He had been in the hospital for two months. Jo was on her way to pick him up today. She had been to see him every day…unless she was working a case and could not get there to see him. On those days, she had called him. Today, he was getting out and they were going on a cruise. They had been planning it for a few weeks and it was all set now. Jo was determined that Mac was not going to set his foot inside that lab until he had an extended vacation. He had told her that he thought he had been away long enough but she threw that scenario out. After all, he had been the captive of a mad woman who hypnotized him and brainwashed him into stealing jewels for her and no telling what else. Jo did not know all the details of what happened to Mac and he had not seemed to want to share everything.
Jo arrived at the hospital where Mac had been staying the last two months, which was a mental health hospital. He had gone through a lot since he was found in the clutches of Melinda Holmes. The psychiatrist had finally managed to help him find himself again.
Mac remembered a lot of what had happened but he could not remember everything. He remembered stealing those jewels and feeling like it was just exactly what he ought to do. He could not understand that. It puzzled him and he also remembered that day with Melinda. He could not believe he had actually done that but it was in his memory. Then again, there were a lot of things in his memory that never happened, like that trip to Brazil. The psychiatrist could not take all that out but he could help Mac regain his own memories.
Mac folded his arms as he looked out the window. It gave him an eerie feeling to think that someone could do that to him. He heard someone knock on his room door. He turned toward the door and said, "Come in."
The door opened and Jo came in. She smiled at him. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Okay, I guess," Mac replied.
Jo walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Are you ready for our vacation?"
Mac considered that as he folded his arms again. "I don't know, Jo."
"Mac, we planned this trip. It will do you good. You don't need to just go back to work."
Mac nodded. "I know."
"And you need away from home for a while. It's all set. Ellie is going to stay with my sister while we're gone and we're going to have a good time."
Mac looked at her. He could see the sincerity in Jo's eyes. "I know," he said.
Jo hugged him. "Are you ready to get out of here?" she asked.
Mac was not sure how to answer that either. He had felt secure here and he was not sure how he would feel if he went outside the hospital grounds. "Jo, I'm not sure I'm ready," he said.
Jo held his hands in hers. "Mac, you have to get your life back," she said. "I'm going to help you find it." She touched his face. "I want you to find it so we can go on with what we had found before."
Mac frowned. She did not know what he had done with Melinda. "What if we can't?" he asked.
"We can."
They got Mac's bags and headed out the door. One of Mac's nurse's was in the hall. "Hey, Man, I'm glad you're getting out of here," he said and offered his hand to Mac.
Mac shook his hand and the nurse could tell he was nervous. "Don't worry about nothing," he said. "You gonna be okay."
Mac nodded. "Thanks."
Mac followed Jo and checked out of the hospital. He watched the door open with a click and Jo walked out. He followed her trying not to think of leaving his safety zone as he heard the door lock click shut behind him. The next door was the door to the outside. It buzzed as they were let out. Mac looked at the bright sunny day out there. He supposed he should be happy to get out but he was nervous. Of course, he had the phone number of his therapist so that if he needed him he could call. That was not much comfort, however.
Jo led Mac out to her car and they put his luggage in. Jo unlocked the doors and they got in. Jo looked at Mac. "Don't be nervous," she said.
"I'm trying not to be," Mac replied.
Jo could not imagine what it would be like to go through something like Mac had been through and leave the hospital like this, but she knew he had to get out of there and get back to life. She cranked the car and headed for Mac's apartment. Mac looked out the window as they were on their way and looked at the buildings as they got back into the city. He loved New York but it looked scary right now.
They soon arrived at Mac's apartment and carried his luggage in. "There," Jo said as she set the suitcases down in his room. "What have you got in there?" she asked.
Mac smiled as he set the other two down. "Well, everything that was brought to me," he said.
Jo put her hands on her hips. "So, what do you want to eat more than anything?" she asked.
Mac thought a moment. He had not thought of that. "How about pizza?" he asked.
Jo smiled. "If that is what you want, that is what you shall have," she said. "Do you want to eat here or do you want to go out?"
Mac considered that. "I don't know," he said.
Jo walked over to him. "Why don't we go out?" she asked.
Mac looked into her eyes. He remembered how he had felt about Jo before his ordeal. He started to touch her face but he pulled his hand away. Jo grabbed his hand and held it to her cheek. "Mac, don't be afraid of me," she said.
Mac swallowed. "I'm not, Jo," he said. "I just feel…I don't know how to explain it."
Jo was not sure she should but she moved closer to him and kissed him gently. Mac stared at her a moment. He wondered what she would think if she knew what he had done. Jo touched his face. "Mac, don't you want to talk more about what happened?" she asked. "So we can get it out in the open and let it go into the past?"
"What if you don't like what I tell you?" Mac asked.
"Mac, I don't like anything that woman did to you. She manipulated you, caused you to do things against your values and morals. So help me, if she had pulled a gun on me, I would have shot her, and the very nerve of her saying that you had shown her what love is."
Mac scowled. "I didn't love her," he said. "And I never told her that." Mac walked over to the window and looked out. "I let her seduce me one day while I was there."
