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AN – And I'm back! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday and have a happy new year! So sorry it's taken me so long to post a new chapter. Holidays and work had been crazy, work still is, but I'm back now!

So, I originally only planned on doing four chapters, open to change depending on what happens in the show or if I get another idea for a chapter, but I did, so now there's five chapters, possibly six. This chapter idea hit me when the promo for Mac+Fallout+Jack came out and I was talking to another fan about it. This chapter does deal with a bit of a sensitive topic. Just know that I wrote this with Mac's personality and train of thoughts in mind. I tried to be as faithful to his character as I could. Also, remember I have no clear idea of how the military works, I'm going off the very little information I do have and my imagination. Sorry if it's wrong. I hope you all like this chapter!

Enjoy!

When a person joins the military, they are more than aware that they will eventually be going into a war-zone. It's the first thing anyone learns about military, it's why countries have it, to fight for their country and to protect its citizens. There always comes a day though, when something happens that just pulls your legs out from under you. There is stuff that soldiers see, things that can and do happen to them, and things that they do as well that just messes with their heads. Jack had known this, experienced it before. He could deal with it if it happened to him, but it wasn't at this point. No, this was happening to his partner, his brother.

Jack knew that Mac hated guns. Sure, the kid never came right out and said it but he had seen the way his partner looked at the weapons, seen how he never appeared eager to touch one, seen that if he ever had to disarm someone, which he could easily do despite looking like a teenager, he immediately emptied it and threw it to the side. It was as though he never wanted to touch one. The sniper didn't really know why though. Then again, there was still a lot he didn't know about the blonde. What he did know was that Mac wouldn't use one, even to defend himself when they were in a shootout with a bunch of enemy soldiers, like they were now.

He wasn't exactly how, but the mission went completely wrong. They were on their way to a small village where they were supposed to meet up with other soldiers in the nearby area before heading back to the Sandbox. Since they wanted to be there as soon as possible, they got up as early as they could so they would only waste one day. On the way there however, near lunch time, they were ambushed by insurgents. Jack immediately began firing back, as did the other two soldiers who were with them while Mac got out of the crossfire. However, that was easier said than done as the were nearly completely surrounded.

"Mac! Watch out!" Jack shouted out a warning when he saw an insurgent about to fire in his partner's direction. Instinctively, Mac ducked for cover, despite the fact that he had no idea where the threat was or anything about it. It was a good thing he did though because bullets started flying right at the spot where he had been standing.

For a moment, Mac stared in shock at the place he had just been a few seconds ago, watching the bullets keep flying even though he wasn't even there anymore. Ever since he had joined the military, he had had a number of close calls and he knew it, but never had he seen that people were so desperate to kill him that they were okay with wasting their bullets on destroying a place that he had simply been standing in. It's was terrifying and a bit sickening. Suddenly, there was a large hand on his shoulder, causing the blonde to immediately tense up and turn to see who it was. He relaxed slightly when he saw that it was just Jack.

"We gotta move forward! Stay behind me!" Jack ordered, almost yelling in order to be heard. Mac nodded, knowing that not only was his partner in protective mode and was not going to take no for an answer, he had no way to protect himself at the moment and therefore was safer behind Jack. And while Mac may not really like depending on someone else to keep him safe, he liked it better than being the one firing the guns in a fight like this.

Once he saw that his partner was safely behind him, Jack started leading him back towards the truck. As long as the tires and engines weren't damaged, they should still run and from what he could tell, the people shooting at them didn't have any vehicles. That meant they could still outrun them, and that would be better standing there like fish in a barrel. However, it was at that moment that the insurgents decided now was the time to charge at them.

Jack immediately pushed Mac in between the two trucks as he and the other two soldiers kept firing at them. The bomb expert took this opportunity to climb into the back of the truck to look for any grenade, bomb, or just some tools he could use to make some sort of weapon to ward off the attackers, but found none. At first, he was surprised as they usually kept weapons in the back, then remembered as they were heading to the Sandbox, they gave them to the other soldiers that were heading out into the field to use.

Not wanting to get in the way of the fight going on, Mac decided to stay in his spot, though he crouched down a little lower as bullets could easily get through the tarp that covered the back of the truck. As he turned around to see what was going on, he saw one of their attackers running right for them, and watched as a bullet fired and hit him in the chest, tearing through his body before he fell to the ground. He didn't get back up.

