*A/N: That awkward moment when you haven't posted anything in over 5 years...Wish me luck. Honestly, probably mostly fluff leaning towards overly affectionate because that's how I roll. :-D Oh also Mac said at some point that he had known Bozer for a long time, but he didn't say exactly how long so I decided for myself for the sake of the story. My original intention was Mac stressing to Jack over how Murdoc blowing his cover with Bozer was going to affect their friendship and Jack reassuring him but Mac and Jack's bond somehow found a way to sneak itself in because I'm obsessed with them. None of these characters are mine of course. Enjoy!
"Heya Mac, when'd you get here?" Jack Dalton had abandoned the hospital waiting room that he had previously had to himself and was mildly surprised to find that in his brief absence, Angus MacGyver, more commonly called 'Mac', had turned up and settled himself into a chair close to the window. He had an elbow on the chair arm closest to the window and his chin leaned on his open palm as he stared out the window pensively. Jack clutched a cup of coffee that had all the consistency of mud and tasted like piss but it had caffeine in it, so that was good enough for Jack. It had been a long couple of days.
"Not long ago" Mac answered vaguely.
"So I ran into Riley just now" Jack casually began to walk towards Mac "She's been sitting with Patty. Boss lady's gonna pull through"
"That's great" Mac said, without much enthusiasm in his voice. Someone who didn't know Mac as well as Jack did would have been quick to dismiss his tone as him not caring about the well-being of their boss, but Jack saw Mac's blue eyes lighten with relief at Jack's news.
Jack studied the younger man closely. He always could tell when something was bothering Mac. That big brain of Mac's never stopped going, but Jack could just see all the gears inside Mac's head going three times their usual speed. With everything that had happened yesterday, Mac understandably had a lot on his mind but Jack also knew his genius friend had the tendency to internalize everything and that didn't sit well with Jack at all, it never had. He had been watching out for Mac for years now but there was more to it than just keeping him safe from enemies with his gun while they were out in the field. Jack made it his business to know any and every threat to his young friend, even the ones in Mac's head and, in a way, those were the most threatening of all. Because if Jack didn't make Mac talk out what was going through his head, whatever it was would drive Mac crazy, and Jack would be damned to hell and back if he'd sit idly by and let anything hurt his best friend.
Jack sat in the chair next to Mac. Placing the cup of nasty brown liquid that could only loosely be classified as coffee on the table in front of them, Jack turned to Mac and, addressing the back of Mac's shaggy blonde head that hadn't turned to Jack once since Jack had entered the room, said quietly "You okay, kid?"
At this, Mac let out one short, hollow laugh and finally turned to face Jack "I should be asking you if you're okay. You're the one who was held at gunpoint for over a half an hour yesterday"
"Eh, that didn't bother me so much" Jack said dismissively "That's just an average Tuesday for us, amiright?" Jack grinned and elbowed Mac who smiled faintly back. "In all seriousness though" Jack went on, sobering "What did bother me is you coming in and risking your life when I told you not to"
"Oh come on, Jack, don't start with me" Mac rolled his eyes, frustrated "I wasn't about to sit there and watch you and Riley and Thornton get killed by that Murdoc guy. You know how you said to me yesterday that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you did something that got me killed? Well I feel the same way. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let Riley or Thornton die. Or you. You can't do that to me either, Jack" Mac swallowed roughly, but he glared at Jack defiantly.
Jack held up his hands "Whoa, easy there, hoss. While I can appreciate you throwing my own words back in my face, you didn't have to. I might not have been happy seeing you throw yourself into a situation where I couldn't watch your back, but I also know because you did, you saved my life and Riley and Thornton's. Look, Mac, I shouldn't have guilted you into staying behind yesterday. It's my job to protect you, that's my thing, I have to do whatever it takes to make sure you're safe or I go nuts. I thought making you stay at the agency was the best way to do that but after all this time, I should know by now that the best way to protect you, for us to protect each other, is for us to be together, not split up. So I'm sorry"
Mac's features softened "I'm sorry too, Jack. I shouldn't have bit your head off like that."
