Hello lovelies! Here's the next chapter! I really hope you don't have to wait too long this time.
Previously:
"D-dada?" he croaked. Attesting to just how out of it he was, Mac had resorted to calling him "dada". He had never called him that. It was always "daddy".
Jack didn't even have time to really think about the new term before his head was swirling and black spots danced across his vision like an inky sea of oblivion. The last thing he heard was Casey calling for backup before his world faded to dark.
0000
"Wiley! You 'ave to take all da moves! You can't 'top pecause you don't want to go down da swide!"
"I did take all my moves! See, 1-2-3-4-5!"
"But you 'pun a six!"
"Nuh uh! It's on the five!"
"No, it's on da six."
"How can you even tell? It's in the middle!"
"It's a wittle closer to da six."
There was a stern shush and both voices fell quiet. Somewhere in the back of Jack's mind, he recognized those voices and felt a surge of comfort and longing at hearing them, but their identities were just out of his grasp through the drug-induced fog that was clouding his brain.
Moments later, he drifted back into the blissful oblivion and he heard no more.
When he awoke for the second time, he thought he may have scrunched his eyes in discomfort, but it was quite hard to tell. He didn't feel like he was in control of his own body, more like he was drifting along, completely detached from himself.
After what felt like forever, he managed to conquer the herculean effort of dragging his lids open, even though each felt as if a five-pound weight was hanging off of it. He almost immediately regretted it when the fluorescents sent ice picks of agony into his retinas, even on their low setting.
He squeezed them shut again and held his breath, holding out until the jack hammers in his skull quieted down. This wasn't his first rodeo when it came to concussions, hell, he was practically in the hall of fame, but man did they still suck each and every time.
"Jack are you awake?" a soft voice implored. It wasn't either voice that had been arguing earlier, so Jack managed to deduce that it must belong to the shusher. He was fairly certain he should recognize the voice, it sent waves of love into his heart after all, but the warm haze over his brain was acting as a very efficient wall, blocking any sort of comprehension from happening on his part.
"Daddy?" a young girl's voice squealed. There was the creak of a bed followed by hurried footsteps. When the footsteps stopped, there was a small whine and some whispered words that Jack wasn't even going to try and make out before the sound of a small body slumping down in a chair came along.
A soft hand grazed his cheek with a feather-like touch. Instinctively, he jerked away even though he sensed no danger, though in his current state his senses were admittedly less than reliable. Still, someone with a touch that gentle and downright caring surely couldn't be a threat. It hadn't hurt either, so why had he jerked away? Why was he even trying to figure the answer out in the first place?
"I know you're awake, hon. Just come back now. Follow my voice back."
Why not listen? Jack liked that voice. He loved that voice, though he still had no idea what was even going on. Where was he after all? Maybe that should have been his first question.
He tilted his head, or at least he thought he did, towards the voice asking for him to wake up and managed to yank his eyes open once again. At first, the room was nothing but blurs, swirls of static and colors that made Jack's stomach roll. However, after a few sluggish blinks to try and clear whatever stupid film was over his eyes, his surroundings came into what could have been considered a half-decent view, but he was still well aware of the insistent throbbing coming from all over his face and head.
"There you are," the voice said. A woman with cocoa colored skin leaned into his view. He blinked at her. Oh. Now he knew her.
Diane. His wife.
He suddenly felt incredibly stupid. The realization that it was his freaking wife talking to him sobered him up immediately and everything that had happened came crashing back down on to his being like one colossal wave.
Suddenly, he kind of wished he were asleep again, if only to avoid the memory of everything that had happened.
His epiphany must have shown on his face because Diane's features softened even more if that were even possible. "Welcome back, honey."
He tried to offer her a smile, something that should have been immensely easy for him, but he was sure it came out as more of a grimace. She deftly made up for it with one of her own, the smile he loved. The smile that he had been terrified he was never going to see again.
"Mornin' darlin'," he drawled, his hoarse voice cracking over the words. Diane was immediately there with a cup of water and a straw, helping him to take slow sips.
Tears welled up in her eyes once she put the cup back down and she leaned over to hug him, squeezing him as tight as she dared with his injuries in mind. He sloppily lifted one hand, apparently his moment of clarity hadn't cleared all of the druggy haze up and returned the hug.
"Oh, Jack," she whispered. She didn't say anything else, but she didn't need to. He got every unspoken word laced between what she actually said and more. He was feeling each and every emotion himself.
The bed on his other side suddenly dipped with weight and he rolled his head to the side to see Riley clambering up on to the bed as fast as she could "Daddy!" she cried out, much like the voice while he was still floating in semi-consciousness.
"Hey princess," he says tiredly, his heart constricting just looking at her. His sweet, energetic, beautiful Riley whom, much like her mother, he had thought he was never going to see again. He wanted to cry tears of joy while holding them both close to his heart and never letting them go. He had never dreamed that he would have a family to call his own and he had been terrified he was never going to see them again.
