By the time Riley got to Mac and Jack's location, she had taken her comm out of her ear. After a few minutes of woozy mumbling and sitting on the ground, Jack seemed to be more or less back to himself and determined to give Mac some grey hairs to match the ones Jack constantly blamed on Mac.
"Jack, just sit the hell down. You almost wiped out a few minutes ago." Mac was wearing an expression that looked totally exasperated, but even in the early dim greyness of sunrise, she could see the worry in his eyes.
"Nah, Mac, I'm fine now. Just needed a minute, is all."
"I'm guessing you don't need help moving him?" Riley asked, stepping close enough to Jack that he couldn't just start up the path on his own without knocking her over.
"Yes, I do!" Mac snapped before Jack could say anything else. "He almost passed out right before I called for help. He's fallen about thirty feet," Jack half smiled through the pain at how the number had grown. "Then he got shot, fell off a damn cliff, and ran about a mile and I'm pretty sure the bullet is still in there and he should stay still to keep cavitation to a minimum and …"
"Mac, I'm good, I already told ya, it mostly got my vest. It just hurts like hell. I'll let you guys help me up there, just you ain't pushin' me in some antique wheelchair. Curse that's on this place, you'd probably trip and fall and I'd roll right off that cliff you're so worried about. Which I didn't actually fall off of, by the way. I dropped a couple feet to keep Queen Coocoo for Cocoa Puffs from shootin' me again." Jack paused for a second. "Where's Bozer?" seemed like a good change-the-subject question.
"Working on getting Cage out of the hyperbaric chamber."
Jack sort of edged around Riley and slowly started up the hill. "She doin' okay?"
"Seemed like," Riley shrugged, falling into step beside him and getting an arm around his waist to steady him.
Mac huffed in frustration and started after them. If anyone could out stubborn him, it was Jack. "Did you bring the first aid kit, Ri?"
"It's in my bag," she answered, glancing back at him.
"Stop a minute so we can at least get a pressure bandage on that, Jack," Mac ordered, hoping the tone would trigger some sort of conditioned response and Jack would just do the good soldier thing and listen.
"Ah, Mac, it'll be good till it's light out." Jack just kept going. "It ain't hardly a mosquito bite."
Mac sighed again and got on Jack other side, convinced he was probably going to drop like a sack of crap again any minute and while Riley was strong, she was about half Jack's size, so she probably wouldn't be able to keep him standing on her own. "And I suppose I have to take your word for it since you won't even let me look. But if that bullet moves around and you wind up needing three surgeries to fix it, don't whine to me!"
"Buuuuut Maaaaaac," Jack said in his best whiny third grader voice, "Whining to you makes me feel better!"
Mac shook his head, but he couldn't help smiling. "Shut up, Jackass."
0-0-0
Mac stopped trying to get Jack to do anything about his shoulder by the time they got back up to the main base. He was in full manly stubborn dumbass mode, in Riley's words, and there was no way he was going to admit to so much as a twinge in front of Cage or Wheeler and his men. Riley was at least able to get Jack to sit.
He didn't seem to be bleeding much anymore anyway, which Mac took as a sign that maybe he'd overreacted earlier. Maybe it was just a graze or maybe it had caught the edge of his tactical vest. It wouldn't matter until they got on the plane for home or the man just passed out anyway. Jack made it very clear that he was done talking about it, and was doing his best to just hold it very still and Mac wasn't sure if it was to manage the pain or just so no one noticed it.
Mac was half amused and half infuriated that Jack was more concerned with making sure Wheeler put in a word with the Veep than sitting the hell down. He was about to follow his partner and maybe remind him that falling down in front of everyone was a real possibility and maybe just maybe they should just go get on the plane, when Cage stopped him.
"Thank you, for getting me out."
He appreciated Cage's need to acknowledge the rescue, but he didn't want to let Jack get very far on his own. Subtly reminding Cage that she wasn't his only teammate, he replied, "I'm just sorry we had to split up. It's always a sad day when Jack's right." He canted his head toward his partner so maybe she'd notice that he didn't look overly steady on his feet.
He moved to follow Jack and she stopped him again. He might not have minded some lighthearted comment. It might have been some indication that she was finally catching on to the team dynamic. That might have been worth the delay in catching up with Jack, because the man had just stumbled and had to lean on the jeep where Bozer and Riley were sitting and now he was trying to talk his way out of them being as concerned as Mac was.
