. Figure what out though?
"Should I pull over? I'm pulling over. Now is as good a time as any. Although, I'd like him awake, unconscious will do as well. We can't have everything."
"I'm trying to get him to open his eyes, not go into a coma trying to get away from you! Not another word."
"Word." Murdoc tested him. "Look fighting about it won't stop anything, especially not him bleeding out."
"-ack." Mac's head lolled to the side to get a better look at the two blurry figures he could make out as people. "Hurts."
"I know buddy, keep your eyes open for me okay?"
"Can't."
"You gotta try. How about you also keep talking too."
"'Bout what?"
"Anything you want. How about you finish that lesson about metal and them alloys and copper do hickies? Things were just getting good before we were interrupted."
Mac began to start talking about everything he knew of copper and metal alloys, but it was just a low enough mumble for Jack to hear it but not understand a word he was saying. Jack really hoped the kid didn't quiz him later on anything.
"Jackie Boy, we really must get this done sooner rather than later."
"I know, I am just trying to think about a good place to hide in to do this."
"Jack. If we commander a building, don't you think it will attract more attention?"
"You are one to speak about attention, I was about to make it outta there undetected until you had to show up, guns blazing. What the hell you you doing in that building anyway? It's just a bunch of guys with a stick up their ass."
"Well if you must know, some guy with a stick up his ass had an ex wife who blamed him for the house fire that killed two of their three kids and paralyzed the other."
"You honestly expect me to believe that? Than why did the other guy have a gun too?"
"The couple had a lovely company that sent agents out on the streets to distribute their products discreetly, so I assume it would be for protection...against people like me." Murdoc looked at Jack to see if he bought that one.
"Okay, assume I believe that, why did his friendly, boxed in coworkers also have guns."
"The fire took out their main point of production, so they had to find a new cover."
"I thought you said that you don't ask questions, you just follow the money?"
"This woman was more than happy to spill her reasoning without me even asking."
Mac yelled from the back seat as the top half his body fell back down to the seat. "Damn it Mac! I said keep your skinny ass down! I will knock you out if I have to. Don't you dare try that again."
"I need to fix it. I need to stop the bleeding." His eyes were shut but Jack knew we was trying not to scream again.
Jack shook his head but mentally prepared for any incoming protests Mac had in store for this suggestion. "Mac, I know your not going to like the idea, but he is all we have for now and-"
Mac violently shook his head from side to side. "I need to-"
"Your in no condition to do anything, just stay put. I promise I will keep an eye on him." Jack said putting a hand on his thigh from the front seat.
"I have to. Jack, no." Mac's eyes were a bright blue, but the Jack could see the tears well up in them. It was a mix of pain and fear and anything else he was feeling. It times like this Mac shut down, especially to Jack. "Don't. I can do it. I'm fine-"
"Fine? Don't you dare say that, you are not fine. Fine is at home with a beer and pizza sitting on the couch. If you don't fit that, your not fine!" Jack pointed through the windshield to a patch of trees. "Pull over there and make sure we can't be seen from the road."
"This isn't my first day Jack." Murdoc said and watch Jack roll his eyes. "We are going to have to put the back seats down and lay out the tarp-"
"The hell you have a tarp for man?" Jack asked, but before Murdoc could answer he shut him down. "You know what? Nevermind."
Once they were sufficiently hidden being the thick foliage and trees, Murdoc turned off the car and ran to the back of the SUV and got to work organizing things and preparing a place to put Mac. Jack opened the side of the car where Mac's head was and looked at Mac's eyes pleading him not to let Murdoc touch him. Jack apologized silently with his eyes, hoping Mac got the message but instead Mac looked away. Jack began to pull Mac out of the seat slowly. "Alright, let's go get you-"
Mac shoved him back and Jack let him so he wouldn't hurt Mac anymore than he already was. "I can do it, I just need-"
"Not up for debate." Jack put his Delta face on and was ready to pin Mac to get him to listen. So he thought the most effective way to get him to listen was yell. "You are going to shut it and do as your told so I can do my job and keep you safe!"
Mac flinches at Jack's yelling, and Jack had to keep from doing the same when he saw him shy away from Jack's touch like he was scared. "He is not safe Jack! He-"
"Did I say that you had an option?!" Jack wanted to just hold him and apologize over and over again, and reassure him he was okay. But Mac wasn't okay. He had metal shards in his body and was bleeding pretty bad, Jack had to do this for Mac.
