Hey y'all! When I first started this story last week I had no intention of posting a tag to every single episode. I thought I would do a new chapter every month or so, whenever I had some spare time or an episode just really left me needing more. I mean, I think I only did two tags for the entire first season. But come on. Jack was SHOT. We're just gonna pretend like that didn't happen?! Not this girl. I wasn't thrilled about writing this simply because I did a fic with Mac being shot in the shoulder a few months ago so I'm a little worried that this is going to be repetitive. If so, sorry. I wasn't gonna pass up the chance to whump on Jack a little.

Part One

"Maddy says our plane's ready to head out whenever we are." Mac announced pocketing his phone, turning down the volume on his screaming ringtone. They had all had enough scares on the island for a while.

"Yeah, as soon as we get Jack checked out." Riley reminded the group, eyes taking note of the odd way the older man was still holding his arm.

"Naw. Jack's fine." Jack insisted "Let's get home."

"Man, you're bleeding." Bozer pointed out. "For reals this time. And a ton of medics showed up with the rescue team. Go get checked out."

"Do you see a single one of those medics who isn't already takin' care of someone who's in worse shape than me?" Jack asked. "A little through-n-through to the shoulder is nothin' compared to what those boys have been through. I'm fine. We're going home. End of story." Jack declared, walking off stiffly towards their plane.

Mac and Riley exchanged a look quickly determining that Mac would be the one to go after Jack. "Get me a first aid kit." He said softly under his breath and Cage quickly took off to the closest medic.

"Hey." Mac said softly once he had jogged a few steps to catch up to his partner. "Slow down for a second." He laid a careful hand on the man's uninjured shoulder and turned him around to face him.

Jack closed his eyes for a beat before speaking. "Mac, I want off this damn island."

"I know." Mac said. "I do too. We all do. And we're going." He promised. "Just, let me check you over at least. We don't have to bother a medic, don't have to stick around here any longer than necessary. But it's a long way home and you gotta let me make sure you're safe to fly."

"I'm good." Jack assured, but Mac knew him well enough to see the fight draining from his eyes.

"Prove it." Mac challenged. "Let me see for myself and we can head home."

Jack sighed and Mac knew he had won just as Cage made her way closer to the two men. "First aid kit." She announced, handing the white box to Mac. "And a clean shirt." She laid a folded piece of grey fabric on top. "One of the rescue guys asked if you needed one. Thought it couldn't hurt, what with the bullet hole and crawling around in the dust after that fall."

Jack huffed a laugh, wincing as it pulled on his aching… everything. "Which fall?"

"What do you mean 'which fall'?" Mac asked, turning back towards his partner. "What didn't you tell me?"

"When that crazy chick shot me. I, uh, kinda fell off the cliff." Jack admitted.

"And on that note, I'm going to go see if Bozer, Riley, and I can help out. We'll be, anywhere but here." Cage said, wisely leaving the two men alone.

"You fell from a cliff." Mac repeated.

"Technically I was shot off of a cliff." Jack corrected. "Which is way more badass."

"Sit." Mac ordered, walking to a nearby truck and dropping the tailgate, opening the medical kit on the makeshift bench and waiting for his partner to comply. "Sooner you let me get a look at that shoulder the sooner we can leave." He reminded.

Jack sat down with a sigh that failed to hide a grunt of pain.

Mac pulled a pair of scissors out of the well-stocked box. "You care if I just cut that shirt off? Since Cage got you a new one?" He asked.

"Whatever floats your boat, kid." Jack said with a smirk as Mac began to cut up the back of his shirt. When his partner let out a harsh breath, Jack knew that the bruises spanning his back were as visible as they were painful.

"Damn, Jack." Mac exclaimed quietly, fingers gently exploring the array of bruises. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Jack went to shrug his shoulders but caught himself before he moved in a way that he was sure to regret. "I don't know, man, nothin' you could do about it. No point in complaining. You were findin' a way to get me out the first time. And then I was a little too distracted by the bullet hole to worry about some bruises. I made sure nothin' was broken and I kept goin'. You know how I get when the adrenaline gets pumping."

"You sure nothing's broken?" Mac asked, trailing fingers across his partner's ribcage.

"Yes. I'm sure." Jack insisted, using his uninjured arm to slap away Mac's probing hand. "And we look with our eyes, not our bony little fingers."

Mac rolled his eyes but dropped his hands anyway.

"Now take a look at that GSW so you can see that it's fine and everyone can stop freaking out about it. Slap on a bandaid and let's get outta here."

"Okay, one: Everyone is 'freaking out' as you called it, because someone they care about was just shot. Concern isn't a bad thing. Two: It's gonna take more than a bandaid." Mac pointed out as he began wiping away the blood running down his partner's arm.

"Come on, Mac." Jack complained. "Hurry it up."

"I'm going as fast as I can." Mac assured as he drenched a handful of cotton gauze in rubbing alcohol.

"Aw come on, man." Jack whined upon seeing what his partner was planning. "That's gonna hurt like hell. Haven't I been through enough in the past few hours?"

