"It's the least I can do," Patricia Thornton said, tilting her head to the side like she didn't quite understand Mac's trepidation. "You and your team have apparently exonerated me. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Miss Davis again and thanking her for reverse engineering that Trojan horse and proving the Organization set me up. Not that I ever doubted you would find the truth and act on it, Mac." She gave him a small smile, which on Thornton passed for fond. "And I've wanted to be part of bringing down the Organization since I was first recruited and learned of their existence. The fact that you're offering me a chance to do that is something I've let myself hope for on the nights that were particularly bleak here."

"We are truly sorry, Patty," Jack offered, looking and sounding as sorry as he claimed to be, his Texas accent thick, the way it often got in battlefield conditions or under extreme stress.

Mac agreed. "I'm sorry I thought you lied to us."

Thornton shook her head. "But I did, Mac. From the beginning. I lied frequently to protect you. At first because it's what I promised my mentor, my handler I would do. He recruited me while I was in college and he was the best … Then it became simply that you were one of my people, and the habit of wanting to let you be yourself, but have some control over keeping you safe was so ingrained I couldn't have stopped if I wanted to."

Mac couldn't quite meet her eye. It was an apology, a confession, but it revealed another betrayal, and much as it pained him to admit it, it cut deeply. "I don't need anyone to do that."

"Of course," she nodded, looking serious. "I'm sorry, too."

Mac nodded, and forced himself to look her in the eye for this. "Just so I'm sure we've been clear … If you're in, it's as an operative, probably more like a consultant … On my team. Director Webber has designated me as the Agent in charge. After this, it'll be up to you to decide if you want to keep playing this game and to negotiate in what capacity you might be allowed. Because you didn't commit a crime, but you were way off the books going after the Organization."

Jack almost grinned at the taken-aback expression on Patty's face. She'd missed out on the growth Mac had experienced in the last year, transitioning from a talented young agent with some unique approaches to a seasoned operative, capable of utilizing his already legendarily singular skills to accomplish the priority mission, whatever that might be. Starting to unpack some of his baggage had finally allowed him to truly begin to realize his potential. In short, she'd missed out on Mac truly becoming a man. Jack almost felt sorry for her. He wouldn't have missed it for anything. Then Jack caught on to the tension in her body language, something Patty was usually good at keeping to herself. He had a strong gut feeling, and he was inclined to follow it. "'Bout this mentor fella …" She raised her eyes to his and gave a nod. "He wouldn't have gone by the name Stace would he?"

Mac managed to hide his shock at the question, but when Patty answered, he couldn't keep his eyes from widening or his mouth from dropping open just a little. "That was one of the things he was called, yes."

0-0-0

Although Mac's impulse had been to dive in with the million questions that were suddenly crowding his mind, he had been the one to stop Jack and Thornton from continuing their conversation. "Guys … We should wait until we're back at Phoenix."

Jack's eyes widened just a little. "Don't you want ..?"

He gave them both a level stare. "No one wants to hear this more than I do. But do either one of you want to tell Matilda Webber than you discussed this outside of an official briefing before she's read in?" They didn't answer. It was a little difficult to keep his agent-in-charge-game face in place since he felt like his brain was a bowl of water and someone had just dropped cesium into it. He was also currently facing down his former boss, who he had always found slightly intimidating, and reminding her of procedure. But he swallowed and soldiered on. "Okay. Good. We were here to deliver the good news and provide an escort to Phoenix. It's better to draw the line there."

Jack sat just taking in details about Mac for a second or two, then he made a snap decision. "Listen, Mac, if you're good tying up the paperwork end of things, I'll take Patty to get her stuff."

Mac tipped him half a grateful smile. "Sounds good. And when I'm done, I'll go ask Steve if he'll drive us home so you can take a break."

Although that had been exactly what Jack had planned to do, he widened his eyes innocently at Mac. "What for? Was I finally giving you some premature greys out on the highway or somethin'?"

Mac shook his head. The affectionate frustration on his face caused Thornton's lips to quirk up at the corners in an expression neither of the men had seen much of, but she didn't say anything. Mac just glanced at Jack's wrist for a split second. Without fail, that kid could always tell when he was hurting. "You know what, Dalton, that's exactly why. I'll be as grey as you in no time flat if I keep letting you drive."

Seeming to come to some decision without saying anything, all three of them pushed back from the little table and rose all at once. Mac blinked as he remembered something and he picked up the small overnight bag from beside his chair and put it on the table close to Thornton. "Director Webber sent some of your things, so you could travel home in clean clothes … Your apartment is still apparently intact. The Director's been having it cleaned, having your plants watered … She just told us this morning and gave me your clothes." Mac paused. "She's very good. She didn't say why she'd done it, but I don't think she ever believed the evidence. Her gut instincts almost make believe such a thing exists … I don't think I'm done apologizing to you yet …" He looked a little lost for a second. "I don't actually know what to call you now …"

"Don't be silly. Please call me Patricia." She gave him another small smile.

"Okay." He looked around the small meeting room for a second and turned to go, stopping as he opened the door. "If you don't mind, Patricia, I think maybe you should ride home with Agent Milton on your own. I don't want us to be tempted to talk. This is the first operation I'll really be direction from inception to conclusion and … I struggle with protocol as it is."

"Steve? Agent Milton?" she asked, wondering if it was the Milton she knew.

"Yeah, Todd Milton. You know him. He's our tactical back up. You know Steve, too. Rodgers." Jack offered.

"You have people with you just to come up here to talk to me? Am I still under some suspicion?" She was frowning slightly, but didn't seem upset; she just wanted to know the score.

Mac shook his head, almost forgetting how alone they had been before. Even a tech analyst had been a concession from Patricia. She didn't trust most people to be on their team, it had seemed. "No, nothing like that. They're just part of the team now. Matty … Director Webber doesn't like anybody going out without support. And a gun to make up for the one I don't carry and a medic to … make up for everything else, along with Riley, were her bare minimum concessions."

Patricia chucked, a sound Mac had literally never heard. "Matilda Webber got you two to have a medic on your team? I cannot wait to get to know her."

"It ain't like that!" Jack insisted. "He was a SEAL, Patty. He can hold his own out there. And I didn't agree to it until I found out he came with a nod from McGarrett. Him bein' a Bandaid is totally secondary."

She chucked again. "Oh, yes. I'm sure it is." She gave an expressive, MacGyverish eye roll that made both men laugh too. She moved gracefully toward the door. "Your suggestion is very wise, Mac. I hope it won't sound condescending if I tell you I'm proud to see who you've become since I last saw you."

Mac blushed furiously and just mumbled, "Thank you, Patricia."

The parted ways in the hallway, heading in opposite directions. Jack thought he was out of earshot when he said, "So you got recruited by Mac's old man? You gotta start spillin' the beans, Patty. This is tearing the kid apart."

Mac shook his head as he walked toward the front office. Protocol be damned, Jack was not going to let even the tiniest detail slide here. Mac smiled to himself as he thought that even after everything he had been through, he felt a little sorry for his father. He'd wronged Jack's boy and Delta Dalton wasn't going to rest until he felt it had been made right.