AN: I'll still be writing canon compliant tags to each ep, and once the season is over, I'll start working on a rewrite where Jack never leaves. I'm still witholding judgement of Desi, but this tag explains my thoughts on her pretty well, I think. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
Mac could barely keep the smile off his face. It was Sunday, which meant that it was time for his weekly Skype call with Jack. The man may have been out hunting a terrorist, and most of that op was so covert that he couldn't contact Mac at all, but he negotiated that he had to be able to talk to him sometimes. The best they could manage were weekly Skype calls, but they would take that over nothing. Jack was only allowed the time for one call each week, and it was always to Mac. The others completely understood, and usually tried to join Mac so they could say hi to Jack too, but this time, it was just Mac. He would've been lying if he'd said he wasn't excited for the one on one time with his partner - because they were still partners, even while Jack was gone.
So he spent the day giddy with excitement, doing anything and everything to keep himself busy in order to make the time seem to pass by faster. He ended up cleaning the whole house, repurposing an old toaster, and reconfiguring the washing machine to clean clothes twice as fast. All in all, it was a productive day.
When the time finally came for Jack to Skype him, Mac was practically vibrating. It had been a whole week since he'd spoken to the man, and that was a whole week too long. There wasn't anything that could be done about it, but that didn't mean Mac had to like it.
Jack's call came in and Mac immediately accepted it, a massive smile on his face. "Hey," he said, trying hard to sound casual, despite the fact that he'd missed him like crazy. Mac quickly looked over Jack, and saw no new bruises or anything that would suggest he'd been hurt. He knew Jack was doing the same.
"Hey, yourself," Jack replied, a smile matching Mac's on his face.
"How are you? How's the search going? Making any headway yet? Are you coming home soon?" Mac asked in rapid fire.
"I'm good, it's good, yes, but not quite yet, bud," Jack replied, not missing a beat. It looked like Jack was sitting in a barracks somewhere, but in a tent. He couldn't exactly tell where it was in the world, and knew he wasn't allowed to ask. "But how are things at home? Have you met Desi yet?" Jack looked at him with a knowing smirk on his face.
Mac scoffed. "Yeah, yeah we've met. She's a firecracker, that's for sure," he said, shaking his head. "But she's got real talent, and I know she can do the job. What does she owe you for?" he asked in attempt to deflect the attention off himself. Besides, knowing her backstory would help him to understand her more, and that was definitely something he needed.
"Sorry, bud, that's classified," Jack replied with a shake of his head.
"Is it though?" he asked, a thin lipped smile on his face and narrowed eyes. There was no way that the backstory with both Jack and Matty and Jack and Desi were off limits.
"Yeah, kid, it is. Maybe not officially..." Jack shrugged his shoulders and trailed off. "She made me swear not to tell, and you know I keep my promises."
Mac sighed. "Yeah, you do. And that means you're coming back." Mac wouldn't meet Jack's eyes, but he could feel his partner staring at him.
"Of course I'm coming back," Jack said, his voice soft and calming. "I'm only doing this to keep you safe, you know that. And Desi is capable of taking care of you until I get back. Don't tell her I said this, but she's really just a babysitter." Jack leaned back and interlocked his fingers behind his head, that classic grin on his face.
"Yeah, she kind of mentioned that," Mac replied with a light laugh, but quickly fell silent. He made eye contact with Jack for a short second, then looked back down at the keyboard. "I think she hates me," he said in a small voice. "I think she hates all of us, the whole team." Mac looked back up at Jack, gave him a fake smile, then ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
"Naw, kid, she doesn't hate you," Jack said with a shake of his head. His tone was light, but there was a hint of concern in his eyes. "No one could ever hate you. That's just Desi, it takes her a really, really long time to warm up to people. I promise you she'll come around eventually, and you know I never break my promises, right?" Jack ducked his head like he would in person, trying to catch Mac's gaze.
"I know, Jack, I know. But she doesn't want to be friends. She explicitly said that she doesn't want to be friends with us."
"That won't stop her from doing the job. No one can be me when it comes to lovin' you and wantin' to keep you safe, but she will do a damn good job, I promise you, kid," Jack replied, his tone almost pleading. "And like I said, she's gonna come around. You just have to give her some time."
Mac just sighed, then nodded in response. "At least we got to help a dog on this mission, and Boze was pretty happy about that," he said, changing the topic with a thin lipped smile.
"Oh, don't try to tell me that you weren't happy about it too," Jack said. "I've seen the way your eyes light up whenever you see a dog, and don't try to deny it." Jack sighed. "You know I still think you should get a dog, especially if Bozer ends up moving out."
"I don't know, Jack," Mac replied, his voice hesitant. "I mean, I'd love a dog, I really would, but with being gone all the time and never knowing if I'm coming back, I don't know if that would be fair to the dog." He shrugged. He really would love a dog. Coming home to a fluffy, soft dog, who loved him unconditionally and showered him with kisses and wanted to be pet and played with, it all sounded amazing. Mac could even picture himself naming the dog after a famous scientist, cuddling with it when no one was looking, letting it sleep in his bed with him if it wanted. It was a beautiful idea, but Mac just didn't think it was practical.
"I'd be good for you, bud. If Bozer moves out, I just don't want you to be alone, okay? You get too caught up in your head when you're alone, you see where I'm comin' from?" Jack said, crossing his arms on the table in front of him and leaning forward. "Just, if he does move out, promise me you'll at least seriously consider it."
"Okay, Jack, I promise." He kept to himself that he hoped Jack would move in if Bozer moved out. That wasn't really fair to put on Jack's shoulders when the man was so far away.
He heard a voice from somewhere off camera say, "Dalton, say bye to your kid, we gotta go." Mac's heart sank. Already? They hadn't even been talking that long. Jack must have seen the look of disappointment on his face, since he quickly replied.
"I'm sorry, bud, I wish I didn't have to." He looked as disappointed as Mac felt.
"I know, it's not your fault," Mac replied dejectedly. "I just miss you is all." He briefly looked up at Jack before quickly letting his gaze fall again.
"I miss you too, kiddo. I miss you so damn much," Jack said, his voice low and sincere. "Hey, look at me." Mac slowly brought his gaze back up to Jack. He quickly wiped at his eyes. He just thought he would have longer to talk to him. Usually he got a full hour, but this wasn't even half that. "I love you, kiddo. I love you so much, and it's only knowing that you'll be so much safer when this bastard is dead that's keepin' me away from you. I love you so damn much."
Mac sniffed, and blinked quickly, trying to hide his rising emotions. "I love you too, Jack."
"I'll talk to you next week, okay kiddo?" Jack asked, his eyes shining with emotion as well.
Mac nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, okay."
"Alright, see ya later, kid. Love you." Jack shot him a sad smile, the cut the connection.
It was only once the screen went dark that Mac allowed a single tear to fall, but he quickly wiped it away and took a deep breath - four seconds in, four seconds out, just like Jack taught him. He just had to remember that Jack was right, he always kept his promises. He was coming back.
This was how Mac spent the next week, and the next, and the next, and the next...
Until finally, Jack came back. Mac's face was sore from smiling so much for the next three days after that.