It started as an ache at the back of his neck, annoying but nothing he couldn't handle. Mac stretched his neck out, trying to relieve the pain but it didn't do anything but catch Jacks attention.
"You good? You trying to break your neck or something?"
Mac rolled his shoulders back, sending a smile to his partner. "Just stretching. You might want to limber up there grandpa cause I don't think this guy's going to give up without a fight."
Jack laughed and carried on the joke as Mac frowned to himself. He knew he was heading for a migraine, just like he always did during particularly stressful missions but he couldn't help it and he couldn't stop to take a break. So, he endured it and steadfastly ignored the way it got worse as the mission went on.
Their missions never really went according to plan but their day had only gotten worse and worse and Mac didn't know how much longer he could take the pounding in his head. The pain spread from his neck to his head and temples, to a throbbing pain that beat behind his eyes and clouded his mind, making it hard to concentrate.
Mac frowned, trying to keep his eyes as narrow as possible while still being able to see so that the light wouldn't hurt so much. He tried to be sly about it as he yanked wires from the wall but of course, Jack noticed and pulled Mac away from his task, hands gentle on his shoulders.
"Let me do it. Just tell me what you need."
Mac sighed, letting his fingers slip from the hole he'd made in the wall and sat down where Jack pushed him down onto a couch. He was so tired.
"Jack, we're in a hurry."
Jack didn't relent, going back to the wires and squinting at them as he tried to tell one from the other. "So hurry up and tell me what to do."
Mac rubbed a hand over his eyes as he ran through what Jack needed to do. "-then just cut the blue one and connect it to the other one. That should short out the power to the rest of the building."
Jack did as he was instructed, jumping as a spark flew between the wires, the lights above them blinking and flickering before blowing out, leaving them in darkness.
Jack laughed, proud of himself. "Ha. Told you I could do it."
Mac's shoulders slumped with relief, the stabbing pain in his eyes relieved some by the darkness. "Oh, that's way better."
Jack blinked in the dark, waiting for his eyes to adjust before he crept over and took Mac's arm to help him up from the couch. "Sorry buddy, we gotta get moving. We still need to get that info from the head honchos computer before we leave."
He tapped his coms. "Riles, you ready?"
Her voice came through Mac's com, too loud for his sensitive head though her voice was quiet.
"Yeah, just put the USB in the laptop and I'll download the whole thing. Grab his phone too, the tracker shows he left it in his office."
Mac followed Jack down the hallway, running a hand along the wall to keep from veering from the path, head spinning in the pitch black.
"Jack, the power cut will have trapped him in the elevator but it won't take long for him to get out."
His partner grumbled, grabbing Mac's hand and pulling him into their targets office. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on."
Jack went over to the desk, rummaging around in the draws as Mac pulled the USB stick from his pocket and stuck it in the laptop.
"Hah. Found them!" Jack lifted his prize triumphantly as Mac squinted at him in the too-bright light the laptop provided when opened. "You found his phone?"
Jack shook his head. "Nah, he has pain meds in his drawer. Here, take 'em."
Mac frowned, pushing his hand away with the offered pills. "We don't have time for this."
Jack rolled his eyes, shoving his hand forward again. "Yes, we do. Rileys downloading the information and I can look for the phone while you take these."
Riley distractedly added her two cents, her voice coming through the coms along with the clicks of her keyboard as she worked. "Oh, has he got one of his migraines again?"
Mac scowled as Jack looked for the phone, pills still waiting to be accepted. "Do you guys just talk about me when I'm not here?"
Jack peered into the draws in the desk, not bothering to lie. "Yes, that's what people do when they care about you."
Riley didn't sound at all apologetic. "Also, you get them when you're stressed and you aren't very good at hiding them. You get all quiet and sensitive to light and flinch when people make noise like its all too loud even when it's not. It's not a big deal, just take the meds, Mac."
He wasn't happy about it, the pain making him grumpy, but he took the pills from Jacks' hand anyway as he grumbled. "Fine, moms. I'll take them, just lay off."
Jack pulled the phone from a drawer and shoved it into his back pocket before taking the USB from the laptop and shoving that away too. "Chill out, Mac, we're on your side. You can take a nap on the ride back to the Phoenix and you'll be feeling better in a couple of hours."
That sounded like a good idea and would have been great if the movement from the jet hadn't made him feel so sick.
The turbulence made sharp pain stab through his skull with every movement of his head, his migraine only worsening as time went by.
Jack watched him closely, worried, as Mac's knuckles turned white where they gripped the armrests. His teeth were clenched from the pain and his eyes were screwed tightly shut as he tried not to move. The poor kid was exhausted and in pain and Jack couldn't do much to help.
The pain meds hadn't even touched his migraine and he felt too nauseous to even sip water.
Riley tapped at her laptop furiously, trying to un-encrypt the information they'd gotten from the phone and computer before they got back. "Sorry, I know the noise is bothering Mac but Matty wants all the information by the time we get back so that we can do the debrief right away. She said we can't give the report without it so, I have to do it now."
Jack shook his head, slumping in his seat beside her, both of them on the other side of the jet from Mac so that he could get as much quiet as one could on an aircraft.
"No, I know. It just kills me when he's in pain and I can't help. He needs to rest somewhere dark and quiet so that he can sleep."
Riley nodded. "Well, the debrief is going to take a few hours so, I don't know how long he's going to have to wait for that."
Jack watched Mac whimper at another rumble from the jet, fingers digging into the armrests so hard he wouldn't be surprised if the kid ripped them right off the seat.
They landed a little while later and made their way back to the office and Mac had to shove the pain away and try to act as if his head wasn't about to explode.
