Jack looked up and set aside the Woman's Day he'd been reading. Bozer paused smirking. Jack narrowed his eyes.
"It's the only thing they have in the waiting room."
"Sure, Jack. Whatever you say. It has nothing to do with the sexy models." Jack raised an eyebrow.
"It's not that kind of magazine, Boze. Although it does have a cool taffeta window treatment and cupcakes made out of ginger and coconut-"
"Hey, Bozer." Sally said as she pushed aside the curtain. Jack chuckled at Bozer's yelp of surprise. Sally was a professional in sneaking. Bozer stepped forward to the gurney and held Mac's limp hand. He looked over at Sally who removed an empty bag of IV fluids.
"Is he ok?" Bozer knew they'd given something to knock Mac out, but Mac was OUT. Jack turned to Sally.
"I was wondering that too. He's been out for six hours and we got a plane to catch in another hour. I thought you only gave him fluids." Sally sighed as she taped a bandage over Mac's IV site. She paused to brush Mac's hair back.
"His liver is bruised; we had to give him medicine for puking and something for pain. He was also more dehydrated than we expected. We loaded him up with all the nutrients we could." Sally looked at Jack.
"I'm afraid he's going to be out until you're halfway there." Jack frowned. He had to admit, seeing Mac so still was unnerving. Jack sighed.
"Not much we can do about it, I guess. There were only two openings left."
"Think of it this way, Jack, you'll get to board early." Jack grinned and slapped Bozer's back.
"I like how you think. Alright let's get him ready to go." Jack helped Sally sit Mac up and supported him as Bozer and Sally wrapped his middle in a brace. Jack nodded at a bag beside him on the floor. Bozer dug out an Army T-shirt and hoodie. Mac moaned and his eyes cracked open as they moved him. His eyes slid closed again. Jack supported Mac as Boze zipped up the hoodie. They maneuvered him into his ratty leather jacket then waited for Sally to bring a wheelchair.
"You ok, Boze?" Jack asked softly. Boze swallowed and tried an easy smile. It faltered then crashed. He shook his head.
"I wish I had gotten to talk to him. I need to tell him it wasn't his fault…"
"And ask for his appology?" Bozer stared at Jack. Sometimes he forgot how intuitive Jack could be.
"Yeah, if it hadn't been for me…" Jack nodded not having anything to offer, "I wish I could go with you guys."
"I hear ya, Boze, and I get it, but Mac's gonna be lashiing out and-"
"-and he already feels guilty. You're right. I just wish...well we'll figure it out when you get back. If you get back."
"Why'd you have to say that?" Jack growled. Bozer smiled.
"When has a vacation with MacGyver ever go smoothly?"
"Look this time there is no way, absolutely no way for bad guys to attack us, for Mac to run away, or-"
"Here we are." Sally breezed in. Jack grinned at Boze and turned to help Sally get Mac into the chair. Bozer watched them with a cold trickle running through his gut. He couldn't shake the feeling Jack had just hexed the whole deal. He swallowed and shook it away. Something had to go according to plan some time, didn't it?
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Eyes. Wide with fear, blazing with betrayal and rage...the gun feels like a cement glove...over the barrel he sees realization, surprise...squeeze the trigger don't pull...then-
Mac bolted upright breathing hard. His eyes crawl around him, looking for the face, the blood-
"Mac?" Mac jumped and turned, relaxing only when he sees the worried face of his partner. Mac sucked in a long breath and wiped his damp face with shaking hands. He blinked and nodded at Jack and-
"What the hell?" He asked. Mac was on a plane, a comercial plane. First class, granted, but not a Phoenix plane. Mac was in the window seat and had been leaning against a pillow. He pulled it away from the window. Nothing. Nothing but blackness. Complete darkness. Mac shivered feeling chilled and sweaty. He had a blanket and pulled it up. Mac's shadowed reflection looked at him with deep black holes for eyes. Mac slid the pillow back and turned to Jack.
"You ok?" Jack asked. Mac narrowed his eyes.
"What the hell is going on?" Mac gritted. Jack sighed and slid his phone back into his pocket.
"We're going on vacation."
"What? You kidnapped me!" Jack flinched.
"No, look Mac-"
"YOU KIDNAPPED ME!" Jack winced as Mac's voice carried across the plane causing people to stare at them.
"Shhh." He hissed at Mac.
"Shhh? Are you kidding me? What the hell?" Mac's voice was lower but barbed like a spear.
