"Again?" Jack whined. "C'mon, man, how many times are you going to ask me to give my blood to some rando using unsanitary junk?"

"Okay, one, it's not 'junk', it's called resourcefulness, and you're lucky your phone isn't a resource this time. Also, I've sterilized it, so you should be fine. If anything, it's him who's going to get sick, because sterilizing the inside of this tube was really hard." Mac turned pleading blue eyes to him. "Please, Jack, we need to keep him alive until we can get him to a hospital."

Jack sighed. "I know, I know. Universal donor my ass, damn blood type…" he sat, grumbling.

Jack watched as Mac hooked one end of the device to the unconscious man laid out in the backseat. Satisfied with his handiwork, he moved to Jack.

"Okay, because we don't actually have a needle, this is going to suck," he warned.

"Yeah, yeah, what else is new, just get on with it!"

Jack held out his arm, and Mac used the corkscrew on his Swiss army knife to make a small puncture in the crook of his elbow. Jack didn't blink. He did hiss sharply, however, when Mac forced flexible tubing millimeters in diameter through that puncture.

"Sorry, sorry," Mac said. He was being as gentle as possible, Jack knew, but still. It hurt.

Jack stared down at his arm. Blood oozed around the edges of the tube. Mac pushed something in his periphery, and the little machine shuddered to life with an ominous clanking. Purplish blood started to trot briskly down the line.

"Ha!" Mac crowed. He shoved a granola bar into Jack's hand, clapped him on the shoulder, scrambled into the front seat and stepped on the gas without warning. The car roared off.

"Okay, Jack, keep that arm still, but move around every few minutes to gauge how you're feeling. You start to feel weak, lightheaded, anything, tell me. That won't stop on its own, so I need to know when to shut it off. Got it?"

Jack nodded. "Sure thing, partner. Just go ahead and bleed me dry."

Mac chuckled, shaking his head. "Just tell me, alright? And eat that."

Obediently, he unwrapped the bar and bit a chunk out of it.

The ride proceeded mostly in silence, with Mac focusing on not crashing the speeding car and Jack focusing on keeping the wounded man alive. Mac's rudimentary bandages were soaked through, and he was still bleeding.

"I'm gonna be really mad if after all this, you still manage to bleed out," Jack muttered.

Every so often, Mac would catch his eye in the rearview mirror, and ask "You doing alright?"

"I'm good," Jack would say.

He was starting to feel a little weird. A touch woozy. But he'd be fine. Mac had said they were almost there; he could make it a little longer.

"Jack, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Jack waved him off.

Mac drove faster.

Eventually, they screeched to a stop. Mac leaped out to turn off the machine and unhook the two men as figures swarmed the vehicle. They converged on the unconscious man, placing him on to a stretcher and urgently towing him away. Mac, meanwhile, placed Jack's arm around his shoulders and helped to ease him out.

Jack, upon becoming vertical, immediately went limp. Mac struggled under the sudden weight, and gently lowered him to the ground. He tapped his face.

"Jack? Jack!" He gestured to one of the medics, who hurried over. She flicked some water onto Jack's face. His eyes fluttered open. He stared.

"Mac? Why am I on the ground?"

"Good question, Jack. You fainted because you didn't do what you were told, specifically to tell me when you felt off."

"Oh. Whoops."

"Yup. Here," Mac handed him the water. "Drink, it'll help.

After a few sips, Jack made to stand.

"Whoa, hey, slow down!" Mac placed a hand on his chest to keep him from rising further. He settled him into a sitting position, leaning against the car. "Just relax for a minute. You did just faint."

"Pass out."

Mac laughed. "You must be feeling better if you're worried about your macho image. And no, you fainted. Because you're stubborn."

"Oh, you're one to talk."

"You got me there." Mac sat next to Jack, who slung his intact arm across his shoulders.

"You should really tell me, though, when something's wrong."

"I will when you do."

"Oh, for god's sake-"

And the pair bickered, as they did, but they were smiling.