Mac woke to Dan standing over him. "Hey," he said, half-sheepishly.

"Imagine my surprise when I get in this morning and I go to check on the buddy I left nicely monitored and sleeping off some pretty dangerous shit and instead of my promised cooperative patient I find an empty bed, the annoyed partner of aforementioned friend, and my displaced colleague sleeping in a chair in my office."

Mac sat up, grimacing at the bruised feeling in his chest. "I needed some time alone."

"That's why Anderson didn't kick you out of here when they finally found where you'd disappeared last night.." Mac shrugged. Dan sat down on the cot next to Mac. "How you feeling this morning?"

Mac gave a mild shrug. "How's Jack?"

"He's okay. Extremely minimal exposure. Probably be cutting him loose shortly; before he and Melody wind up in a cage match." Mac was surprised into a laugh at the visual image that conjured. "Since you haven't actually answered me yet, I'm going to ask again; how are you doing?"

Another shrug. "I'm good."

What Dan wanted to do was call bullshit, but the look on Mac's face said that was a bad idea. Besides, the not good he sensed was more the friend kind, not so much as a doctor. "Mel says I should be grateful the furthest you went was down the hall."

One corner of Mac's lips quirked up. "A guy has important business he can't attend to in the infirmary one time, and he never hears the end of it."

"One?"

"Okay, maybe a couple. But whatever she told you, I guarantee she's exaggerating."

"You wanna get out of here?"

Mac managed a half smile. "When don't I?"

"Then get yourself back to your room, let Melody get the labs I ordered, eat some breakfast. And I mean actually eat. Once those lab results come back, we'll talk."

Mac sighed. "Fine."

He got up and made his way back to his room, appreciating Dan not making the ubiquitous wheelchair part of the deal. Dan headed in the other direction, not because he necessarily had anything to do, but he didn't want to crowd Mac. And he certainly didn't want to give him the impression he was escorting him anywhere. Melody did catch his eye from their small nurse's station and give him a nod. She followed Mac into his room. From down the hall Dan heard, "Jeez, let a guy get through the door before you ambush him with sharp objects."

Back in his room, Melody smirked at Mac. "Figured I'd better catch up to you before you disappeared again."

"It's not like I've done it that many times."

"Mmmhmm," she said with a smirk. "When Tess called me last night, I honestly laughed. And I told her to have Riley just ping your phone. She thought it was weird I already had a plan."

He shook his head, but she was pleased it elicited a small smirk from him, too. "I'm guessing I broke her crush."

"How do you know Tess is the one with a crush?"

Mac shrugged, blushing faintly. "She was way too nice for someone I know you've told your exaggerated Mac horror stories."

She shook her head. "I don't think you broke it. Apparently she finds pigheaded blond spies adorable. And it didn't take them too long to find you. So you're forgiven for scaring the life out of her. I think."

Mac just shook his head, "I should have said something … I…"

"I get it, Mac. We all do."

He looked away. "Thanks."

Both because she knew Mac to be somewhat guarded with his feelings, and because she had a genuinely busy day in front of her, she changed the subject back to the task at hand. "Just in case you decide you'd like to stay in my staff's good graces for a while, how about we work on getting you out of here?"

"Sounds good," he said sounding like he didn't necessarily think so, but wasn't inclined to argue.

"Which involves you sitting down and letting me get some more blood."

"Okay, sure." He sat in the chair next to his bed that Jack had occupied yesterday until he'd been ordered into a bed of his own. Melody grinned and shook her head.

That was a classic Mac move that let her know he was feeling more on top of his emotions. "You wouldn't feel better in your bed?" she asked mildly.

"I'm good."

"You sure? It's got to be more comfortable." Her expression said she knew he didn't think so, but she wanted him to move to make her job easier.

He rolled his eyes. Another classic Mac expression. "I guess. But just so you know we're back to three strikes and you're out."

"I get three strikes? You've grown as a person."

His next eye roll was more amused, but he moved to the bed. "You don't look all that confident. Maybe I should revise my strike limit."

"Let's see if the line from yesterday is still usable. Doubtful. But we can try."