"Mac, I know you're mad, but we need this." Mac paused taking in Jack's tired eyes. The older man looked worn through. Mac huffed and wiped his face.
"Ok. Fine. Where are we going?" Mac asked. Jack grinned.
"You're going to love it, Mac!"
"Not Vegas." Mac moaned.
"Nope."
"Hiking?"
"No."
"Jack, just tell me?" Mac moaned and shrugged holding his shoulder. He ached, but nowhere near as much as he did. He licked his lips and clicked on his attendant light. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Jack.
"Talk, Dalton." He snapped. Jack raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"You trying to be Matty now?"
"Jack-"
"Can I help you?" Mac studied the sylish black uniform with red belt, pointed cap, and red checked neckerchief. The nametag was in English and Chinese. Shanghai Airlines. He had literally been Shanghaied. If Mac wasn't so pissed, he'd be annoyed at the near-pun.
"Can I have some water?" Mac asked.
"He needs food too." Jack added. Mac's glare bore a hole in his partner's head. The attendant flashed a perfect smile nodded and went to the galley. Jack turned to Mac. Mac bit his cheek and turned away shaking his head.
"Mac, look-"
"No."
"No? No what?"
"Not now." Mac growled.
"Fair enough." Jack pulled out his phone and returned to playing his game. Mac pulled the pillow to his lap and punched it. He looked up as the attendent returned with a small tray of processed food and bottle of water. Mac wrinkled his nose. It didn't look good, and smelled like cabbage. He managed a small smile and helped slide the tray onto the lap table in front of him. Mac guzzled the water and tried a little of the food. He realized how hungry he was and snarfed the rest of the plate barely tasting it. He glanced at Jack as he finished the water. Jack didn't turn from his game, but had a satisfied smirk.
"Shut up." Mac growled.
"Didn't say anything."
"Just...shut up." Mac repeated. He handed the plastic container to the flight attendent then put the pillow back against the window. He leaned his head on it and pulled the blanket around him. His hands automatically worked the edge of the blanket. He stared at them, trying very hard not to think even as he thought it was a stupid thing to think.
Jack leaned back and put away his phone. He glanced at his partner. Mac hadn't moved. He didn't have the stiffness he had when he was pissed. His eyes were far away. Lost in thought. Jack chewed his cheek. They had another couple hours on the plane. Mac was a captive audience. How to attack the elephant sitting on the kid's lap? Jack decided to ease into it. He nudged Mac's arm to get his attention.
"You're gonna set the fire alarm off, bud."
"What?"
"You're gonna set the fire alarm off." Mac's brow wrinkled with his confusion.
"What?"
"You're thinking so hard over there, I can smell smoke." Mac blinked at Jack.
"What?" Jack rolled his eyes. Time to be more direct.
"Whatcha thinkin' about over there?" Mac leaned back. Jack was relieved when he didn't see Mac's walls snap shut. Mac chuckled.
"You really don't want to know."
"Yeah, I do." Mac sighed.
"I was pondering if thinking about not thinking actually constituted thinking or not." Jack shook his head.
"Ok, you're right I didn't want to know." Both men giggled. Any rancor between them melted away. Jack eased back and stretched.
"So what are you trying to not think about?" Jack smiled at Mac's surprise. Mac's eyes showed valleys of pain then it was gone. Jack sighed.
"Look, Mac. Bozer is going nuts." Mac jerked his head back.
"What? Why?" Jack frowned at Mac. Were they all wrong about this?
"Because he got caught and made you hit him." Mac's jaw clenched. Mac huffed.
"I'm not mad at Bozer at all. I'm sorry I had to hit him, but I had to do it to save his life." Mac's voice was filled with regret, but not the guilt Jack had seen in his friend.
"Then what's got your boxers in a twist?" Mac's mouth quirked up at the edges. Before he could say anything, the flight attendant came over.
"I'll have a beer." Jack said.
"I'll have 7up and pretzels, if you have them." The Phoenix pair waited until she returned. Jack smirked at his partner.
"No beer?" Mac looked sick for a second.
"Not for awhile."
"I bet." Jack laughed taking a sip. It was Tsingtao, not bad but not as heavy as American beer. They also served it warm. Jack licked his lips. Not bad.
"That why you got a 7UP? Your gut still upset?" Mac looked away.
"Yeah, nerves I guess." Jack frowned.
"I'm sorry I'm dragging you on a magical mystery tour, kiddo." Mac sighed and leaned back munching on a cracker.