Jack smiled "It's okay"
"It's just everything's so messed up right now" Mac went on. It took some of the finest government interrogation techniques sometimes to get Mac to open up when something was bothering him, but when he did, he didn't stop until everything was out. Mac stood up and began to pace "This guy just comes in out of nowhere and pretty much destroys my entire life. And now he's got a vendetta against me so if something happens and he slips through the cracks, he won't rest until he kills me and everyone I care about. He could kill Thornton and Riley and Bozer and you…" Mac froze in place for a second before whirling to stare directly at Jack. The haunted look in Mac's eyes both frightened Jack and pissed him the hell off "How the hell am I supposed to live with myself if I get you killed?" He whispered to Jack "If you guys die just because you know me? Because you're the closest thing I have to family?"
Jack decided he had enough. He reached out and yanked Mac back and into the chair he had vacated "Okay, you need to slow down, kiddo, you're freaking me out. First off…hey, you need to look at me, Mac…" Jack interrupted himself snappishly when he noticed Mac had turned away from him and, elbows on his knees, chin leaning on his steepled fingers, was beginning to stare pensively out the window once more. Jack smacked Mac slightly on the shoulder and Mac, somewhat startled, turned to face him "First off," Jack started again "you gotta stay outta that big brain of yours, buddy. I know you and if you let yourself get too caught up in these thoughts, you're not gonna do anyone any good. Secondly, we've got that Murdoc bastard locked up tight so there's no way in hell he's getting out but, thirdly, god forbid he does, we'll deal with it. Just like we always do. And we'll kick his ass again and send him right back to prison. All of us" Jack, holding Mac's gaze firmly, said loudly, enunciating each word clearly so Mac couldn't possibly miss it "You, me, Thornton and Riley. Remember what I said before, the best way for us to protect each other is if we're together and that doesn't just apply to you and me, pal that goes for all four of us. So don't you go thinking even for a minute that the best way to keep us safe is to keep your distance. Anything you're in, I'm in too, that's not up for debate, never has been and never will be. So, don't put all this on you, Mac, you can't" Jack's voice took on a bit of a pleading tone "He had orders to kill all of us, not just you. And even if he didn't, even if you fell off the grid tomorrow and there was the slightest chance in hell I'd let you do that without tracking you down and dragging your skinny ass back here, that wouldn't do any good. Any hired gun like Murdoc worth his salt, even without Nikki's knowledge of us, wouldn't have to dig too far to find out that the best way to get to you is through us. And it's like I said before, the best way for us to protect each other, to keep Bozer safe, is if we're all together. You hear what I'm saying, Mac?" Jack stared at his friend pointedly.
"Yeah I do" Mac admitted. And while Jack could tell Mac still held some doubts, Jack could almost see Mac's brain go on to the next topic. "And there's another thing, my cover's blown by that guy…"
"Not really" Jack argued "we can still say you work at a think tank and live with your oldest friend, Wilt Bozer, the only difference is Bozer actually knows now" Noting Mac's dubious look, Jack said "You really think Bozer's not gonna help you keep your cover?" Jack raised an eyebrow in disbelief "I thought you said you talked to him after everything went down at the junkyard yesterday and everything was good between you two?"
"Ish" replied Mac. He let out a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a disgusted laugh "Bozer probably hates me now. To hear some psychopathic stranger who broke into your house and is holding you hostage tell you you don't know your own best friend hurt him a lot. I mean he did say he was glad I wasn't dead and he didn't kick me out of the house or anything but I can tell he's still really mad at me, Jack. I know he doesn't trust me right now and honestly I'd probably feel the same way so I can't blame him for feeling like I betrayed him…" Mac hung his head, his blonde hair falling into his face, and stared sadly down at his clasped hands.
