AN: This is the eighteenth installment of my personal challenge to write a tag for every episode. This is a tag to 1x18, Flashlight. It's an alternate ending to the episode. I know there's some inconsistencies with exactly how old Mac is and how old he turns in this episode, but it's my personal head canon that this is his 25th birthday. That would mean he was born in 1992, graduated high school when he was 16, enlisted in the army when he was 18, and was discharged when he was 21. To me, that combines the most of what we know into a reasonable timeline. That's not all relevant to this story, but I'd mentioned Mac being 24 earlier so I wanted to explain my head canon. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
Jack didn't know how it happened, but somehow, Mac had still gotten shot. The plan had worked well, and the laser had overridden the bullet's trajectory and brought it back to the mercenaries, but somehow, in the midst of all the fighting, Mac had still gotten shot.
As much as it ashamed Jack to admit it, he hadn't noticed that his partner was shot at first. Mac's shout of pain was lost in the crash of the ocean waves and the sounds of the fighting, and Jack's attention was on the mercs he was trying to dispatch. But after all the mercs were down, Jack noticed that Mac was down too, and still groaning in pain.
"Mac!" he called out, running over to his partner's side. The blond was lying on the sand, blood pouring out of a gunshot wound just below his left clavicle, all too close to his heart. It all suddenly became very clear to Jack. He hadn't been fast enough to stop one of the other mercs from firing another super bullet at his partner. Using the kid as bait was always a terrible idea in Jack's mind, and this was precisely why.
Mac didn't say anything, but he did grab the front of Jack's shirt so hard the man was sure it was going to rip. He could faintly hear Kono calling for an ambulance, but his undivided attention was on the kid bleeding out in the sand.
"Jack," Mac whispered, his grip on Jack's shirt fading and his eyes closing.
"I'm here, bud. You stay with me, okay? Stay with me, Mac!" he ordered him, putting as much pressure as he could on the wound. The bullet was hefty enough that it went straight through, which meant Mac was losing more blood. Before Jack knew what was happening, Chin was pressing towels over Jack's hands. He quickly took the towels and used them, giving Chin a quick nod of thanks.
"We can't get an ambulance because of the devastation from the earthquake. A chopper is coming from the closest hospital on the next island over, but it'll be a few minutes," Kono informed them.
"He doesn't have a few minutes," Jack muttered in reply.
"...not your fault," Mac whispered. His hand fell from Jack's shirt onto the sand, and his eyelids slid shut.
Now Jack was in full panic mode. This was not happening. It was not happening. Mac would not die here, on the Hawaiian beach, not if Jack had anything to say about it.
"Damn it, kid, wake up!" he shouted, pressing even harder on the wound. It didn't wake him up, but it did elicit a whimper, proving that Mac wasn't as far gone as he seemed. All he could do was keep as much pressure on the GSW as he could, and pray. Jack ignored the worried looks of Kono and Chin, only focusing on keeping his kid alive. For many minutes longer than an ambulance would take, Jack had to watch as blood continued to stain more and more sand around the blond, scaring Jack more with every passing second.
Eventually, Jack could finally hear the chopper coming, and took a quick glance away from his partner to see it coming from over the sea. Everything that happened next was a bit of a blur for Jack. Within two minutes, the EMTs had pried him off Mac, gotten the blond up into the helicopter, and had Jack sitting far away from him as they all worked around the kid to save his life.
It took everything Jack had to not run to Mac's side and hold onto him, but he forced himself to stay back and let the EMTs do their job. It was a miracle they had even let him on the chopper anyway - only because he wasn't a hospital drive away, he was an island away. Kono and Chin were left to deal with the mercs on the beach. Jack made a mental note to call them with an update on Mac once he had good news, then realized with a frown that he didn't know how to contact them. There was always through Steve, but still.
It took much longer than Jack would've liked, but they eventually landed at the hospital, and Jack soon found himself sitting alone in the waiting room, his hands still feeling stained with his partner's blood, despite the fact that it had all been cleaned off. Jack knew he should call Matty and the others, tell them what happened, but he couldn't bring himself to move. All he could do was think about how all of this was his fault. If he'd just forced Mac to stay in the car, or fought harder against the kid's plan to literally let himself be shot at and potentially killed. Deep down, Jack knew he could never stop Mac - that's part of what made the kid so incredible, his stubbornness and perseverance even at the cost of his own life, but that's also what made him so hard to protect - but it was easier to think that maybe he could. Because it was Jack's job to the be the one who got shot, not Mac's. That's why Jack had the gun, that's why Jack's literal job was to be Mac's protector. He was Mac's protector and yet he still failed from keeping him safe, yet again. The kid had still gotten shot, and it was bad.