"It's ok. It's kinda nice to get away. Although you didn't need to drug me." Mac shot Jack a tired glare. Jack though Mac's lack of anger was from fatigue more than actual forgiveness. Jack knew he'd pay for it later, especially if his plan falls flat. Jack swallowed and took a sip of beer.
"I didn't, Sally did." Jack reminded him. Mac's glare upped a notch. Jack backed off, he wanted Mac to open up, not clam up, "I'm sorry, Mac. You were a wreck."
"I know." Mac sipped his soda, "I suppose we're even. You went over and beyond when I showed up on your doorstep drunk."
"And beat up. What the hell were you doing?" Mac turned toward the window and stared at the pillow covering it for a long time. Jack waited. He knew this had to be Mac's choice. Mac seemed to deflate.
"I don't know, honestly." Mac turned back to Jack, his face was sad and something else Jack couldn't read, "I guess being a Nazi for a month messed me up."
"And?"
"And?" Mac turned away tearing at the empty pretzel wrapper.
"What else? I know there's something real big in there bothering you. If it isn't what happened with Bozer, then what?" Too much, too fast. Mac squirmed in his seat and turned away sipping his 7UP. Dammit. Jack chewed on his lip as the silence stretched. Jack decided to retreat.
"Being a Nazi must have sucked." Mac's jaw clenched.
"That's an understatement. You know, growing up I never really noticed racism. Mission City is pretty multicultural. All of California is. But Boze and I went on a skiing trip to Colorado. The lodge we stayed had two other school trips there. They came from more...white places." Mac's eyes narrowed with anger.
"They messed with Bozer?" Jack felt his own anger boil. He wondered if he could track them all down and beat them up for messing with his kids.
"Both of us. At first it was just them talking about us, snickering as we went past. I didn't notice, but I could tell it bothered Bozer." Jack smiled. He knew Mac wouldn't let it lie.
"I asked them to stop. That pissed them off. We started finding things broken on our skis, water poured into our beds," Mac's nose wrinkled, "At least I think it was water."
"How'd they get into your room?" Mac's jaw clenched again.
"Inside help. I changed the code on the key card reader and made it so no one could change it back or use a master code. That took care of that. The "pranks" became more overt." Mac used air quotes to emphasise pranks.
"Did you tell your teachers?"
"Yeah, they talked to the other teachers, but it didn't do anything." Mac smiled.
"So we started playing our own pranks." Jack chuckled. Mac's face fell, "We ended up leaving early, and everyone blamed me." Jack nodded. This would have given the bullies at home more ammo. Mac finished his soda.
"It makes no sense." Mac said. His voice had the same frustration Mac got when he tried to explain something simple and no one around got it. He glanced at Jack, "Racism. It makes no sense. Skin color is caused by genetic variations. There are no "races." " Again Mac used air quotes, "The cultural groups and social statuses are societally defined but are treated like biological imperatives. It makes no sense." Jack sighed and finished his beer.
"I know, kiddo. It doesn't." Jack met Mac's gaze. The kid's eyes were clouded with sadness and genuine confusion, "Sometimes it's crazy trying to understand crazy." Mac laughed.
"That's like thinking about not thinking." Jack shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess. This mission must have sucked." Mac's shoulders slumped.
"Marching with them, shouting the things-" Mac turned away with a body shudder. Jack could feel bile in the back of his throat. He'd been undercover enough times, he knew how hard it could be infiltrating disgusting groups. With his blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, Mac must have been seen as a prize.
The men sat in silence for a time, both lost in their own thoughts. The attendant returned and took their garbage. Mac asked for another blanket. The blonde pulled it around him, but still looked cold. Jack didn't think the chill he felt would go away with a hundred blankets. Mac turned to him, his face haunted.
"Jack, I-" Jack waited. Mac closed his eyes and flinched as if someone slapped him. Jack could feel him shiver. Mac looked down and stared at his feet. He shook his head and swallowed, "I'm sorry, I can't. Not yet." Mac murmured. He turned from Jack and snuggled into the pillow closing his eyes. Jack sighed and patted Mac's knee.
"It's ok, brother, we got time." Mac nodded. Jack watched him slowly relax. It was a long time before Mac drifted to sleep. Jack leaned back and closed his own eyes. He was a little surprise he'd gotten Mac to talk as much as he had. He wondered what could have happened that was so bad knocking out his best friend could be glossed over. Jack shook his head. He was going to talk to Matty when they got back, if not her then James himself. No more alone missions, he decided. Not one more, ever.