"Hey now, I don't deny Bozer's mad at you and he has every right to be. It hurts like hell to find out your best friend's been lying to you. You did the same thing to me about a month ago, remember?" Jack nudged Mac "And I'm not bringing that up again because I'm still mad, because I'm not. You and me, we talked it through and I'm over it. But I mentioned it to make you realize that I got over it and so will Bozer"
Mac let out a rueful laugh "Jack, no offense, while I'm not trying to downplay how much I know you were hurt when you found out I was lying to you about still looking for Nikki, there's a big difference between that and finding out the guy you've known since you were fourteen has been keeping a huge part of his identity from you and you're actually part of his cover as a government agent"
"True, but my point is Bozer may be hurting right now, but he doesn't hate you, Mac" Jack said softly "A good, understanding, loyal guy like Bozer, I don't think that guy is even capable of hating anyone. Let alone the guy he's called his best friend for over a decade. He'll come around, Mac. I promise"
Mac pushed his hair out of his face and sat back in his chair, taking a deep breath. Jack could practically see the speed of Mac's brain finally slow down to its normal speed and the weight of the last 24 plus hours somewhat lift off of Mac's shoulders. The weight of what would happen if Murdoc got out of prison and set his sights on Mac and his friends plus some of Mac's worries about Bozer settled themselves on Jack's shoulders now, but that was how Jack liked it. Their job was rough, especially since Mac's girlfriend had been revealed as a traitor, and Mac was front and center, in the thick of it all. All the burdens that came with it all often weighed down on the poor kid, who had the tendency to want to take everything on himself, but Jack had always insisted on taking on his share of Mac's burdens. He wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't and, because he cared deeply for the young genius, Jack wouldn't want it any other way.
"I don't know how you do it, Jack, but you always know just what to say to make me feel better" Mac smiled over at his friend "Thank you"
"Anytime, Mac. It's not hard; I just always know what's going on in that big brain of yours. Part of my job. I wouldn't be able to call myself your partner, or your friend, if I didn't"
"Best friend" Mac corrected softly "I'm lucky to have two incredible men in my life that I can depend on to be there for me no matter what. Well, if Bozer lets me again, that is"
"He will, Mac" Jack assured him
"I may not have known you as long as I've known Bozer, but you've been by my side for everything for so long, you're as much my best friend, Jack"
"Aww, dontcha go getting all mushy on me now, Mac" Jack said humbly but he grinned delightedly. As what always seemed to happen with them, Jack's grin was infectious and Mac grinned too "but I love you too"
"Hey Jack…Oh hey Mac" Riley's voice came from the doorway. Both men turned to see their hacker walking towards them "I just got a text from Bozer; he wants us to come over"
"Did he say why?" Mac wanted to know as he and Jack stood up.
"No, just that it wasn't an emergency, but he wanted to see the three of us as soon as possible"
"Thornton gonna be okay if we take off for a bit?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, they've got her on some pretty killer pain pills" Riley looked entertained by this "She's not waking up anytime soon"
Jack and Riley started for the door but Mac hung behind, staring at the lock screen of his cell which he had removed from his pocket and had no notifications on it "I wonder why he didn't text me…" Mac mumbled, so softly he probably wasn't even aware he had spoken out loud.
Riley walked back over to Mac and put a hand on his shoulder "He'll come around, Mac" she said quietly.
"I said exactly the same thing to him. I think you should listen to us, Mac" Jack gave Mac a knowing look "Now, come on, we got places to be"
15 minutes later, Mac, Jack, and Riley entered the house shared by Mac and Bozer. Bozer sat in the living room in the chair furthest away from the opening to the living, looking troubled. Jack only feared one thing in the entire world and confrontation wasn't it so he strode into the living room like he lived there and he may as well at this point after all the time he'd spent there over the years, and went directly to Bozer "Boze, everything good, man?" Jack held out his fist and Bozer bumped it. Bozer softened a little but he still looked sad.
"Your boss gonna be okay?" Bozer asked. The fact that he hadn't answered Jack's question wasn't lost on anyone.