Jo walked over to him. "It doesn't matter, Mac," she said.
Mac looked at her. "Yes, it does matter."
"I didn't mean it that way. You were not thinking right."
"Is that an excuse?"
"It is if it's a good enough reason to steal thirty million dollars worth of jewels and shoot two people."
Mac thought about that a moment. "I guess you're right," he said.
"I know I am. Don't let this bother you. It won't change how I feel about you."
Mac looked at her. "And how do you feel about me?"
Jo folded her arms. "I'll tell you this, the days you were gone were the most miserable of my life," she said.
"They were miserable to me too," Mac said. "But I remember dreaming about you once. I didn't even know who you were but when I saw you at that house I knew you were the woman I dreamed about but Melinda kept me from seeing you or talking to you…for obvious reasons."
"Oh, that witch." Jo shook her head. "I hope I never see her again."
"You're not the only one."
Jo clapped her hands together. "So, we're going out for pizza?" she asked.
Mac thought a moment. "Sure, why not?" he said. "I think I'm ready to go." He felt better since he let Jo know about that.
"Great! I'll be back to pick you up later. You'll have plenty of time to get freshened up and everything."
Mac's smile faded a little as he thought of her leaving him alone but he would have to be alone sometimes. "Okay," he agreed.
Jo left and grabbed her phone as she got into the elevator. She called Don and told him that she had gotten Mac to agree to go out for pizza. "Great," Don said. "I'll let everybody know and we'll all be there."
"Okay," Jo said. She was excited about the whole thing. Mac needed to be with his friends and they were going to get his mind off the situation he had been in.
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Later that evening, Jo came to pick Mac up. He was dressed in blue jeans and a green t-shirt. Jo smiled at him. She was wearing jeans and a green t-shirt too. "I think we were thinking alike," she said.
Mac smiled. "Looks like it," he replied. "I can change if you want me to."
"Absolutely not. Let's act perfectly like we intended to be dressed alike." Jo grabbed his arm and they headed for the elevator. "We're going to have a great time."
Mac smiled. "I believe you."
When they arrived at the pizza parlor, Mac was surprised to see all the others from the lab there. He smiled as they all greeted him with hugs and handshakes. They took a booth that was big enough for them all and surrounded Mac so that he would feel safe and secure with his friends. They ordered three large pizzas and talked and laughed until the pizzas came. "Mac gets the first piece," Jo announced. "He's the head of this family." She looked at Mac. "And we are a family."
Mac looked at her and the others. "Thanks for not giving up on me," he said. He reached for a piece of pizza and the cheese stretched. "Mmm, this looks good after eating all that hospital food."
Everyone got a piece and they talked and ate. Mac could not remember the last time he had so much fun talking and eating with friends. Sid was there as well. "I had the strangest corpse in the morgue today," he said.
"Oh, let's not go there," Sheldon said shaking his head. "I would rather eat without talking about human flesh."
"Oh, come on!" Don said. "You just want to gross all of us out who don't stay in there."
"No telling how long it's been since old Flack there has been in the morgue," Danny pointed out. "I think he should have to visit there once in a while."
"No, thanks. I'll just take your word for it and whoever else goes down there."
"It's not that bad," Sid said. "It's not like the person can fuss at you or anything."
"Oh, don't forget the time the corpse wasn't dead," Mac said.
Sid looked at Mac. "Oh, that has happened more than once. There's nothing like starting to cut into a corpse and all of a sudden they start coughing or something. I'm just glad they did it before I opened them up."
"Can we talk about something else?" Don asked.
"Are you guys working on a case?" Mac asked.
"Not right now," Jo replied. "We're in kind of a lull and I'll take it that way."
"He was just testing us, Jo," Lindsey said. "He was wondering if we left the lab unattended."
Jo looked at Mac. "Oh, you didn't wonder that, did you?"
"Well, I wouldn't put it like that," Mac said. "I just wondered who was there if you're all here."
"Even we deserve a break once in a while."
Mac enjoyed listening to them all talk and laugh. When they were done eating, they went to the game room to play pool. Mac had not played pool in years but he had a great time and then they took him to a movie which turned out to be a thriller. "Will you guys please refrain from analyzing the crime scene on the movie this time?" Mac asked.
"Aw you just want to take all the fun out of it," Don said.
"No, I just want to enjoy the movie without being told everything that was wrong about the murder."
"You know you can't watch a movie like this and not think about it," Jo said.
Mac folded his arms. "I suppose not but we can still be quiet."
When the movie was over, Jo took Mac back to his apartment. They stopped at the door. "Thanks, Jo," Mac said. "I had a great time."
Jo smiled and put her arms around his neck. "I did too and we're going to have even more fun on that cruise."
Mac smiled and kissed her. "I look forward to it."
"Good night."
"Be careful."
"Don't worry, I have my weapon with me," Jo said.
Mac watched her walk to the elevator. "Call me when you get home," he said.
Jo looked around at him. "I will."
Mac went inside and got ready for bed. He yawned as he got under the covers and stretched out. It had really been a fun night…