Mac made up his mind that he didn't really care what Jack thought, a medic was having a look at his shoulder if he had to knock him out cold to make it happen. Jack didn't exactly have a glass jaw, but Mac knew he could ring his bell if he had to. He'd learned that the hard way in Afghanistan. And frankly it had been worth the payback it had earned him at the time.
Cage was struggling to maintain eye contact. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't share what I told you."
Wow, she really didn't get it. They might tease each other mercilessly, but this team didn't use weaknesses against each other. Hell, the teasing was just a tension breaker. Their job was pretty much all stress all the time. There was no way to fix this but by example he supposed. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm afraid of heights."
His casual admission did seem to make her feel better, although he got the distinct impression that she thought she had learned some deep dark secret of his and not something that the whole team knew and was regularly reminded of. He'd said in front of her and the whole team that scaling that casino was much worse than getting almost blown up.
But hey, she paid attention to what she wanted to and at the time Jack had been telling tales about their Army days which she seemed to think constituted fascinating information. A concussion induced nap had spared him the rest of the conversation, for which he was still pretty grateful. Jack liked to embellish his Army stories, at least the ones where Mac was involved.
As casually as he could, Mac edged into the conversation Bozer, Jack, and Riley were having, subtly encouraging them to move toward their exfil with body language he knew they'd pick up on. Then he saw something that made him feel at least a little hopeful. Cage was looking at Jack with genuine concern in her eyes, not just her usual, 'how can I put this guy at a disadvantage' competitive inspection.
When Riley texted Mac to set off his ring tone and they all jumped, Cage was the only one who didn't immediately laugh. She saw Jack flinch before he laughed and dropped back next to him. Satisfied that this was maybe the genuine friendship starter the two of them needed, Mac picked up his pace to match Riley and Bozer, hoping to get to the plane first and give one of the medics a heads up that they needed company on their flight home.
"Jack, you need a hand?" Cage asked tentatively.
"Nah, I'm good," Jack lied, unconvincingly even for him.
"Mmm," she replied, stepping around to his other side and sliding an arm around him. "Then go ahead and pretend I'm flirting with you, because I'm not gonna let you fall on your face out here."
Jack chuckled. "Alright then. You're as bad as Mac."
"I promise you, whatever it is you're thinking about, I'm probably much worse."
"See now, you gotta stop that," Jack said sagely.
"Stop what?" she asked, her tone already defensive.
"You do this thing where everything is a competition, where you have to be … I don't know, but it's annoying as hell … And trust me I know annoying," he teased to soften the criticism. "It's keeping you at a distance from everyone on the team. And that's not good. Nobody wants you showing weaknesses to the bad guys, Samantha. But we don't need you to pretend to be perfect 'round here."
She gave a thoughtful little nod. "I am glad to be part of your team."
"So, start actin' like part of it." She tensed and almost stepped away, but she stopped herself. Jack noticed. "You know what I mean, Cage. Stop being the weird neighbor kid. You get to be part of the family. But only if you actually want it."
Cage was going to respond but they'd gotten to the plane and Mac was standing there, leaning against it with his arms folded, one of the medics next to him, waiting patiently. "Jack, this is Seavers. He's gonna patch you up. Now."
Jack shook Cage off. "I'm really pretty good, man. It mostly got my vest and it's not even really bleedin' any- …"
"Nahri Saraj, Jack."
Jack's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."
Mac tipped him a sideways grin. "You mean I wouldn't dare again?"
"When were you guys in that part of Helmond?" Cage asked with genuine curiosity. Maybe exchanging war stories would be a good way to show Jack she really did want to be part of the team.
"Nope." Jack said loudly.
"I thought you liked telling stories about when you guys were in- …"
"C'mon, Seavers," Jack waved at the medic and headed inside the aircraft. "You can do your thing, so my MOM can unbunch his undies and get a nap on the way home."
"So," Cage said with a grin and raised eyebrows. "What happened in Nahri Saraj?"
"Oh, no," Mac said, putting up his hands. "That's not my story to tell. Like maybe you tell Jack your thing, he'll tell you that. But it would have to be some sort of prisoner exchange type deal."
"C'mon, Mac, I'm great at keeping secrets."
Mac shook his head and one corner of Mac's mouth lifted as he headed in to see how Jack was doing. "So am I."