"She's gonna make it" replied Riley, with a relieved smile, taking a seat on the couch to Bozer's right. She leaned her left arm on the arm of the chair, crossed her right leg over the left and no one commented on how she, seemingly unconsciously, sat as close to Bozer as she could.
"Good. I'm glad" Bozer replied. He stared at Mac who stared curiously back at his oldest friend as he seated himself in the chair directly across from Bozer. As Jack claimed the chair to Bozer's left, Bozer went on, "Okay, we gotta get this out in the open right now. I think I have the right to know if something like what happened yesterday is gonna happen again" Bozer leaned forward in his chair "Who are you people?"
Mac, Jack and Riley exchanged a look "We're government agents" Mac chose to be the one to answer "We're part of a secret organization once called Department of External Services, or DXS, now called The Phoenix Foundation. We take care of situations too that are too sticky, let's say, for other branches of the government to deal with themselves because we can do it in ways that they can't"
"So you're spies" It was a statement, not a question
The three Phoenix Foundation agents exchanged another look "Yeah, pretty much" Mac answered finally.
"Mac's the one who came up with the new name" Riley took up the story "He said because the phoenix rises from the ashes reborn just like we were going to do after all the stuff with Nikki"
"Basically, Nikki's a turncoat. She had Riley's job before Riley. She knew too much about who we were and what we did and that compromised our operation. So we had to make some adjustments to be able to keep doing what we do" Jack added
"I'm a hacker" Riley told Bozer "Well, you knew that. That's why I was in prison. These two," she gestured to Mac and Jack "got me out and now I use my skills to hack into any piece of technology to get the intel we need to bring down whatever bad guy we're tracking"
"What about him?" Bozer gestured to Jack. Looking at Jack, he snickered "I shoulda known Jack wouldn't be part of a think tank"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Jack looked offended as Mac and Riley both laughed. "I get us where we need to be and when we get there, I watch this guy's back" he pointed to Mac "no matter what. I've done it for years now. I make sure nothing happens to Mac and protect him from any danger we face while out on a mission. And I'm damn good at it too"
"He is" Riley admitted, then shot Jack a dirty look when he looked startled by the rare compliment "though if you ever mention it, Jack, I'll deny I ever said it"
Jack laughed "That's my girl" He smirked across the room at Riley "It's too late though, Ri, we all heard it"
Bozer turned wordlessly to Mac, who leaned forward towards his friend "You remember how when we were in school, I always won the science fair?"
"Every year. You could make anything out of anything"
"Well that's more or less what I do now. I use my skills both with that and the ones I picked up while I was defusing bombs in the army to get us both into and out of those sticky situations I mentioned earlier"
"He's why we can get stuff done that the other government agencies can't" Jack added, notes of admiration and pride in his voice.
"So you were in the Army? That part's true?" Bozer questioned
"Yes. That's where I met Jack, you know that, that part's true too" Mac explained, almost desperately "Bozer, everything you know about my life is true. Except…"
"Except the part where you're a spy for a top secret government organization"
"Yeah, that sounds about right" Jack confirmed thoughtfully.
"What about Nikki?" Bozer wanted to know "Have you known she was alive the whole time? Or was all your grief just an act too?"
"Hey now, Boze, that's not fair" Jack tried to mollify. Bozer still looked like he wasn't sure he should believe anything Mac had said and Mac looked hurt by Bozer's accusation and neither would work if Jack wanted to make peace between Mac and Bozer. For one thing, Jack needed Mac on his A game if they were going to keep having successful missions and Mac wouldn't be there if he had this drama with Bozer weighing on his mind. For another thing, Jack knew how close Mac was to Bozer. He didn't have to be a genius to know how much having Bozer mad at him hurt Mac and even though he completely understood why Bozer was mad, Jack hated seeing Mac so upset like this. Plus, Jack had always liked Bozer a lot and didn't want to see Bozer keep feeling like Mac had betrayed him when he could do something to stop it "Mac truly loved Nikki and he was torn up that she had died, you know that. That wasn't made up"
"Not the whole time." Mac added "The first 3 months we honestly thought she had died, the mourning was real. Not in a car accident" Mac answered the question Bozer had been about to ask "but in the line of one of our missions."