"Guilt trips won't work with me." Mac reminded him. "You should know that by now. And besides, if the roles were reversed you would do the same to me."

"Would not." Jack grumbled in a perfect imitation of a four year old.

"Really?" Mac asked with a smile.

"Naw, I'd be draggin' your skinny butt over to those medics." Jack admitted.

"Which you didn't want." Mac pointed out. "You can't have it both ways."

"Well you could leave all the medical stuff to the docs when we get back to Phoenix." Jack tried again.

"Not a chance." Mac said as he placed a reassuring hand on Jack's shoulder. "Deep breath." Mac began quickly cleaning out the injury as best he could before the older man had a chance to exhale. He heard a low growl coming from his partner's throat and he spared a second to glance away from his task, noting Jack's clenched fist and tightly closed eyes. He quickly repeated the process on the exit would before removing both his hands, giving Jack a moment to regain his composure.

"You good?" He asked softly after a few moments had passed.

"Will be once the world stops spinnin'. Damn did that suck." Jack declared.

"If you're dizzy open your eyes." Mac said as he opened two new bandages and began digging through the medical supplies for tape.

"Seriously?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, It'll help Just find something and lock onto it. Focus on one thing and the rest will stop spinning." Mac promised as he began covering his partner's wound. "Better?" He asked before he moved onto the back of Jack's shoulder.

"Yeah." Jack breathed out the word slowly. "I'm alright. You done?"

"Just about." Mac assured, careful not to press the tape down too hard on Jack's bruised skin. "There. That should hold until we get home." He reached over to where he had tossed the new shirt and pulled it over his partner's head without giving him time to argue about doing it himself. "But no complaining about getting checked over by an actual medical professional when we get there."

"Deal." Jack agreed, slipping his good arm through the shirt sleeve and letting Mac help him with the other side. "Long as I'm good to go for Halloween night."

Mac smiled. "I don't think that'll be a problem." He closed the lid on the first aid kit and offered his partner a hand off the tailgate.

"Good." Jack said as they made their way back to the rest of their team. "Cause after this damn island, man, it's time for us to do the spooking."

Part Two

When Jack woke up he was warm. Not the suffocating warmth that meant he had been so exhausted that he fell asleep before changing out of his work clothes, or the pleasant warmth that came from waking up in a bed with another person after spending a fun night together. This was the kind of warmth that came from pharmaceuticals; good, sleep inducing, hospital-issued-only drugs. Which meant he was hurt.

He tried to ignore that small piece of information, to float happily in his state of pain free denial, but his partner's face flashed through his mind, sending a shockwave of adrenaline through his system. If he was hurt maybe Mac was too.

He struggled against the pull of sleep, trying to pry his eyes open. A weight fell on his forearm, a hand, soothing and familiar. Then a voice broke through the haze. "Easy, Jack. You're alright." His eyes finally opened and brown met blue. Mac.

"We're in the infirmary." Mac continued. "Safe and sound. Back home."

"You good?" Jack asked once he found his voice.

Mac laughed. "I'm fine." He assured. "I'm not the one who took two falls and a bullet."

"Oh. Yeah. That sucked." Jack replied, the events of the island coming back to him in a flash. He tested the grip of the hand on his uninjured arm, the one Mac's hand was still resting on, and found an IV line in the back of his hand as his fingers twisted into the medical grade bed sheet. "Why'm I still here?"

"You're alright." Mac repeated. "They patched up your shoulder, checked you over to make sure you hadn't missed any broken bones. Bullet didn't hit anything vital. You're bruised to hell but you're lucky. That's just some antibiotics." He assured, knowing that Jack was really asking how much longer he had to keep the needle in his hand. "With a shot of the good stuff. As soon as that pumps through you we can head home."

Jack nodded slowly, eyes trailing the IV line up to the almost empty bag hanging above the bed. "Looks about done."

"Yeah we've been here for a few hours." Mac said, glancing at the watch that Jack still wasn't used to his partner wearing. "I sent everyone else home. Well, home to shower and then out to buy the candy for tomorrow night. Didn't think you would want to wake up to an audience."

"Good call." Jack agreed, appreciating that since he was here with just Mac he didn't have to hide his face grimacing in pain as he struggled to sit up. "Damn, I'm sore. Even with the drugs."

"Careful." Mac warned as he helped Jack up. "You're gonna be hurting for a while."

Jack's pained face broke into a random smile at his partner's words.

"How is that funny?" Mac asked.

"It's not. I was just thinkin' bout that island. When I asked ya if you got the powers of a mystical wizard." Jack said quickly, his words coming out in a continuous stream like they did when he got excited about something.

"Yeah…?" Mac asked, not knowing where his partner's ideas were headed.

"Well then I got to thinking about how I'm gonna be walking like a tin man for a few days." Jack's grin widened. "If we've got a tin man and a wizard…"

Mac laughed, putting the pieces together. "I'm in. Better call Bozer, tell him to get started on the costumes."

