A/N: This is officially the end. Longer A/N's at the end of the chapter, enjoy. -Gib-
Epilogue
Mac walked quietly down the hallway, nodding to the staff that made up the night shift. As he neared Jack's room, he could see the soft glow coming from the open door, pausing momentarily when he saw an unfamiliar man walk out of Jack's room.
The man wasn't wearing the usual Army cammo, instead dressed in plain faded green BDU's, a plain brown t-shirt and expensive but well worn hiking boots. By his build, and the way he carried himself, he knew the man was no doctor. If Mac had to guess, the man was either a private contractor or CIA. As they passed, the man made eye contact with a brief head nod.
Mac kept moving towards Jack's room, sparing a backward glance at the man before coming to Jack's door.
As he walked into the room, it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light, the first thing he noticed was the the empty bed, sheets cast off to the side, and an untouched tray of what constituted as dinner lying on the bed.
"Hey, what brings you by this time of night.?" Jack's soft voice came from the corner of room, startling Mac.
His eyes finally adjusting, he found the source of the voice, Jack was seated in one of the few cushioned chairs that the field hospital had, a stack of papers and forms splayed out in front of him, the hospital tray adjusted as low as it would go.
"I was just uh, down the hall, wanted to check in on Duncan, see if he needed anything." Mac thumbed over his shoulder, "Who was that?"
"Agency." Jack answered picking up a stack of forms, tapping them against the tray to straighten out the pile.
"Well, what did he want?" Mac stepped around the corner of the bed, propping himself on the edge.
Jack leaned back in the chair with a sigh, Mac could see the stark white bandage on his side and the top of his shoulder, the low light casting shadows, making the bruises on Jack's chest blend in.
"Want's to borrow me for a while, that's all I can say."
Mac sat up straighter, "What do you mean borrow?" He pointed at Jack's chest. "You just got shot and your ribs are still broken if you remember."
Jack placed a hand over his ribs, "Oh I'm well aware, believe me. And no, I'm not heading out right this moment, if that's what you're worried about."
Mac rubbed the back of his neck, he could feel the tension building, letting his hand drop to his thigh, he fixed Jack with a concerned look. "The fact that you're heading out at all, is what I'm worried about."
Jack huffed, "Well, when the Army says go, I go."
Now Mac was confused, "I thought you said he was with the Agency, what's the Army have to do with it?"
Jack leaned forward, pushing the rolling tray off to the side as he used the armrest to slowly lever himself up. "It's called being sheep dipped." He said with a slight groan, "Essentially, my service record will be wiped, I'll cease to exist as far as the Army is concerned, and I'll be working under a whole new identity… For a while anyway, at least until the op is complete, then we'll see what happens."
Mac's brow furrowed, "I don't understand, are you saying you're leaving?"
Jack walked to the door, and closed it. "Watch your eyes," he said as he flipped the switch turning on the overhead lights.
Even with the warning, the lights had a momentarily blinding effect. Jack ran a hand through his hair. "Basically, yeah. These guys have been after me for a while, but we were always just busy enough to keep 'em at a distance, that is up until now."
Mac slid off the edge of the bed, turning to face Jack. "But…"
Jack checked his watch, and started to walk the length of the room, reaching the wall, he turned and walked to the other side. "Gotta get my walkin in." He said as Mac stood at the end of the bed, obviously trying to make sense of what he was hearing.
"But you have a job… here, with us." he finally blurted out.
Jack stopped, giving Mac a sideways look before continuing. "Doing what Mac? Pete's back in the states, Dunc has a pretty long road ahead of him despite what he says, and Box and Coop are gonna be in plaster for a month or two." Jack sighed, not able to make eye contact with the young man.
"But I'm here, we could…" Mac let his words fade, not really able to come up with a logical scenario.
"Could what Mac? Be a sniper team? Find the bad guys and put one between the eyes, no physical contact needed man, just sit back and pull the trigger..." Jack shook his head. "That's my my skill set... not yours."
Jack slowly walked to the stack of papers on the tray, Mac noticed the slower than normal gate and the slump in the older man's shoulders as he shuffled through the stack of papers, finally finding what he was looking for.
Mac looked at the form, already knowing what it was but unwilling to accept what he knew was coming.