"We can't tell you much. A lot of it's classified" Jack said to Bozer pointedly "but what we can tell you is Nikki's a traitor. That mission involved a bad guy stealing something and it turned out Nikki was in league with the guy doing the stealing all along"
"After we found out she'd been alive the whole time, I told you I questioned everything we'd ever done together, everything she had ever said to me and it sucked and that's exactly what I did to you…" Mac said miserably. "She was still dead to me even though she wasn't actually dead"
"She betrayed us, and more important, she betrayed Mac here" Jack added "And I personally can't wait til the day we finally catch up with her and I can give her a piece of my mind"
"I thought you liked Nikki?" Bozer asked
"Oh, I did. Very much so. She was always a good, reliable teammate, I considered her to be a good friend, and Mac really cared for her and anything my buddy here thinks is alright is okay by me, but she hurt Mac a lot and I can't stand for that at all" Jack scowled
"Easy, Jack" Mac rolled his eyes, amused.
"She's the one who set that Murdoc lunatic after Mac and the rest of us, you know that" Jack reminded Bozer
"But you guys locked him away right? Is he or Nikki or whoever gonna try again?" Bozer wanted to know
The room went silent. Mac looked down at his hands, remembering his and Nikki's conversation at the diner last night. It was so tempting to say no and alleviate Bozer's concern. Plus Jack was undoubtedly going to be pissed. But Mac had promised himself; after seeing how hurt Bozer was after yesterday when the truth about his job had come out; after the fight he had had with Jack after Jack had found out he had still been searching for Nikki after saying he was done, that he wasn't going to keep things from his friends anymore. Jack had been right before when he had said that they were stronger all together and part of that was not having any secrets from the team. From his family.
"Mac…" Jack said warningly, suspicious in Mac's silence.
"Probably" Mac answered deliberately, looking at Jack out of the corner of his eye "Nikki said as much last night when she came up to me in a diner, gun trained on me under the table, four other guys with her"
"Son of a bitch, Mac!" Jack exploded. He jumped out of his chair like it had burned him and came to land, feet firmly on the floor, in front of Mac. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at the genius "You couldn't have said something, oh I don't know, before! Right after it happened, maybe?"
"Because I knew this was how you were going to react. And I've had a lot on my mind the last couple of days" Mac countered, exasperated "Plus, there wouldn't have been any point, Jack. Even if I had called you right after Nikki left, she would have been long gone by the time you turned up. Besides, nothing happened"
"She had a gun on you, Mac, something could have happened!" Jack growled
"But it didn't. Jack, I'm fine" Mac tried to assure his friend.
"What'd she want, Mac?" Riley interrupted quickly, in an attempt to change the subject. "Jack, sit down" she added impatiently. Jack made an indelicate noise in reply and shot Mac a look, but he obeyed Riley's command.
"She wants me to question what I'm told. By Thornton, by the organization, by everybody"
"Why would she think you'd do that? You're a soldier, Mac, she knows that. You don't question orders. Don't let her change that too" Bozer pointed out.
Mac looked at Bozer, taken aback. It was an innocuous statement but it was the closest thing Bozer had said to even imply he was in any way okay with the megaton of information that had been hurtled his way in the last day "I don't know, Bozer. All I know is that she said whoever she works for won't stop sending people after us…After me"
"Who does she even work for?" Riley wondered
"She didn't say. But if you listen to her there's more to this than just her betraying us for a payday"
"Let em" spat Jack "They can send whoever the hell they want after you, Mac, but they're not getting anywhere near you, not as long as I'm around"
"It's not just me, Jack"
"I heard ya…No one here has anything to worry about. Those unnamed people that Nikki works for and Nikki herself, come to that, on the other hand…" Jack let out a short bark of manic laughter "They got another thing coming if they think they're taking us down"
"Jack, chill. We're getting off subject" Riley interjected. She looked at Bozer "You gonna be okay, Bozer?"
