I apologize ahead of time. This is definitely not my usual shoot 'em up, in fact, there's no action whatsoever in this. Sorry about that, I wrote it and it kind of bums me out too. ;-)
This was the prompt from intepaz. "I was wondering what Jack and the Delta boys would do if they realized Mac doesn't get any care packages from home."
I normally don't really answer prompts because I'm not that imaginative, but this one seemed kind of doable.
MarenMary93 has really fleshed out my OC's from the G.I. Jack and Mac series, so, I asked if she wanted to jump on this with me and she accepted.
So, in a two person round robin, this is what we came up with.
I have written the odd number chapters and she has done the even number chapters. We will post these under our own pen names as essentially two seperate but connected stories, so you'll have to flip back and forth between chapters to keep up with the story.
As always, thanks to Dlwells51 for being awesome and taking a look at just about everything I write before I post it, fixing it and getting it back to me. She rocks!
Warnings: Not a darn thing.
0-0-0
Being a Special Forces operator had it's perks, and it's drawbacks. Most of the time, the unit wasn't saddled with the necessary but mundane task of routine patrols. They were the elite and were usually assigned to operations that were either extremely time sensitive, covert or had the potential to wreak havoc on the enemy.
They were given free rein in the way they chose to execute a mission and had the luxury of being able to dress and groom themselves as they saw fit.
Everyone knew who they were, but knowing why they were there, what they were doing or where they were going and for how long was highly classified.
It was a way of life, not really knowing exactly what the mission was until the last minute and not being able to tell anyone, including family... That was one of the drawbacks. So was getting mail.
The U.S. Army had become extremely efficient at delivering mail to the troops in a reasonable amount of time, just about as good as the U.S. Postal Service. Except when it came to the Spec. Ops. units.
While the packages were addressed to the men using their real names, the location was simply U.S. Army. Not even as much as Afghanistan was included in the address for the simple reason that the unit at any given point could be sent to any place in the world at any time if need be.
By the time the Army tracked down Jack and his men, the letters and care packages had passed through any number of bases back in the states, multiple exchanges in Afghanistan and eventually finally arriving at their intended destination, covered in enough writing and Army post master stamps, they would have made the worlds greatest taggers and graffiti artists envious.
The easiest person in Jack's unit to track down was Mac, he was "officially" still assigned to EOD and the change in location paperwork followed him everywhere, the only restrictions he was told he had when writing home was he couldn't say who he was working with or what he was doing. As it turned out, he didn't really have to worry too much as he never really sent anything home.
Unfortunately, when the base mail arrived, he usually didn't get much of anything. He would get an occasional package from his friend Bozer but having no family to speak of, he never expected to get anything really.
On mail day, Mac usually found something to do other than watch as everyone was excited to see what they got from home.
Jack, Box Coop, Pete and Dunc were usually more excited than he was to see if Mac had gotten any packages.
Bozer made the mistake of sending a batch of the dry ingredients to his 'world famous waffles' once, with the directions to 'just add water'. Of course, Bozer being Bozer didn't realize there was no WalMart or any other place in the entire country where Mac would have access to a waffle maker.
Mac appreciated the thought his childhood friend had put into the package, but was planning on discarding the mix. That is until he had to face five of the worlds deadliest guys looking at him and his package like a pack of wolves looking at a side of beef.
Mac shrugged his shoulders, "You guys, we don't have a waffle maker."
Duncan sighed, "Man, we should have joined the Navy. Air conditioned ships, ice cream machines… the works." He waved an arm and left the group going off to sulk.
The rest of the men turned away and went to their separate ways, off to do whatever it was they did when they were bored, which, Mac learned very quickly, usually ended up with one of them needing stitches or running a covert op to acquire something they thought they just had to have.
Mac smiled, sometimes these guys could pout like a bunch of twelve year olds, and get in as much trouble.
Mac hadn't been with them long but he felt bad, knowing none of them had gotten their packages yet and didn't know when they would.
Mac placed the opened box on his bunk and started to formulate a plan.
0-0-0
Box, Coop, Pete and Duncan had had their fill of waffles, each coming up with some reason or another to excuse themselves from the makeshift outdoor dining room.
Jack leaned back, rocking his chair on the back legs and patted his stomach. "Mac, you have got to tell that friend of yours to keep the cake mix coming!"
Mac smiled, putting the last bite of his waffle in his mouth. "His name's Bozer and it's waffle mix Jack." He mumbled. "And you should try them with syrup."
Jack let out a small belch and blew it to the side, not bothering with so much as an 'excuse me'. "Man, even without syrup those things are delicious. Even if they were cooked on… what the hell did you make the waffle maker out of again?"
Mac let out a small chuckle and waved his hand, "You don't want to know."