Jack sighed, silently reading the form, jaw clenching. After what seemed like minutes, he stood up straight, squaring his shoulders and finally made eye contact with Mac's shifting gaze. "You're going back to your EOD unit, Major dropped the paperwork off this evening." Jack handed Mac the orders.
"I'm sorry kid, but this whole EOD tagging along with Delta was bound to come to an end, I just didn't think it'd happen this way you know." Jack started walking, around the room, letting Mac process the new information.
Mac looked up trying to hold back the tears that were forming. "And how did you expect it to end Jack? I mean, we got the jobs done right?"
Jack let a small humorless laugh escape his lips. "To be honest kid, I figured I'd get killed trying to keep you from getting yourself killed."
Jack's tactic had somewhat of the desired effect, but not quite what Jack was looking for, as Mac straightened, a flash of anger in his eyes. "I would never put you or your team in jeopardy Jack, you know that."
Jack was a master strategist in all things military, but when it came to one Angus MacGyver, he could never quite come up with exactly the right tactic. The last thing he wanted was for the kid to blame himself for anything having to do with the current situation. "I know that Mac, I do, honestly." Trying to lighten the mood, he smiled. "But you have to admit, you've pulled some pretty crazy shit while you've been here."
Mac didn't want to be angry at Jack, deep down he knew Jack wasn't in a position to make all of this just go away and from his body language, Jack was just as unhappy about the situation as he was. "Yeah, well, what'd you expect, I had you as an example." He tried to make it sound like a joke but the tenseness in Jack's posture said he'd failed to lighten the operator's mood.
Jack continued to pace, injuries seemingly forgotten, "About that, Mac, I owe you an apology, I should have never dragged you into all this." Jack waved a hand around the room, as if the small space could sum up everything they'd been through.
Mac let all the anger he was feeling fade away, "Jack, you didn't drag me into anything I didn't want. Yeah, maybe I wasn't exactly a willing participant the first time we met, but honestly, I would be lost right now if you hadn't brought me into your unit, you saved me from myself, I hope you realize that."
Jack stopped his pacing, turning to face Mac, his eyes softened. "Mac, I don't have the words kid but…" Jack placed his hand over his heart. "You've got a spot right here, always will."
The corner of Mac's mouth turned up, "Likewise Jack, you just take care of yourself doing whatever it is you're going to do, I won't be there to watch your back."
That got a genuine laugh from the operator, until he grimaced at the strain it put on his abused chest causing him to bend over slightly holding his side. "Dammit kid, you're gonna be the death of me." He said in jest.
After getting his pain under control, Jack straightened, his face becoming serious, as he moved to stand in front of the young man, placing a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You need to promise me something Mac, when you go back to your unit, if even for a second, you have to ask yourself if getting the job done is worth the risk, don't take it."
Mac smiled causing Jack to grab him by the back of the neck and tug him forward slightly, bending to look him straight in the eye. "I'm serious man, I'm not gonnna be there and as much as I love the Army, I don't trust anyone but me or my guys to watch your back, they just don't know how special you are."
Mac turned his head away embarrassed at the compliment, "Jack, I'm just another soldier, doing what I was trained to do, I'm no different than…"
Jack gently pushed against Mac's cheek making the young man look at him. "Don't ever sell yourself short Mac, you are special, and after all this Army business is over with, you're going to save the world someday."
Mac rolled his eyes, "Jack, that's not even possible, I mean do you have any idea what kind of odds it would take to have just one person…"
Jack held his hand up stopping Mac mid sentence, he stepped back holding his hands out to his side smiling. "Don't ask me how kid, but I know it, I just hope I'm around to see it happen. And have your back, cuz you know i'm kinda good in a crisis."
Mac laughed, "Yeah, you are Jack, that you are."
The official end.
A/N: Ok, now I'm done. I wasn't extremely happy with the last chapter, yes, it fit the characters, but it just didn't feel right. So, I hope you enjoyed this last bit. I'm happy with it and I think it rounded out the story and the series a bit better. Thanks again for reviewing. I have no immediate plans for another story. It's fire season and I'm switching mental gears, back to all business all the time if you get my meaning. Anybody wants to pick up where this left off or use any of it, by all means please do so.
-Gib-