"Mac! You okay?" Jack demanded as he looked over to his partner after making sure that there were no insurgents still shooting at them. He was pretty sure they got them all, but if there were any others, they were probably on the run now. The blonde however continued staring at something, causing Jack to turn around and see a body of one of their attackers lying face-down in the sand roughly 30 feet from them. He looked back over at Mac and while the younger soldier continued staring, he still answered his partner.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." The sniper could tell that that was just an automatic response from the bomb expert. His voice had been too shaky, his eyes were a little too glassy, and he wasn't even looking at him. Growing a little concerned, Jack reached into the truck and touched Mac's arm, causing his head to snap in his direction.

"You sure?" Jack questioned with a gentle tone once he realized that he had his partner's complete attention.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Mac assured him. Jack still didn't fully believe him as the kid still looked a bit shaken, and almost haunted, but since they didn't really have time to fully get into it, he nodded.

"Come on man, let's get out of here." Jack told him, holding out a hand to help him out of the back of the truck. To his surprise, Mac actually took it. Once he was out and standing on the ground, Jack reminded him, "We got to get to the safe house and get out of here."

Mac didn't say anything. He simply nodded and walked around the vehicle to get into the passenger seat. Jack's worry started to grow at his partner's lack of response, but there was no time to get into it now. The fact that the road they were on was guarded, there was a very good chance the safe house was compromised. They still had to go check to make sure though, especially since they were meeting other fellow soldiers there. So, Jack got into the driver's seat without another word.

The rest of the drive was passed in silence. Mac was staring out the passenger window, while Jack kept his eyes either on the road in front of them, his side window, or his partner. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something going on with the blonde. They had spent lots of time in silence before, but this was different. It seemed, almost tense or something, and the sniper didn't like it one bit. The haunted look he had seen in the boy's baby blues didn't help either.

The older soldier was in the process of looking at the younger one when Mac turned his head so he could look in front of them, then suddenly tensed up and said, "Jack?"

"What?" Jack asked, but then he too looked away ahead and muttered, "Oh no."

The safe house, which was actually just an old, random building in the middle of the desert, had three vehicles parked in front of it that were empty, but it was the sight of four soldiers lying on their backs that caused the alarm. As they drove closer, they also saw the bodies of three insurgents, also on the ground and not moving.

"Look around for any survivors." Jack ordered his partner and the two soldiers once they had parked their trucks and got out.

Nobody needed to be told twice. Immediately the soldiers searched the building while the only bomb specialist looked around outside. Unfortunately, all he found were more lifeless bodies, causing the already sickening feeling in his stomach that he had ever since he watched that person get shot only about an hour earlier to worsen. The sight of how many people had been killed, soldiers and insurgents alike was devastating to the young man. He had seen a lot of terrible things during his tour, but this, on top of actually watching someone die earlier, it was just terrible and heartbreaking. No other way to describe it.

"You find anyone still alive?" Jack's voice yanked Mac out of his thoughts, causing him to turn around to see his partner coming over to him, a worried expression on his face.

"No. You?" Mac wondered, hoping that maybe someone survived the massacre that had evidently happened. Jack however, shook his head.

"So what now?" The blonde asked, glancing back at the bodies.

"Now, we follow the plan and head back to the Sandbox." Jack answered. When he saw the blonde nod, he turned to walk back to the trucks, but one glance behind him showed the Mac hadn't moved.

"You alright Mac?" Jack questioned, watching his friend with a concerned look.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Mac answered, then began walking. Jack didn't move this time. Instead, he stayed put and watched the kid for a minute.

He wasn't exactly sure what was going with him, but he was acting differently. The sniper didn't doubt that his partner was probably just a little shaken over the events that happened today, but he had seen stuff like this before since he had been in Afghanistan. Maybe not to this extent, but odds were, that there was something else that was going on with him, something he didn't know about. And he was going to find out what it was.

2016MACGYVER2016

Ever since Jack had been partnered with the blonde, skinny, bomb expert, he had constantly felt a bit of worry and protectiveness over him. Even back when he was frustrated and upset the two got paired up at all after they first met. He couldn't help it, there was just something about the kid that made him feel like he had to keep him safe. It got worse after the two actually started getting to know each other and became friends. Usually, the feeling would fade into the background once he knew that they were safe, but right now, even though they were in the Sandbox, one of the safest places they could be, that worry he felt was almost through the roof.