Jack contemplated pushing the subject but he had enjoyed the waffles so much, he didn't want to ruin it by finding out what Mac had done to make it happen.
Mac set his plate to the side, and sighed contentedly. He rocked back in his chair, mimicking Jack's relaxed pose. "Bozer makes really good homemade whipped cream and blueberry sauce too."
Jack snorted, "Sounds great, one of these days I might just surprise you and show up on your doorstep. You'll have to introduce me to this Bozer character, is that a nickname?"
Mac smiled, "No, well, kind of, but, no. It's his last name. His first name is Wilt, everybody calls him Bozer, or Boze."
Jack's eyebrows raised, "Wilt huh? Well, tell him not to send any of that other stuff, it doesn't travel well, but he can send as much of that waffle mix as he wants."
Mac laughed, remembering the first time he was around when the Delta's mail had finally caught up to them, the idea of Bozer sending whipped cream and blueberry sauce wasn't something he wanted to experience.
0-0-0
It had been one of those missions that seemed to go on forever. It wasn't that it was very demanding, unless staying on a ridge top for a week while watching a village, waiting for a certain vehicle and man to show up that had possible ties to Al Qaeda was considered demanding.
As it turned out, the vehicle never showed and the mission was scrubbed.
When the operators got off the helicopter, Mac and Box met them at the edge of the helipad.
Box had been providing intel from the TOC and had brought Mac with him to get the kid acclimated to the process and elements that made a Delta mission happen.
"Well that was a colossal waste of time." Jack said removing his helmet to run a hand through his sweat soaked hair.
Pete simply waved a lazy hand in greeting, pulling his ear piece out and starting to undo his vest.
Coop slapped his hand back and forth across his thigh sending out clouds of dust with each pass. "What the hell Box, our guy was a no show."
Duncan just started to walk past the group, not bothering with joining the discussion.
Mac stood back, observing the group. He was still a bit of an outsider as far as he was concerned, even though they treated him like part of the team.
Box shrugged, "Sorry boys, we had every available air asset up looking, got nothing. Guy's either dead or he caught wind of something and is hunkered down somewhere. But hey, good news… Mail's here."
The new information was like someone had hit them with a jolt of electricity recharging their batteries.
Duncan turned stopping his anger fueled march back to the barracks, Jack and Coop's smiles beamed making their white teeth stand out as bright as the sun against the dirt, sweat and a week's worth of grime on their faces. And Pete well, Pete just looked happy.
Jack stepped forward and slapped Box on the back, "Well why the hell didn't you start with that!"
Jack looked at Mac smiling, wrapping a dirt covered arm around the kid's shoulder, pulling him along. "Come on Mac, let's go find out what kind of goodies await Uncle Sam's boys."
Mac crinkled his nose, resisting the urge to pinch it closed with his fingers.
Not having showered for a week and apparently being in a place that was less sand and more dirt, Jack was definitely on the far side of beyond stink.
Not wanting to offend his new companions, Mac occupied his mind with a new design for an air freshening system for the barracks.
Once they reached the barracks, the men were aware enough of their appearance and odor that they shed most of their gear outside, stripping down to the bare essentials which for them meant boots and pants.
As they were about to enter, Box stood at the top of the step in front of the door and held a hand out. "No way fellas, you are not going in there smellin worse than old man Casper's pig farm on Texas day in August."
Mac had to hand it to the operator, he had guts. Standing between three very tired, very dirty, highly motivated to get to their mail… Operators, was right up there with disarming the world's most dangerous IED as far as Mac was concerned.
Jack stepped up to stand toe to toe with his fellow Texan, "Box, open the damn door." He said impatiently.
Box shook his head. "Not gonna happen Bubba, not until you boys agree to go in, grab new clothes, get out and go take a shower. Then and only then you can come back and we can open our stuff… deal?"
Jack turned glancing at Coop, Dunc, and Pete, each man giving the slightest of signals to the team leader. Having gathered and tabulated the non verbal vote, Jack stepped forward, "Alright Box, you win, shower then packages."
Box slammed his back against the door, splayed his arms out to the sides effectively blocking the entire entrance as Jack reached for the handle. "Give me your word Wyatt." He said suspiciously.
Jack's chin dropped to his chest, he sighed shaking his head, "Fine, you have my word we will be in and out, now open the damn door."
Box stepped to the side and held the door open with a Cheshire grin as all four men stomped inside glaring at him as they passed.
Box looked and Mac and winked. "That went better than I expected."
Mac smiled, "You are a brave man Box."
0-0-0
While the guys were gone, washing off what looked like half of Afghanistan, Box had Mac help him arrange the packages and letters around the room in a semi circle. Each stack of mail placed in front of a chair.