Bozer laughed ruefully "I kinda have to be, don't I?"
"Not true" argued Jack. Jack leaned towards Bozer "You don't have to be anything. You're hurt right now and you're well within your rights to be. Look, Boze, I know this sucks. You're getting a lot thrown at you. Me and Riley but especially Mac, we all kept something from you and that's not cool. But what you gotta understand, man, is we had to. We didn't have a choice. It's the government. We're the government. You know this much, what we really do, and that's fine, but we're gonna be doing things we can't always tell you about. We gotta go places and we can't always tell you where. Cuz if we did, we'd all be locked up for treason and that wouldn't make us much better than Nikki. But there's two things you can be certain of, Bozer. One, if something comes up again, someone like Murdoc, that's gonna threaten your safety, you're gonna know about it. Two, Mac here," Jack reached over and patted Mac on the knee "he's the same ol' guy you've always known. He's the same loyal, trustworthy brainiac he's always been" Jack smiled over at Mac "and I trust him with my life"
"Even though I didn't tell you at first that I saw Nikki?" Mac asked sheepishly
"Course, man" Jack said cheerfully "I mean, keeping something from me, especially something like that, probably isn't the best decision and I'd stop doing that if I was you, but I can't stay mad at you, Mac, you know that. Isn't that right, Bozer?"
Jack turned back to Bozer pointedly, but Mac cut in "Look, Bozer, I already said I was sorry and I really am. But I meant what I said yesterday, you've been such a huge part of my life for so long, I wouldn't be who I am today without you. You still know everything there is to know about me, hell, you were there for most of it. It's just this one detail of my life…"
"I'm not allowed to know" Bozer finished.
"Exactly. Not because I don't want to tell you. But because I can't. But I swear, Boze, that doesn't mean I don't value our friendship or it's not important to me or our entire friendship has been a lie, because none of that is true. Having you as my best friend all these years, having you when my dad left, for everything in my life has meant everything to me. I was just trying to protect you. I go up against some nasty people sometime and I have to have a solid cover if someone ever tried to track me down to keep you safe from that part of my life"
"To keep yourself safe too" Bozer said quietly "Well except when the threat's your crazy ex-girlfriend who's also your crazy ex-coworker who already knows all of your secrets"
Mac laughed "Yeah, so I'm kind of screwed there" Another weight from Mac lifted when Bozer laughed too and didn't look at him warily for the first time since the day before. "Even if I had been allowed to tell you the truth, I couldn't risk you knowing and getting hurt or worse as a result. But I am truly sorry that my keeping this from you made you question our friendship. I would never want you to feel that way about you and me. I never meant to hurt you"
"I'm not gonna lie, Mac, it does hurt, but I understand why you couldn't tell me" Bozer admitted "and I'd never want to hurt you either so I'm okay with being your cover"
"Just think of it like this, Bozer" Riley said in a low voice "In a way you're protecting Mac too. Just like me and Jack do. Except in a different way"
Bozer smiled at her. Then he turned to the group as a whole "I do have one more question though. Jack, Mac, Riley" he pointed at them each in turn "Are those really your real names?"
Mac rolled his eyes "C'mon, Bozer, you've known me since the 8th grade"
"Alright fair enough" Bozer continued to look at Riley and Jack.
"Think about it, Bozer. Mac and Jack?" Riley pointed at the two men as she said their names "You don't think we would have come up with more unique code names than that?"
"Technically the only reason he goes by Mac is because he hates being called Angus" Bozer pointed out
"Bozer, my man, lemme put it to you that way" Jack put in "If someone we're trying to bring down knows who we really are, we aren't doing our jobs right. Besides, I'd totally have come up with a better name than Jaaaack" he elongated the vowel in his name mockingly "I've always seen myself more as a Tyrone"
"Tyrone!" Riley cackled. Bozer looked equally as amused, while Mac hid a smirk behind his hand under the guise of scratching his nose.