Part Three

In the end it was Maddy who noticed, something that Mac felt terribly guilty about later, that the haunted house full of a steady stream of trick or treaters was taking it's toll on the oldest member of their team. They were all gathered in the kitchen, taking advantage of the break in the visitors and shoveling down the Halloween-themed treats Bozer had crafted earlier that day, when Maddy stood up. "Alright gang. It's been fun but I'm headed home. Blondie, walk me out." She gave Mac a pointed look and nodded towards the door.

"Not sure if you've noticed," She began once the front door had shut behind them "But I think Dalton's about done in for the evening."

Mac glanced back worriedly, as if he could see through the walls into the kitchen where his partner was. "I know he's not wearing the sling but he promised me he'd take a break if he got to hurting." Mac said.

"You and I both know that he can get carried away." Maddy reminded the young man. "And as long as everyone is having a good time he's not gonna stop. He won't want to feel like he ended the fun for the rest of you."

Mac nodded, knowing that Maddy was right and mentally kicking himself for not seeing it first.

"I'm not here as your boss. I'm not telling you what to do." Maddy said. "I'm here as a friend, yours and his, asking you to keep an eye on him."

Mac's eyes glanced up as he heard voices, seeing a group of little zombies headed his way. He smiled, opening the door and grabbing the closest bowl of candy. "Hey guys." He said as he walked down the driveway to the trick or treaters. "Great costumes." He divided the candy into the three buckets as the kids held them out. "That's the last of it, alright? So if you see any more kids coming this way tell 'em we are all out of candy. Happy Halloween!" He called as the children ran off on the hunt for more houses.

"I'll take care of him." Mac assured Maddy, tucking the empty bowl under his arm.

"I know." She answered with a smile as she turned on her heel and left.

Mac returned to the kitchen, making a point to keep an eye on Jack. The older man wasn't eating as much as normal, he noticed. There were still mummy pigs in a blanket left on a platter on the counter and Jack would have devoured those first thing on a good day.

"It's been, what guys, like half an hour since we've had a trick or treater?" Mac asked, not mentioning the three he had stopped in the drive. "Looks like the evening's about done."

"It's so early." Cage said, glancing at the stove clock.

"Yeah, I did not spend all night last night putting together these badass costumes for nobody to see them." Bozer added.

"What about that party we went to last year?" Riley asked. "At Penny's? Didn't you say that was an annual thing?"

"It is." Mac said quickly, wondering why he hadn't thought of that earlier.

"What do you say, Cage?" Bozer asked. "You up for your first LA Halloween party?"

"Sure." She agreed with a shrug.

"Y'all are in too, right?" Bozer asked, turning to Mac and Jack.

"I think I better stay here. Just incase any more kids show up." Mac said, giving his partner an easy out.

"I'll keep you company." Jack added, gratefully taking the bait.

"You sure Jack?" Bozer asked. "You had a great time last year. Remember those orange jello shots…"

"Boze." Riley interrupted, having caught onto what Mac was trying to do. "Let's go show off these costumes."

"Alright." Bozer agreed, grabbing his keys, not quite catching on but recognizing the tone of Riley's voice as one he didn't want to mess with.

"Tell Penny we said hello." Mac called out as they left, sending Riley a nod of thanks as she closed the door behind them.

"I saw what you did there." Jack said once they were alone. "Thanks, but you didn't have to. I'm fine."

Mac smirked. "We've been going for a few hours. Figured your shoulder would be starting to hurt by now."

"No more than the rest of me." Jack admitted, carefully rolling the injured shoulder with a wince.

"Showers, get out of these costumes, and watch some scary movies?" Mac asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Jack agreed with a smile. "We can eat the rest of that candy you told those kids we were out of."

"How'd you…?" Mac started.

"Let's just call it a Halloween trick and leave it at that." Jack chuckled as he headed towards the guest bathroom.

"Oh. Hey," Mac called out. "You may wanna change into this." He handed Jack a cardboard package that had arrived in the mail earlier that morning.

"What is it?" Jack asked, tearing through the packing tape with a smile. "You know you're supposed to give gifts at Christmas, right? Not Halloween?"

Mac didn't answer, just watched as his partner finally opened the box and pulled out the piece of white fabric.

"Its my shirt!" Jack exclaimed upon seeing the Metallica logo.

"Well, it's a new one." Mac corrected. "But yeah. I felt bad about you getting blood all over the last one."

"Thanks man!" Jack exclaimed, throwing his good arm over Mac's shoulders in a hug. "Where'd you even find this?"

"Online." Mac shrugged. "I had to do something while I was waiting for you to wake up back in the infirmary. Now go get changed." He said with a smile. "You're getting silver body paint all over me." Jack laughed and headed down the hallway.

"And there better be a sling covering up that band logo when you're done!" Mac called out.

Not sure why this fic focused so much on Jack's shirts. Oh well. That episode, while great, left a lot of holes to be filled. Hopefully this did that a little. Thoughts?