It had been two days since they came across the massacre at the safe house and they arrived at the Sandbox, but during that entire time, Mac hadn't said a word. At first, Jack let it be as he knew that that was a horrifying sight and he might just need a little time to process what he saw, but now, he was getting beyond concerned. Deciding he had waited long enough, he made his way over to the steps of one of the buildings where Mac was sitting with a bottle of water.

"Here you go. Thought you might be thirsty." Jack said as he held out the water bottle in his hand right to Mac's face so he'd see it. He had been watching his partner like a hawk, and knew that the kid had been sitting out here in the sun for at least two and a half hours.

Mac took the offered drink with a nod, but didn't open it or anything. He just held it in his hand. Jack stayed still for another few seconds before he moved to sit down on the steps beside his partner. He thought that the kid might make some sort of response when he did that, but no. It was like Mac didn't even realize he was there.

"Okay, you haven't said a word since we got here nearly two days ago." Jack tried to keep his voice calm, not wanting to seem overly confrontational, but he was pretty sure he didn't do a good job of it. He had been getting so worried and frustrated with the blonde over the last few days.

"Haven't really had anything to say." Mac told him, his voice so quiet it was hard for the older soldier to hear it.

"Come on Mac, talk to me. What's going on in that big head of yours?" Jack pushed the kid to explain to him what was on his mind.

"You know why I don't use guns? Why I hate them?" Mac suddenly asked after about another minute of silence, finally turning his head to look at the sniper.

"No. I've wondered, but since you're the bomb expert and not the sniper, I didn't think much about it." Jack answered.

"You saw what happened to those soldiers Jack. People with guns, they cause so much pain, so much death Jack." As the blonde said that, the more confused the brunette got. He knew first hand how much damage guns could do, he had caused some of it as well. What he didn't get though, was that they in the military, they were fighting for their country. So why did the blonde sound so upset about that? Did he think that they were just as bad as the people they were fighting or something? Didn't he know that when he joined the army they would be using guns? Or was there something else going on that Jack didn't know about?

"One of my best friend's, his young brother, found his Dad's gun. He was running with it and tripped. He died, on his birthday." Mac lowered his head as he recalled the day Bozer's brother died. He remembered his Grandpa telling him about what happened, and how he stuck by his best friend's side like glue, wanting to be there for him. And he remembered how broken, how horrified, how devastated Bozer was.

Mac didn't need to look up at his partner to know that there was probably horrified expression on the man's face. He just continued telling his friend what was on his mind, "Jack, I know that we are fighting to help these people, and to help protect our country but, when people have those weapons, that kind of power in their hands, especially the wrong people, others get hurt. Innocent people, men, women, and children get hurt."

To say the sniper was shocked, would be an understatement. He knew there had to be something else going on to cause a response like the one Mac had to a fire fight. There usually was, but he never, ever expected to hear something like that. The pain in his partner's voice cut right into Jack's heart. Though the blonde always had his walls up, he was a person who cared very deeply about the people he let in, and felt their pain like his own.

The older soldier was trying to think of a response when Mac suddenly spoke again, "Jack, I may be able to do a lot of things, but I never want to be the one holding the gun. I never want to risk hurting innocent people."

"I almost shot a fellow soldier you know?" Mac told him, causing Jack's eyes to widen, "Back when you got shot. I heard someone coming and I just grabbed it. I was trying to protect you. But the fact that I almost shot, almost killed somebody, it makes me sick."

The fear and pain in his brother's voice caused Jack to scoot closer to the kid and wrap his arms around him, holding him tightly. He didn't really care that they might be seen or anything like that. All he cared about was that his partner was traumatized by something that happened when he was a kid and by what had all happened while he was in the military. He had a feeling Mac was already a bit of a pacifist by nature, but those events made it more extreme. And if he wasn't comfortable using a gun, if doing that was just going to end up hurting him, Jack wasn't going to let him.

"Don't worry Mac. You won't ever have to worry about doing anything like that again, I promise."

AN – Sorry this took longer for me to write. Holidays and work had been crazy, and I'm working on several different stories at the moment. Also, when I started writing this chapter, I hit a little bit of writer's block as I know stuff like this can be a very sensitive issue. This is just what I think Mac's reasons for not wanting to use guns are. I hope it doesn't offend anyone in anyway, that is the last thing I want to do. Next chapter will hopefully be up soon. See you all then!