"When it comes to this stuff, yes! You always said I could make the decision which I am. I choose-"
"Angus MacGyver, not another word!" Mac's mouth sealed shut and angry tears were falling freely.
Suddenly Mac yelled and jerked his leg. The door on the other side was open and Murdoc stood on the other side. Mac had an empty syringe sticking out of his leg. "Don't move," Murdoc said as he drew it back out.
"What did you give me?" Mac's eyes were wide with panic.
"Just a muscle relaxer. It won't do much for the pain, but it will help slightly."
Mac was glaring at Murdoc and Jack took the opportunity to hook his arms under Mac's and pull him again. At first the struggles were jerky and pain filled but Jack slowly felt Mac melt under his touch. "Jack, don't do thish." Mac slurred.
"I'm sorry bud. You know of I had a better option I would." Jack took Mac and began to carry him honeymoon style, but Mac's head dangled and his limbs loose from the relaxant.
Mac was spread out in the back of the SUV with a deranged assassin, who made it his personal mission to take him out, over him and his partner and best friend at his head spinning his arms down. Mac blinked sluggishly and shivered as Murdoc began to cut his shirt off. Immediately he tried to move his hands to stop the lunatic, but the firm grip was his a grown man sitting on each arm. "Just relax Mac, just relax."
"Jack, I-"
"Shh, it's okay. I am here. Just relax." Jack began to whisper calming things in his ears but Mac felt terror begin to rise as his eyes followed each of Murdoc's individual movements. "Don't look, just breathe."
"Jack, it's not too late-" Mac began to tiredly protest.
"I have a towel if you'd like to drape it over his eyes, if you think it would comfort him any." Murdoc spoke as if Mac wasn't even there.
"No, it's better if he sees what's coming so he can brace himself." Mac wouldn't like to see anything, he wouldn't even like this to be happening.
"Jack, stop. Matty-" Mac's eyes roamed with no real target.
"Matty is going to be very worried about your recovery and not about whatever you got up in your head. I know what she would say. She is going to be happy that we made it back home, no matter the ethics and how we got there in the first place. She knows we have to do what we have to do, Mac."
"I hate to break this up, but we really must hurry." Murdoc said waving a small knife in the air.
"Right, get ready bud." Jack took one hand and quickly ran it through Mac's hair, it was getting longer. "And we get home you might wanna cut your hair. It's getting longer than even you like Mac.
Murdoc took a brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide and began to pour it on Macs abdomen, focusing his efforts on the larger pieces. He set aside the rest of the bottles contents and listened to Mac hiss in pain as the peroxide did it's job. The first cut Mac tried to roll away. The second he kicked out and began screaming. They rolled up a towel and made him bite down on it to keep the sound muffled. "Shh. Relax. Breathe." Jack chanted trying to tune out Mac's gut-wrenching and yet muffled screams as Murdoc pulled put the first smaller piece and put butterfly bandages across it. The next pieces was slightly bigger, so Murdoc couldn't just put bandages on it, he began pulling the flesh together with a needle and stringing a wire through it and creating tension to pull the pieces of flesh back together, repeatedly. He did the same thing with pieces of similar size. Murdoc began to cut around the larger piece and Mac jerked with made Murdoc's hand slip and he drew a faint line across the parts of his skin with no wounds.
Murdoc took his bloodied hand grabbed Mac's face. "Knock it off unless you want your intestines to spill out in the back of an SUV in the middle of the woods." Mac looked directly into Murdoc's brown eyes to see if it was a warning or a threat, he couldn't find anything at all.
"Hands off, Murdoc. I will put a bullet in your skull and finish the job myself."
Murdoc, shrugging off Jack's last statement, went back to work removing the larger piece of shrapnel. Jack immediately became alarmed when Mac's muscled relaxed and he made no sounds once Murdoc took up his handy work again. "Mac?" Jack released his arms and felt for a pulse. It was slow, but there. "Mac, bud. You awake?"
"He's breathing. He's fine."
"I see no beer, no pizza, and no couch."