"Yeah!" Jack replied enthusiastically "What's wrong with that?"
"Well for one thing, you're the whitest white boy I've ever met in my life…"
"Seriously, Riles?" Jack exclaimed in disbelief "Blondie Pale Skin over here" he swung a hand in the direction of Mac who laughed with delight "and I'M the whitest white boy you ever met?"
"It's all about attitude, Jack"
"Hey for your information, smartass, I'll have you know I'm one-eighth Cherokee"
Still laughing, Mac casually got up and walked towards the kitchen. He wasn't at all surprised when he turned to find Bozer behind him
"Hey man" Bozer nodded at him
"Hey" Mac nodded back. "Boze, I really am…"
"You don't have to keep apologizing, Mac, I know you feel bad" Bozer assured him "I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna take me a bit to adjust to all this, but I will. Like my man, Jack, I can't stay mad at you either"
"I'm glad to hear it" Mac smiled, relieved, "I know I have a long way to go to win back your trust and I hate to ask anything more from you right now but…Bozer, you can't tell anyone about what I really do" He said seriously "Not Penny, not anyone"
"You're right, Mac, you do have a long way to go, but I did kinda figure that. Still not sure how I'm gonna explain Jack in a think tank though if I'm ever asked" Bozer pretended to muse, making Mac snicker.
"I heard that, Boze, thought we were friends, man!"
Mac laughed "Technically Jack's official job title is security and intel"
"Way to downplay my job, Mac!"
Laughing at Jack over their shoulders, Bozer turned back to Mac "Seriously though, you can trust me, Mac"
"Never doubted it. That was never the problem. I know I can trust you. I just couldn't risk anyone discovering you as a way to get to me" Mac laughed regretfully "Look how well that turned out"
"That's not your fault, man" Bozer said reassuringly "That was Nikki and the crazy people she betrayed you all for. But you're gonna find em and bring em down. You're good at this spy stuff, whatever it is you guys do, right?"
"My man's the best" Jack, apparently having decided there was no sense in arguing with Riley, said happily, clapping Mac on the shoulders with both hands. He kept one arm casually slung around Mac's shoulders as Riley joined them.
"You know, Nikki's actually the crazy one for betraying you awesome people and I'm sorry she broke your heart, buddy" Bozer said to Mac, hitting him on the arm "but if she hadn't, I wouldn't have my sweet Riley here" Bozer flashed an adoring grin at her.
"Easy, cowboy" Riley said warningly, but she smiled.
As Bozer wandered away, suddenly struck with the realization he wanted to show Riley something, Riley sidled up to Mac's other side "Told ya" she said in a low voice, a grin of triumph on her face before going to join Bozer.
"She's right, you know it, Mac" Jack pointed out, gesturing at Riley with his other hand "Bozer came around. And I'm right" he gestured to himself "and you know how much I hate admitting I'm right"
"You love admitting you're right" Mac corrected smugly
"Oh yeah, you're right! Yeah I do!" Jack, smacking Mac's chest with the backside of the hand that was around Mac's shoulders, giggled with delight. Like what often happened with the two of them, especially at the end of a case, Jack's giggles were infectious and Mac couldn't help but join in.
After a minute, the laughter died down. Jack studied the young genius. Unlike before, Mac's blue eyes weren't clouded with worry, his brain didn't seem to be going 15 miles a minute faster than usual, and he seemed at peace. Like before, Jack asked quietly "You okay, kid?" Even though he knew the answer.
Mac tore his eyes away from watching Bozer and Riley to look at one of the two men he considered his best friends "I will be, Jack" Mac's gaze returned to the other man he considered his best friend.
Jack smiled and briefly squeezed Mac's shoulders affectionately "Yeah, I know you will, Mac"
Jack knew this because he knew Mac. Because Mac had Thornton and Riley and Bozer and most of all him. Because as long as they were together, they were unbeatable. Jack's smile widened. Nikki and whatever lunatics she was working for didn't stand a chance.