The moment he had enlisted for his very first tour of Afghanistan back when he was a bright-eyed, naïve kid fresh out of high school, he had known even then that each day he was gifted from that moment on would be a gift that he was to never take for granted. He had even come to terms with never having a family of his own. Sure, there were hundreds of thousands of military families out there that made it work one way or another, but he felt that his situation was different. He was constantly getting swept up into top secret missions where no one would be allowed to know of his whereabouts for months at a clip. Any family he had wouldn't know if he was dead or alive. He wouldn't get to see so many great moments that would come with being a father, like seeing his child's first steps or seeing them off on their first day of kindergarten. He would leave his wife to essentially be a single mother and he just didn't want to do that to whoever they would be.
But then he met Diane. She had only been a resident at the time, not yet specializing in pediatrics, but they had brought her to a stateside seminar to help teach groups of sol
diers useful tips for emergency field medicine. It was so cliché, but he had barely laid eyes on her and he knew he was in love. She was beautiful, but it was more than that. The whole way she held herself drew Jack to her. Jack being Jack, he had gone up to her, flashed her one of his famous grins, and asked her out.
A year later Matty had approached him, offering him a position on her elite Special Task Force Unit in the CIA. The risks weren't any less great, and he would constantly have to lie about his career, but at least he would be stateside and with Diane, whom he was still going strong with. He had immediately accepted and left the Delta Task Force with an honorable discharge.
A year after that him and Diane were married and two years later, Riley came along. He didn't possibly think his life could get any better. He had an amazing wife, a beautiful baby girl, and he was doing the job he loved, no matter the risk. His life was perfect, or at least he thought it was, until about a year ago when Mac had come along. Only then did he know that his life was truly complete.
Mac.
How had his sweet little boy escaped his thoughts when his entire being had been completely focused on keeping him safe and alive for so long? He didn't even know if he was alive! What if he had died while Jack was out? It was highly unlikely, seeing as Diane and Riley seemed pretty normal, but still. If anything had happened to him because Jack hadn't been good enough to protect him while they were in Nikki's compound, then Jack would never forgive himself. He didn't think he would even be able to function anymore without his little buckaroo.
Tears began to well up in his eyes. He knew he had heard another voice talking to Riley while he had still been unconscious, but his memories from those few moments were foggy at best. The other voice arguing with her could have been Diane for all he knew even though he was fairly certain Diane was the shusher.
Diane pulled back from the embrace and gazed worriedly into his eyes. "Honey, what's wrong? Are you hurting?"
Jack shook his head mutely, his vision blurring with tears. He couldn't ask. If he didn't ask, then Diane wouldn't be able to look at him with empty, broken eyes that she had been hiding this entire time for his and Riley's sake. She wouldn't be able to tell him that Mac was gone and was never coming back because he hadn't done his job. He hadn't protected his kid.
As his thoughts spiraled, it became more and more solidified in Jack's mind that Mac was gone. The last he remembered seeing the boy he was covered n blood and bruises, rasping in breaths, and barely conscious. The toddler had already been through so much physical abuse in his life that Jack didn't think it was possible for him to have survived yet again. The thought made his heart squeeze in despair. Mac was his little boy and he thought that he would die right along with him if he was truly gone.
He felt soft hands on his face and he gazed up at Diane to see her searching his eyes with her own anxiety filled ones. She had seemingly pushed Riley off the bed, too, because she was now sitting in the chair next to his bed with fear written all over her features.
"Jack, what's going on?" Diane demanded more forcefully than before. Jack could barely form any coherent words through his misery. He opened his mouth and shut it again, gaping like an idiot.
"M-Mac," he stuttered out, dread curling in the pit of his stomach as he awaited her response.
Her features immediately softened, understanding lacing her face. She smiled softly and leaned to the side so Jack could see past her. "He's fine. Some broken ribs again, some bruises and cuts, and a bruised nose, but he'll be alright. You just missed him; he's sleeping now."
Jack turned his head to see for himself. Just as she had said, Mac was laying in a bed a few feet away from him, face lax and peaceful in sleep. Soft whooshes of air ruffled his blond bangs each time he breathed out. His face was smushed into the faux fur of Euclid and Newton the Hippo. His dinner tray was pushed off to the side, a discarded game of Chutes and Ladders on top.
Jack immediately began to cry again, but from relief and joy rather than despair. They were all okay. They had both made it out alive!
"Matty didn't think it would be a good idea for you guys to be separated, so she pulled some strings and got you two a shared, private room."
Jack raised his eyebrows as he wiped his tears away. "Matty was here?"
"Still is. She was waiting until you woke up enough to be coherent so she could talk to you." Diane leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'll go get her. Come on, Ri. Let's go see if we can get a snack from the cafeteria."
Riley bounced over and gave him one more squeeze before grabbing Diane's hand and following her out of the room. Once they were gone, Jack leaned back and smiled softly at Mac's innocent face. Who could ever lay a hand on a child, let alone one like Mac? Even with the job he did, it still astounded him what kind of monsters there truly were in the world. Personally, he believed that he could be perfectly content to lay there and stare at that face for the rest of his life, knowing that they were both safe and alive.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the universe, or rather his boss, had other ideas. Matty strode quickly and importantly through the door. Matty couldn't do anything slow. She was always focusing on twenty things at once and moving between her tasks at a God-like speed. That combined with the air of superiority she brought with her in any room she entered was what had ex-Deltas like himself and soldiers alike quivering in their boots when she fired off on them. Jack was certain he would rather pet one of the rattlers native to his family ranch then have Matty chewing him out for real.