Mac had actually enjoyed setting everything up, getting the low down on what Box expected was in each package, speaking fondly as he did so. Mac had decided early on that Boxer was for all intents and purposes the mom of the group or the big brother if need be. He and Jack looked to be about the same age but where Jack was hot headed, Box was the voice of reason, dolling out advice in a low Texas drawl that usually diffused the high strung team leader.
Box held up a package addressed to Pete. "This is from his girl, she sends him all these different cards that says open if you're having a bad day, or open if you're sad, he shares most of 'em with us." He winked, "Except for the ones that say open if you're lonely. So far, no one's figured out where he keeps those and believe me, we've looked."
Box picked up a package for Duncan. "Gotta be more comics, or maybe books, hard to tell, he's got some friends back home that send him stuff."
Jack's pile was a simple one, two boxes and a letter. "The letter's from his sister, and there's no telling what old man Dalton sent but it's a sure bet it's something Jack can use on the job. Ma Dalton now, she sends some good stuff." He pointed at his own chair where a similar sized box was at. "You can bet she sent me pretty much the same except for a few things she knows I particularly like. I swear, if it were possible, I'd have her adopt me." His eyes gleamed with happiness.
There was one package that Mac knew they'd left outside, "Want me to go get the last one? it's outside." Box shook his head and held both hands up, palms forward. "Leave that one out, it's from Coop's grandmother. She's a sweet lady but has no concept of how the mail works, always sends some kind of food, bless her heart."
As Box stood back hands on his hips proudly surveying the arrangement, Mac heard the guys approaching the door, the shower and prospect of mail having done wonders for their dispositions.
0-0-0
Mac leaned against the wall as everyone took their seats. Jack looked up noticing for the first time the kid didn't have anything to open. He looked down at the packages he'd set between his feet, feeling a bit guilty for being so happy.
Duncan was the first to speak up. "Hey Mac, grab a chair man, come sit over here."
Mac looked down slightly embarrassed, "No, I'm good Dunc, you guys go ahead."
No one had touched a package yet as all eyes were on Mac. "Come on baby brother, have a seat. This is gonna take a while."
The corner of Mac's mouth twitched into a slight smile, Jack looked up at Mac, "Grab a seat kid, we ain't startin until you sit."
Mac relented, he didn't want to be the one to keep the festivities on hold. As he made his way to the space between Box and Duncan, Box smiled. "Alright, Dunc you call it."
Duncan rocked back, surveying the group as Box leaned toward Mac and whispered, "The first mail call we had as a group, you shoulda seen… Ole Wyatt had half his stuff spread out all over the floor before any of us could get so much as an envelope open. Which, if you don't mind me tellin ya, would make Ma Dalton box his ears if she found out. Dunc has been in charge of who goes first ever since. Said we should all watch the other guy open and see what he got. Says it makes the gifts last longer and everyone can appreciate it a bit more."
Mac understood the concept, and nodded. "Makes sense."
Duncan smiled, "Well, since he's waited so patiently, I think…" Dunc tapped his chin smiling at the eagerness in his friend's eyes. "Boss gets to go first, and keeping with the Texas theme, Box, your next. Coop, Pete, flip a coin, me an Mac will go last."
Mac's head snapped up, "Dunc, I don't…"
Dunc's eyes twinkled, "Don't worry about it, I already know what's in one of these, you can open it for me, deal?"
Mac smiled, still somewhat embarrassed but grateful at the gesture. "Deal."
Jack tore into the box he knew was from his dad, pulling out the simple note attached, he read it and smiled, pulling out a hard plastic gun case, flipping it open.
Box leaned over looking at the weapon and whistled, "Man, Senior went all out this time."
Coop remained seated but stretched his upper body as tall as he could to see. "What is it?"
Jack pulled the pistol out, releasing the empty clip and locking the slide open, hearing his father's words, "Never assume a weapon is empty son, no matter what you think you know, always check to make sure it's clear." He held it up for everyone to see, smiling proudly. "H&K baby, that's what I'm talkin about!"
Mac didn't care for guns, but he found himself smiling at Jack's excitement.
Box nudged his friend, "What'd the note say?"
Jack in all his excitement had to dig into the box to find the note, when he did, he handed it to Box. The stocky Texan read it and let out a small laugh. Looking at the rest of the group, he read it out loud. "Junior, figured you could use something better than that crap the Army issues. Stay safe son, and don't tell your mother... Dad."
Box handed the note back to Jack who had placed the pistol back in the case. "Alright Box, your up buddy." Jack said wiping his eye with the palm of his hand.
Box smiled and picked up the medium sized box. "It's from Ma Dalton."
To Be Continued in chapter 2 by MarenMary93 under her pen name and listed as Mail Call Even Chapters.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this, we've got nine chapters for this little bit of fluff, look for chapter 3 from me coming soon.
-Gib-