Mac picked up his phone off the nightstand and started checking texts from last night. There were an abundance from Jack and Matty and Ri. He really shouldn't have just disappeared to be alone last night. He'd been here at all because of chemical weapons exposure. Of course they'd been worried when he ghosted. It's not like he'd never flaked out of here before. Just because he'd never done it after anything truly serious, was no reason for them to believe he wouldn't. "Sssst." He winced.

"Sorry. It's no good, Mac. I'll have to take it out and start from scratch." She started to take care of the IV site without waiting for a response.

Mac shrugged. "My own fault."

Jack came out of the bathroom at that moment, hair wet from the shower and fully dressed in clothes Mac recognized from his go bag. "Careful, there, kid. Nurse Shaky Hands is bound to leave you riddled with bruises again."

Mac had been expecting an immediate reprimand for his disappearing act last night. The fact that he didn't get one said Jack was treading lightly. He didn't know if he appreciated it or if it pissed him off. He decided to take the respite from Jack's Overwatch routine either way.

Melody spared him from answering while tying the tourniquet around his arm. She was just shy of defensive answering Jack. "My hands aren't shaky this morning. And Mac's not shaking like a leaf either like he was from the BZ. I won't need any of those strikes today." She frowned at his arm, turning it over, trying to decide how to make good on that statement.

Mac picked his phone back up with his free hand, looking at it casually. "I think we should count the old line going bad as a strike, even if it was because I…"

Jack interrupted. "Pulled a Houdini?"

Mac flashed a small smile. "It's not a Houdini if I didn't leave the premises."

Jack returned the smile. "Technicalities."

Mel pulled the tourniquet off and taped down a bandage. "Okay?"

"Didn't even feel it," he said, mostly truthfully. Compared to how miserable even being touched last night had been, normally levels of discomfort were almost entirely ignorable.

"That's what we aim for." She picked up all of her stuff. "Dan'll come let you know as soon as we get these back." He nodded. "Breakfast?" she asked, expecting the offer to be refused.

"Sure." She raised an eyebrow. "Dan said I had to."

"I wish he'd started working here years ago. You're much easier to deal with now that there's a doc around you drink beer and go surfing with."

"You're much more agreeable now that that doc put a ring on your finger. Congratulations. I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner."

She smiled broadly. "Thank you. We're throwing a party next weekend to announce it. You're invited."

A gathering of friends to celebrate rather than mourn would be welcome by the time this week got over. "I'll be there."

"How about you, Jack? Breakfast?"

"Ah, I'm probably all set, Sully."

"Dan hasn't cut you loose yet either, you know."

"Yeah, but he won't yell if I run across the street for decent coffee."

"I still might." She was smiling, but it had the dangerous quality of someone who'd been crossed too many times.

"Fine. I'll eat whatever, so long as there's coffee."

"That's better. Dan'll be in in a bit."

She breezed out and Mac set down his phone. "How you doing, Jack?" he asked before Jack could start his own interrogation.

"I'm alright, kid." He could see from Mac's expression that he didn't know what to make of Jack not flipping out on him. "Other than you takin' ten years off my life by disappearin' last night."

Mac's features relaxed a bit. "I'm sorry. I needed to be alone."

"Wasn't anybody here who would've thought any different of ya, if you'd stayed and had some company." Jack said softly.

"That's … That's not my way, Jack."

Jack looked at Mac for almost a full minute. "I guess maybe I know that by now."

Mac didn't say anything, just frowned and looked out the window.

"And, you know, Ida maybe appreciated you hangin' around so the staff woulda had someone to torture other than me."

He heard Mac's soft snort of amusement, but the younger man continued to stare off into the distance.

Jack's natural impulse was to push. He bit back on the urge though. He thought maybe he'd earned back Overwatch status and maybe even partner; he wasn't a hundred percent sure about best friend. Mac would say that was ridiculous. But Jack figured too many people had left Mac over the years for him to easily forgive Jack leaving and refusing his offer to come along and help. Maybe if Sir Oversight made good. Maybe then Jack would feel comfortable reverting to totally normal behavior.

Still, keeping silent set him to chewing the inside of his cheek.