Even so, seeing her after everything they had been through almost had tears in his eyes once again. Damn, he never thought that he'd be freaking crying at the site of Matilda Webber. He was suddenly glad that the rest of the team wasn't there to see him. They would surely never let him live it down. He had to keep up some of his tough guy façade after all.
Matty strode right past his bed without so much as a glance in his direction and immediately headed for Mac's curled-up form. She smiled softly and adjusted his blankets in such a gentle manner that Jack was actually questioning whether he was hallucinating or not. Sure, it was clear that she cared for the team and would die for each and every one of them without a moment's thought, but she had never shown such maternal love and care around any of them before. Apparently, he was seeing a new side of his boss, though he didn't yet know if he liked it or not.
"I'm glad Blondie's finally getting some sleep. He's been beside himself since he woke up here and remembered what happened," she eyed Jack carefully, "He was crying for you for a while too. He was nearly making himself hysterical. They would have had to sedate him if Diane hadn't shown up."
Guilt filled Jack's stomach. Even if nothing that had happened was his fault, his boy had needed him, and he hadn't been there. Granted, he had been unconscious, but he still felt as if he had let Mac down yet again.
Matty sighed and sat down in the chair previously occupied by Riley. "I'm glad you're okay Dalton."
Despite the situation, Jack couldn't help but grin and tease his friend a bit. "Aw, well that's real nice of ya."
"Don't get a big head, Dalton. Don't forget you have a permanent membership to my doghouse."
Jack chuckled softly, the familiar banter sending a warm feeling through his heart. Bickering with Matty was something else he hadn't realized he would miss until he didn't have it any longer.
After a moment, he sighed and decided to get the inevitable talk over with. "Matty, what happened?"
The other agent checked over her shoulder to see that Mac was still asleep before answering. "After you didn't come back on Mac's birthday, Diane called the Bozers to see if maybe you guys had stayed a little longer. When she found out you weren't there, she immediately called me."
Jack closed his eyes and tried not to picture how frantic and upset Diane must have been when they didn't come back. If only he had been paying more attention when the engine blew out, then maybe all of this could have been prevented. It was just another thing for him to feel bad about. No wonder Diane had looked so relieved when he had woken up.
"I called in the team and it didn't take us long to find your car. A quick inspection told us that the engine had been tampered with to break down before you got home, probably some time while you were in the Bozers' house. It took us a while, but the team refused to go home or rest until we found you guys. They were absolutely relentless."
Jack smiled. He could just picture the conference room in his head with all of them working laboriously around it.
"When we foun your location, we heard gunshots coming from inside, so the team rushed in and split up. They were all searching for you guys, but it was Lithes that ended up finding you guys. She shot and killed Pedro Dominguez before he could kill either of you."
"How is she?" Jack demanded, knowing firsthand what it was like to kill a person, even after doing in hundreds of times.
Matty smiled. "She's alright. She's one tough girl and I think she was more focused on making sure you both got out okay. I don't think this will bug her too much."
Suddenly, as if Jack needed anything else to feel guilty about, he thought of Bruce. The man had done more than he ever could have asked of him, and he didn't even know the man. He didn't have to help them, but because he had, him and his little boy were able to get out alive.
As if reading his mind, Matty sighed and looked saddened. "He didn't make it. We found his body. He was killed in a shootout with the rest of the compound. He was a hero Jack, Sam told us what he did for you guys."
Somehow, hearing it confirmed for him only made it worse. He wished he had been able to save the man. He deserved a chance at life just as much as anyone else, even if he had been working for Nikki. Realizing that Matty had mentioned Sam, he asked, "And what about him? What's goin' to happen to the kid?"
"We're going to give him a job in the IT department. It wasn't his fault he was working for Nikki. They had his little sister imprisoned and were using her as leverage to get him to do their bidding. We found out that was the case for most of the people working for her. Thankfully, we saved all of the hostages and reunited them with their families. The agency is currently working on getting their charges lessened on account of them not working there of their own free will."
"And the Queen of the Bitches herself?"
Matty grinned. "You'll be glad to hear that she won't be bothering anyone ever again. She's dead Jack, Bruce killed her. Oh, and our forensics team also uncovered Alex Dimaco's body buried in the woods behind the compound. It looks like he was shot point-blank in the forehead. With that, we do believe that Nikki's terrorist organization is fully collapsed once and for all."
Jack never thought he would be happy about hearing civilian lives had been lost. Then again, they weren't civilians and they had almost ruined his life and hurt the people he loved. Hearing they would no longer have to be worried about, even if the relief came in the form of them all being dead, allowed him to relax since the first time he had ever heard of James MacGyver's existence. The organization was done, and they had won without any true losses on their end.
"It's over, Matty?"
"It's over, Jack."
All done with that chapter! I'll hopefully have the next part of "Bound and Gagged" up soon! Bye guys!