They walked down the hall towards the war room, Jack and Riley keeping a close eye on their teammate as he curled his fingers into such tight fists that Jack could see blood slip between his knuckles from the small crescent-shaped cuts Mac was making with his own nails.
Jack stopped Mac with a palm to his chest, pausing in the hallway. "Okay, stop. You can't go into a debrief like this, you need rest."
Mac was keeping very still, whole body stiff and muscles tight as he tried to breathe through the intense pain of his migraine. His voice was slow and quiet, words dragged through clenched teeth. "We don't have a choice."
Jack frowned. "Yes, we do." He turned to Riley and took the acquired phone from her. "Riles, even when phones are broken you can still get all the data on them, right?"
She frowned, hugging her laptop to her chest as she answered, suspicious. "Um, yeah. I just take the-"
Jack didn't need to hear the rest, nodding as he interrupted her. "Good."
Jack threw the phone down without any hesitation and lifted one tactical boot, slamming his foot down on the screen until it cracked and went black.
Riley's mouth fell open. "Jack! What are you doing?!"
Mac had flinched at the noise but didn't say anything, watching Jack curiously. For once, he had no idea what was happening.
Jack didn't bother to answer instead, walking right into the war room to see Matty waiting.
"Good, you're back. Sit down, we can start the debrief now."
Riley and Mac filed in after their teammate who held up the smashed phone with a barely apologetic expression. "Sorry, Boss the phone got a little banged up. Riley's gonna have to do her magic and get the info out before we start. Might take a while."
Matty frowned, not fooled in the slightest. "Uh huh? So, the phone just happened to be broken sometime in between your plane landing and now?"
Jack nodded, puffing out his chest and raising his chin as he looked her right in the eye, letting her know he wasn't backing down. "Yep."
It was clear that Matty did not believe him but her eyes swept over her agents and found Mac's tight expression before her gaze flittered down to his hands and the blood smeared over his fingertips and palms.
She looked back to Jack, shrugging. "I guess we'll have to wait then. Riley, work on that phone. Jack…"
She smiled just a little. "Take MacGyver home and make sure he gets some sleep. I expect you both back here as soon as the information is recovered. Which should be...tomorrow morning at the earliest. Right, Riley?"
Everyone in the room knew that Riley could get it done much faster than that but she nodded anyway, playing along. "Oh, yeah I definitely won't be able to fix it till then."
Matty nodded, satisfied. "Good. Everyone go home."
Jack took Mac's arm and started to lead him out when Matty called out. "And Mac?"
The agent turned, looking exhausted. Matty smiled knowingly. "Feel better."
Mac let out a small smile, immensely grateful. "Thank you."
The agents filed out and went their separate ways, taking their well-deserved break. Jack took Mac's bag from his shoulder and carried it instead, the blonde staying silent as he did. He didn't even say anything when Jack drove him to the wrong house.
Jack wasn't going to just send Mac home alone, so, he brought him to his own place and led him inside to the guest bedroom. Mac had used it so many times it wasn't even really a guest bedroom anymore. They may as well have put his name on the door.
Jack led him in and put his bag down, helping the kid to bed. Mac was so grateful, sinking into the mattress as Jack pulled his shoes off and pulled the blankets over him.
Finally, he had somewhere dark and quiet and his neck muscles were already relaxing just a little.
Jack kept the light off and pulled the curtains tight before running out to grab a cold washcloth. Mac lay still in the bed, eyes closed as he concentrated on breathing. Not moving, even when Jack carefully laid the cloth over his eyes.
Jack was silent, taking care of his partner with deft experience and understanding. He knew what Mac needed, having been through the routine before. He placed heavy duty pain meds on the bedside table, along with a glass of water and something to eat once the kid woke.
He hadn't forgotten about Mac's hands, sitting on a stool beside his bed and gently taking the kids hands in his. He cleaned the small cuts, wiping the blood from his fingernails and palms and dabbing at the crescents with disinfectant before using strips of gauze to cover them. Poor kid had been in so much pain he'd dug his fingernails right into his own skin.
It had to have hurt but Mac didn't complain, breathing slow and even, only his fingers twitching and curling when it hurt.
Jack had no problem taking care of him, he'd been doing it for long enough and Mac had done the same for him more than a few times. The work they did meant that they got hurt a lot and that they didn't necessarily have many people they could tell about how they were injured.
Sometimes all they had was each other but really, that was all they needed. Jack would always be there for that blonde genius and would always be happy to take care of him. Even if Mac was stubborn about it, which he often was.
The trust they had between them was this huge, almost indescribable thing, but Jack knew no matter what he would always trust Mac with his life, and he'd save his in return.
Jack had spent a greater portion of his life being an attack dog, killing whoever needed to be killed and protecting the guys that needed to be protected. He'd hurt a lot of people in his years and killed even more, but the real Jack, who he was deep down, was the guy that helped his friend to bed and held his hand as he cleaned his wounds.
Mac was finally relaxing, muscles unwinding in the dark and Jack felt his own muscles follow suit. He relaxed further with each gentle stroke of the cloth over Mac's palm, and each gentle turn of his hand as he wrapped them.
He was so gentle, hands moving slow and careful, that Mac was almost fully asleep by the time he finished. His breaths were coming soft and even, deepening as he sank further into the mattress.
Once done, Jack placed Mac's hand back down and stood to leave, only for tired fingers to reach out and catch his. He turned back, pausing, and smiled when Mac's fingers gently squeezed his own, in a small, silent thank you.
Jack kept his voice as low as he could, nothing but a breath in the dark, but he knew Mac heard it, by the curl of his fingers. "Good night, buddy."