Jack ran his fingers through his sparse hair, pleading with himself to calm down. He wouldn't be doing Mac any good if he couldn't pull himself together. He needed to call the others and let them know what happened. The sooner they could be here with him, the better. He decided to only call Matty, and have her tell the others. It was too painful to call either Riley or Bozer to tell them. Jack pulled out his phone, stopping when he saw his lock screen. He saw that picture every day, but in that moment, it was everything. The lock screen was a picture of himself and Mac hiking in the San Gabriel mountains on a rare day off. Jack made sure he always had that picture, no matter how many times Mac destroyed his phone during his improvisations. The thought that they might never get a chance to recreate that photo had Jack wiping at his eyes. He couldn't lose that kid. Mac meant everything to him. He was the son he'd never had, the little brother he'd always wanted, and the best friend no one could replace. He was the most important thing in Jack's universe. He was Mac. Without that kid, Jack didn't know how he would get by. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to.
Shaking his head and letting out a shaky breath, Jack tapped on Marty's name and called her. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Jack? Why are you calling me?" she asked. Her confusion was understandable, since in most situations Jack would just contact her using coms, but he was in a hospital, so he couldn't.
"Matty, it's Mac. He's- he's been shot." Jack paused when he heard Matty's sharp intake of breath. "He's in surgery. It's bad, Matty, it's bad. You need to get Riley and Bozer over here," he said.
Matty let out a breath. "Okay," she said. "Update me when you can. It's Mac, he's gonna be okay."
"I certainly hope so," Jack replied, hanging up after a few seconds of silence. Now all that was left to do was wait, and pray.
Several hours later, Mac's name was finally called out across the waiting room, cueing Jack's moment of either utter relief or complete devastation. He held his breath as he and the doctor approached each other. She held a small smile on her face, but Jack couldn't tell if it was from happiness or empathy.
"You're the family of Angus MacGyver?" she asked, just to confirm before she said anything.
"Yeah, I'm- I'm his big brother," Jack replied. Although it wasn't technically true, it was true in all the ways that mattered, which didn't include hospital rules and procedure.
"Well, you'll be delighted to hear that your little brother is strong. He pulled through surgery with flying colors. Honestly, he did much better than anyone expected. Of course, he will have to stay here for several days, but within a week he should be able to be released," the woman said, keeping that calm smile on her tan face.
Jack could've cried in relief. He closed his eyes and sent a quick prayer up to God, thanking Him for keeping the kid alive. Despite it all, the Big Man had certainly smiled on them today.
"Thank you so much," he said. "Can I see him?"
"Of course. Just follow me."
Jack followed the doctor down many long and winding hallways, and eventually found himself standing in front of the door to Mac's room. The woman opened the door for him, giving Jack a perfect view of his partner, passed out in the bed. There were so many wires and tubes and IVs and everything. Jack never knew what they all were, but he would try not to mind them as long as they kept Mac alive. He was wearing an oxygen mask, and Jack was briefly brought back to a different time when the kid had been wearing one, and panicking because of it. Jack quickly shook those memories of rescuing Mac from El Noche's compound free, and strode forward towards his partner. The doctor had left, leaving Jack alone with Mac. He grabbed the uncomfortable looking chair and brought it up to the side of Mac's bed, taking a seat and a gentle hold of Mac's hand.
"Hell of a way to spend your 25th birthday, kid." It was days like today that reminded Jack why birthdays were to be celebrated. You never knew which one would be your last. "When we get back to LA, I am throwing you the best birthday party ever, whether you like it or not," he said with a short laugh. He was just glad that Mac was going to be alive to complain about it. He would suffer through all the complaining in the world as long as it meant that Mac was okay.
Jack wasn't sure how much time had passed when Mac finally woke up. He had dozed off a few times, despite his efforts, which made him lose track of time. When the kid did finally come awake, it was slow. It started with a twitch of the hand Jack was holding, which woke Jack from his doze.
"Come on, kid. Come back," he said encouragingly as he watched Mac's eyelids twitch. After a few more moments, Mac's eyes finally started to slowly open. "Hey, bud," Jack calmly greeted, smiling as wide as ever. Mac was gonna be okay.
"Jack," he whispered, his voice coming out rough and gravelly.
"You never make yourself a human target ever again, you hear me? You almost gave me a friggin heart attack," Jack said, both serious and joking.
Mac chuckled in reply, and nodded. The blond quickly fell back asleep, which was okay with Jack. He needed as much rest as he could after what happened, and since he'd woken up once, Jack felt a lot better. He filled Riley and Bozer in on what had happened once they finally got there - it took a while to get to another island after an earthquake. A quick call to Matty was made, where she reminded Jack that she knew Mac was going to be okay the whole time. But that was okay. Jack would take any amount of teasing as long as Mac really was okay.