When Mac picked his phone up to stare at that, his frown deepening, Jack couldn't help it anymore.

"You got proof of Santa Claus on there or somethin'?"

Mac blinked then glanced Jack's way. "Huh?"

"You were lookin' like that phone of yours is way more interesting than usual."

"Oh, um, not really. I mean … sort of..." He trailed off, but Jack was encouraged Mac had let anything slip. That felt normal.

"You hear from your old man?" Jack asked carefully.

A heavy sigh. "Yeah." Another sigh and look at the phone.

"What's he say?" Jack asked, letting some of the familiar 'I'll pry this out of you for your own good whether you like it or not' tone come out.

He saw Mac's signature wry half smile break through the frown for a second. "Well, unsurprisingly, the first text was a mission update. Mason has officially disappeared." Mac's jaw tightened for a split second. "Then a while later he asked how I was."

"A while?"

Mac shook his head. "A good long while." He shrugged. "Not like he doesn't have access to the computers here in the infirmary. He was only asking to be polite."

Mac's frown was back full force.

"What is it, kid?"

"Huh? Oh, just … Maybe less polite and more hoping I'll forget the way he's monitored and moved me like a piece on a damn chess board my whole life." There was a little heat behind the statement.

Mac still wasn't over his father's manipulative tactics. He'd tried to be, but this brought all of it back up. And Mason made very clear that James MacGyver's tendency to play puppet master was what led to his obsession. And Charlie had paid the price for it.

Jack didn't want to set Mac off. But he asked, "You let him know you're doin' okay?"

"He already knows," Mac snapped. Then he shook his head again. "Sorry, Jack. I …"

"Don't worry about it, kid." Jack just gave him a nod, encouraging him to get whatever he was thinking off his chest.

"Like I said, he already knew what my condition was when he sent it. Probably had real-time of my heart monitor," Mac said with an irritated puff. Then, unable to let it go, he added, "He'll probably know whether or not Dan's cutting me loose before I do."

"Yeah." Jack hesitated. He'd given his word that he'd let Oversight have his say when Mac got out of here. But he didn't want Mac to just be wondering right now. His partner's brain was already a mess. He could see it, plain as day. Not knowing things was Angus MacGyver kryptonite. He was interrupted by the arrival of their breakfast. Mac raised an eyebrow at the extremely nice egg sandwich on a sesame bagel he'd been presented with.

Melody laughed. "Dan is nicer than I am. He didn't think it was fair to expect you to eat cafeteria food, so he went across the street. Don't get used to it."

Mac shook his head. "Tell him thank you."

Mac stared at the sandwich like maybe it was a mountain he had to climb, but picked it up and started eating it with singular determination as their nurse left. They were quiet for a few minutes.

Finally Jack groused, "This is decaf."

Mac took a sip of his own coffee. "How can you tell?"

"How can you not?"

Mac half smiled and shook his head, setting down the two-thirds of the sandwich he couldn't make himself eat for any amount of promises of maybe getting out of here. That Charlie would never have another breakfast was a thought persistently bouncing around his brain again. It wasn't overwhelming him the way it had last night. But it stole his ability to finish his food.

Finally, he felt Jack's eyes on him again, and turned to meet them. "So what were you saying about my father?"

He'd been about to ask Mac what was wrong with his breakfast. He and Boze both knew only too well that when Mac was upset he tended to forget food existed. Trust Mac to deflect that attention. "He … um … He agreed to fill you in on everything."

Mac sighed again, and this time it sounded more tired, more sad, more defeated. "We'll see."

"If he doesn't, I will." There was no wiggle room in Jack's statement.

Mac gave him a real smile. "I know. And not to quote you at yourself, but I appreciate you."

"It's I appreciatcha, Cali boy."

"Alright, Tex." Mac grinned. And the realness of it let Jack take his first true breath in a while.

"Mac, I'm really…"

"Jack, don't." Mac took a steadying breath, determined not to snap at the guy just trying to do the right thing this time. "You did what you thought you had to do. I'm not going to pretend I'm not curious about why. But you're really not the one who needs to explain themselves." Mac sighed. "And this isn't just about Kovac. Now it's about Mason, too."