"That's your definition. Mine is alive." Murdoc motions for Jack to come closer. "Now that you have some free hands, once I remove this you are going to need to apply pressure to this. As hard as you can. Try not to break his ribs though." Murdoc handed him a towel and began to remove the shrapnel. Once the whole piece was removed Jack did as he was told and applied pressure to the now heavily bleeding wound and he watched Mac's fingers twitch at his touch. Murdoc made sure to be quick in his stitching to minimize the blood loss that was to come. They carefully bandaged Mac and left him settled in the back. Jack took his jacked off and threw it over Mac's bare chest to give him something familiar for if he wakes up.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Things went south quick. Jack, as usual, ran out of bullets and Murdoc ditched them at the first chance. He remembers going back to the back of the SUV to grab Mac and hike a mile to exfil. He got about three-fourths of the way and received heavy fire from behind and familiar faces were so close. He got clipped in the shoulder but still kept going, he had to get this kid back home, even if one of those bullets end up in his own extraction team saved their asses in the end, but Jack didn't remember much after someone asked if they were ready to go home and he collapsed.
Jack took a minute to himself and reached up to his sore shoulder and bent his neck in each direction until he heard and felt some sort of satisfying crack or pop. "Alright, now which room is Mac's?" He said peeking his head out the door.
Mac took in each sound, each smell, the lights. He heard to sounds of a car rolling to a stop and two different, blurry voices. The smell of hydrogen peroxide everywhere, it hurt so bad. The lights of the pure sun peeking through the foliage above. A dark pair of eyes tormenting every movement he made. Hands he trusted holding him down leaving him at the mercy of his capturer. No amounts of pleading will work.
Jack saw a group of nurses rush into a room, one after another. "Mac, you sure know how to make the ladies come running." He watched one of the male nurses run in after the group to assist. "Guys too I guess." Then he hears screaming and decided that now was the time to intervene.
When we walked in the room he saw Mac with his arms limp in the air and the much taller male nurse behind him in a head lock and all the other nurses surrounding the bes to assist in restraining him. "Everyone but the big fellow spilt." Jack said.
"We are not going anywhere, Dalton." Said a stricter, newer nurse Joanna.
"Jack! What are you doing up?!" A much younger but more experienced nurse stepped up. Mainly just more experienced with her favorite patient MacGyver. "Dr Mihahne hasn't cleared you yet."
"Sandra, sweetheart. Let me handle Mac."
"All yours big guy." Sandra cleared a straight path to Mac and Jack graciously took it.
"Mac?" Jack found a spot to sit on the bed where Mac most likely wouldn't kick him. "You with me bud?" Mac tried desperately to get free from the force holding him. "Guess not, okay."
Jack sat for a moment before a nurse walked forward with a syringe that he could only guess was some form of sedative. Mac's eyes locked on target and once he saw the needle he proceeded to scream and kick in it's direction. Jack push the young lady out of blow range. "Look Mac, I can wait until you tire yourself out or you can come back to us." Jack got panicked glares into the nothingness the room. "Look man, I bet wherever you are is not going so well so why don't you come back to us. Come on, just relax. Once we get you outta here it is beer, pizza, the couch, maybe a little skeeball with Ri, and-"
"Jack?" Mac whispered like a scared child. "You're hurt?"
"There you are. Don't worry about me. I was afraid I was gonna have to let all these pretty ladies and this kind gentleman take care of you and I was gonna be drinking alone."
"Murdoc! He-"
"Got away. Not surprisingly either." Jack brushed the hair out of Mac's face, he really did need to get it cut.
"How? Where? When? W-"
"Don't worry about him. Worry about getting out of here. And quit causing the staff so many issues." Jack said before waving the noise to release his grip on Mac. The moment the man left go of Mac, Mac almost fell out of the hospital bed. He would have too, if Jack hadn't caught him. He pulled Mac close and began rubbing circles on his back, which Mac openly accepted. "Does it hurt?"
"I can't really feel much, just tired." Mac melted everywhere Jack touched.
"Hmm they gave you the good stuff." Jack really didn't want to talk about it, but he knew he had too. "You know I did what I had to right?"
"Mm-hmm." Mac buried his face in Jack's chest and had closed his eyes.
"I wouldn't ever let him hurt you."
"Yeah." He yawned.
"I just needed to get you back home." Jack leaned back into a lying down position and Mac followed him refusing to be seperated.
"Thank you."
"You mad at me?" Jack asked resting his chin Mac's head.
"No. Course not. Don't do it anymore." Mac said as serious as a child trying to scold their own parent.
"Okay, bud." Jack chuckled still rubbing circles as Mac fell asleep, and shortly after Jack followed holding his partner, no, his kid.