AN: This is the thirtieth installment of my personal challenge to write a tag for every episode. This is a tag to 2x09, CD Rom + Hoagie Foil. It contains some missing scenes that I felt it needed. I am going to be out of town this weekend, so you guys likely won't get the next tag until Sunday night. There is a slim chance (very slim) that you'll get it tomorrow before I leave, but don't hold your breath. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
Despite Jack's fervent protests, Matty insisted that Mac be brought back to the hospital owned by Phoenix in LA. Jack hated the idea of Mac having to fly for a few hours before getting treatment, but Matty was insistent that no one find out about the gas, including medical staff in New York. Their jet would get them there in two hours, but that was two hours too long for Jack, and surely for Mac too. Jack had to sit and watch the kid suffer during the entire flight.
Mac had insisted that the team stay as far away from him as possible on the jet, just in case there was any chance that they would become exposed to the gas through him. Jack wouldn't move from his side. He rubbed gentle circles on the kid's back as he threw up, kept him steady through his convulsions, and held him through the weakness the gas caused. It was excruciating.
"Jack? What's going on?" Mac asked, his pupils small and pinpoint. Jack's heart broke. The kid has said he might experience bouts of confusion, but Jack was hoping he wouldn't. "What's wrong with my leg? Why is my chest so tight?"
"That's because you got stabbed, and the gas you inhaled." Jack left out the part that he had stabbed himself. That would probably just cause more confusion, which was what Jack really wanted to avoid.
"Oh, yeah," Mac muttered, possibly remembering, but more likely just pretending he did for Jack's sake. He was stretched out on the couch, a blanket pulled up to his chin. Jack had tightly wrapped the kid's leg, and it had stopped bleeding, but he knew it still had to hurt like hell.
Mac's gaze suddenly focused straight forward as he began to breathe heavily, one hand quickly seeking out Jack's leg.
"Bud, you okay?" Jack questioned. It looked like the kid was about to hurl again, but it wasn't as if he had much left in him to throw up. Jack grabbed the bucket - empty, thankfully - and put it on the ground next to Mac's head.
Mac quickly rolled to his side and emptied the rest of the contents of his stomach into the bucket. Jack gently rubbed his back and whispered reassurances to his partner. Why did these things always have to happen to Mac? The kid collapsed back onto the couch with a groan, pressing his head into the side of Jack's leg with a whimper.
"It's gonna be okay, kiddo. We'll be at the hospital in no time, then you'll get all fixed up. You're gonna be okay, I promise," Jack assured, carding his fingers through Mac's hair. He just hoped he could keep that promise.
Mac suddenly became ramrod still, and it looked like he was about to convulse again, but then he completely relaxed. Jack's hand quickly went to the blond's throat to check his pulse, and he sighed in relief at finding it still there - too fast, but there. He just continued to card his fingers through the kid's hair, more for his own comfort than Mac's at that point.
Mac didn't wake up for the rest of the flight.
Upon landing at Phoenix's medical facility, Jack quickly scooped Mac up in his arms and carried him in, getting him into the ER as quickly as possible. Jack was forced to step aside as doctors swarmed around the kid, checking all of his bodily functions and analyzing the stab wound on his leg. Eventually, one of them asked Jack what had happened, and he quickly gave them all the details.
What felt like hours later to Jack, the doctors informed him that Mac would survive, but was still in for a lot of pain until the antidote completely destroyed the nerve gas in his system. He immediately went in to sit next to Mac, and drew up the curtain as far it would go to give them a bit of privacy. Mac would've hated for all the hospital staff to see him seize. His leg was wrapped, and should heal well, but would also hurt for a while.
Jack's heart broke a little more every time that Mac seized in his sleep. Every time he had to wipe tears from his eyes. Seeing Mac suffer so much and being unable to do anything to stop it, feeling so helpless to do anything for his kid - there was no worse feeling.
Finally - freaking finally - Mac began to come around, this time without a seizure. Jack quickly gripped the kid's hand and lightly squeezed, just enough to make sure Mac knew he was there. Slowly, so slowly, Mac opened his eyes, quickly letting them rest on Jack's.
"Hey, kiddo. How ya feelin'?" Jack asked, absently running his thumb along the back of Mac's hand.
"I've been better," Mac admitted, his voice scratchy from the irritation of his throat. "But I'm assuming I'll live," he said with an inflection at the end, leading Jack to wonder if he had meant to say it as a question.
"Yeah," he replied. "Yeah, bud, you're gonna live. You're gonna be okay, just like I promised you. And you know I never break my promises to you." Jack squeezed Mac's hand to emphasize his point. He loved that kid too much to ever break a promise to him.
"You always keep your promises," Mac said, his eyelids falling shut again. He didn't remove his hand from Jack's.
"Hey, bud, before you fall asleep, I gotta make sure you understand something," Jack said. Mac's eyes slowly opened, his gaze coming to rest on Jack's face again. "Sadly, I have to go run a quick errand, but Cage is on her way here and she's gonna be there when you wake up. I promise. And as soon as I'm done, I'm coming right back to you, and that's a promise too, okay?" He hated leaving the kid, but he had to make sure Riley's father didn't try anything stupid on their dinner.
"Okay, I know you're coming back. You always come back," Mac muttered, falling asleep.
Jack had to let out a deep breath to control himself. The kid had such trust in him that he didn't deserve, such a hero worship that he didn't feel he'd earned. But he would be damned if he didn't do everything in his power to be worthy of that love that Mac gave him. Jack slowly, sadly, removed his hand from Mac's, and stood up. Cage would be there any minute to watch over Mac until he got back, and he didn't want her to see this more vulnerable side to their relationship. Maybe that could come later, but not now.
"Sleep well, kid," Jack whispered, resting his hand on Mac's hair for a brief moment before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to walk away. Riley needed him too, but that didn't make it any easier to leave Mac in that hospital. Not for the first time, he thought about all the arguments for cloning and wondered how it could work to his benefit. It was probably unhealthy to think like that, but oh well.