Jack was ready to spill his guts about the first part, promises to Oversight be damned. But Dan came in just as he opened his mouth.

"Wow. Gotta say, I was all wrong about who I'd find dressed and ready to bail without authorization."

"I ain't goin' anywhere without your sayso, doc," Jack began.

"That's right," Dan agreed. "Your name isn't MacGyver."

Mac smirked and both his friends, old and new. They marked how much himself he looked in that moment. It was the expression that told them, as always, Mac was going to be okay. "Hey, I'm the one still in bed, dressed in what you gave me, waiting patiently for what you tell me. So maybe don't give me shit in advance."

Dan looked almost hesitant. "Okay. But what if I tell you I need you to hang around for another course of the antidote and that Mel'll be in right behind me with a new IV kit?"

Mac swore under his breath in extremely colorful fashion. "Really?"

Dan looked gravely serious. And he was able to maintain it for about a third of a second. "Nah. Mel just wanted me to screw with you."

Mac responded with a colorful hand gesture. "Am I in the clear?"

"You're in the 'You can go home with some meds and come back tomorrow for another set of labs'."

Mac sighed. "Since it starts with go home I can deal with it."

"Good. I'll go get you what you need to leave."

"Thanks, Dan."

Mac was out of bed, grabbing the bag full of his neatly folded and decontaminated clothes before Dan was all the way out the door.

When Mac emerged less than ten minutes later, showered, and shaved, and feeling more or less like himself, save for the large bruise on his chest and numerous small ones on his arms that he'd now had a chance to inspect, Dan was waiting with a plastic bag containing a bottle of something and discharge instructions. Jack was on his feet, holding his keys.

Mac reached out to take the proffered ticket to freedom.

Dan didn't hand it to him immediately. "Come back in when you're ready in the morning. Labs don't need to be fasting."

"I'll come in first thing. I'm sure I'll need to be here for the debrief anyway."

Jack gave Dan a look. It said Mac's game face being so firmly in place again worried him just a little. That was okay, because it worries Dan, too. He was good enough both at his job and as a friend to guess at a lot of what was going on in Mac's head. "And if you want an excuse to make a pillow fort, your doctor is telling to to get some rest. Okay?"

Mac sighed. "A pillow fort sounds pretty great," he admitted.

His expression also said it was a luxury he wasn't going to afford himself. Dan shook his head knowingly. "Mel suggested tranquilizer darts."

Mac shook his head, stepping around Dan with a slight smirk. "See you tomorrow."

He and Jack headed to the parking lot. Mac had his own keys, but he didn't even fish them out of his pocket. Jack would argue since Mac had needed to leave with meds and he hadn't. Mac didn't think he had an argument in him right now.

Jack frowned at the wordless acceptance of what he was going to suggest. He felt a little better when they got about half way to Mac's place and Mac gestured for him to take a different street. "Hey, stop at Ralph's would you?"

"Finally hungry?" Jack asked, changing lanes.

"Not especially. But they have that beer we like."

"Which one?" Jack asked, turning into the large parking lot.

"The one we tried when we were in Texas."

"Which time?" Jack had tried a hell of a lot of beer back home and if Mac was with him, the younger man was usually happy to go along for the ride.

"When we met your cousins."

Hmm. That was the first time Mac had mentioned that excursion in a good long while. Jack wondered why it might be on his mind today with everything that happened. "You mean That high proof Family Business Brewing stuff?"

"Yeah." Mac undid his seatbelt and opened his idoor. He offered Jack a slight smile and Jack moved to join him on the pavement. "Figure I've got some family business to attend to." He paused, his expression more serious again. "And today is at least a little bit about saying goodbye to Charlie. What kind of a soldier's wake would it be without some alcohol?"

Jack stepped around the car. "You supposed to drink?" He tipped his chin at the bag of pills and instructions sitting on the dash."

Mac's half smile was back. "It's not breaking the rules if I don't read it."

Jack patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, kid. It's beer o'clock. Matty texted me that she's gonna drop by later. We might as well be lit for it."