Mac yawned as the plane landed. He stood up and grunted with stiffness in his legs and neck. He hissed and tried to straighten, but there wasn't enough room. Jack reached up and grabbed his jacket pulling him down.

"Jack! What the-"

"Shhh. Sit down. We can get off first. They think you have Bell's Palsy."

"That's ridiculous-"

"Shhh. I had to come up with something to explain you being unconscious." Mac narrowed his eyes.

"Unconsciousness isn't a symptom of Bell's Palsy."

"Whatever, just go with it."

"No!"

"Mac-"

"Sir, do you need help?"

"NO!"

"YES!" Mac and Jack glared at each other. The attendant looked torn. Jack gave her a smooth smile.

"Look, denial is part of his disease. If you could just hand me my bag up and over there, we'll get out of here." Mac opened his mouth to argue. He grunted when Jack kicked him solidly in his leg. Mac rolled his eyes and followed Jack out of the seat. At this point, he just wanted off the plane. Jack grabbed his elbow and pulled him out to the aisle. It turned out it was a good thing Jack had hold of him. Mac's legs sagged. They were stiff. Mac growled as pins and needles ran up and down his legs.

"See? Told you so." Jack said as he shoved Mac into a narrow wheelchair the attendant wheeled over.

"I hate you." Mac snarled as he rubbed his legs to get circulation back. Jack leaned forward as he pushed Mac down the aisle to the door.

"I know." If he could have done it without falling out of the unsteady chair, Mac would have turned around and glared at his partner. Another attendant helped Jack off the plane and down the landing ramp. Jack dragged Mac off his seat and into a wheelchair waiting at the terminal.

The other attendant looked at Jack.

"Where are we going?" He asked. Before Jack could say anything, Mac pushed the other two men away from him stood up and stalked down the concourse. He still moved like the rusted tin Woodsman and wobbled, but didn't fall.

"Look at that! It's a miracle! A MIRACLE!" Jack yelled as he raised his arms in a hallelujah touchdown gesture. The other debarking passengers stared after him as he jogged to catch up to the blonde.

Shanghai pudong airport was one of the busiest in the world. The crowds pressed in on Mac speaking a hundred different languages. Mac shoved his way through. It was too close, he couldn't breathe. He needed out. His breaths came in gasps. His heart pounded. He turned in a circle. No Jack! Where was Jack? Mac's palms sweat. He pushed free and stepped into a small alcove beside a plastic tree. Mac put a hand on it to hold him up. He bent over trying to suck in air. He had no idea where he was. Mac straightened, telling himself to chill out. He'd almost taken in a full breath when he stepped away from the pitiful fake tree and found himself surrounded by blond-haired, blue eyed men wearing leather. Mac's eyes widened. Eyes...wide, surprise, betrayal...BANG… No!

Mac gasped and shoved through the small group running blindly through the thick crowds. He had to get out, he had to-His chest hurt and everything spun. He staggered falling into a group of tourists speaking Russian. Mac gasped an apology as he spun. Everything swirled around him.

"J-" Mac gasped. He fell to his knees and legs seemed to close in around him. Black spots bobbed across his vision. He pulled at his shirt. It was too tight, there wasn't enough air-he was dying!

Hands seemed to come out of nowhere. Mac closed his eyes as he was lifted to his feet and sparklers went off all around him.

"J-" Mac tried to wheeze.

"...you anywhere, c'mon…" Jack's voice seemed to float in on a buzzing tide then wash out. Mac felt his partner duck under his shoulder. Mac gasped clawing at his chest. BANG! Mac jerked upright looking around them shaking.

"...Mac?"

"...gun-" Mac gasped trying to squirm out of Jack's grip.

"What? Mac there's no gun." Mac's eyes widened. Everything seemed to slow down. He saw a familiar face staring at him, covered in blood walking through the passing people.

"No...impossible-" Mac gasped. He tried to spin and run, but a grey fog seemed to wrap around him. His knees buckled. Jack caught him.

"Whoa, easy brother. Easy, here let's go in here." Everything faded.

Jack didn't like the color Mac turned. He glanced around him, he didn't see anything other than the typical Shanghai airport crowds. Jack dragged Mac into the men's room and sat him on the floor along a wall beside the sinks. Mac's eyes roved the room. Jack wasn't sure he was seeing the bathroom. Feeling Mac trembling and chill under his hands, Jack knew whatever the kid was seeing it wasn't good.

Jack stood and dampened a wad of paper towels. He looked down surprised. Mac clung to the leg of his jeans. Jack knelt beside Mac again and dabbed Mac's face.

"Hey, hey...it's ok, kiddo. You gotta breathe ok?" Mac's eyes didn't stop.

"J...J-" Jack ducked until his eyes met Macs.

"Mac, look at me brother." Mac's eyes darted up to look at Jack then bobbed away. Jack wondered what he was looking for. Mac clung to Jack's T.

"J...he's here…" Mac whispered, his voice coming in gasps. Jack followed Mac's gaze, his hand reaching out to the Beretta at the small of his back automatically. There were other passengers going in and out of the stalls, washing their hands, but nothing admiss. No one taking any more notice of them than would be expected. In fact, Jack thought most of the men went out of their way to not meet their eyes and gave the pair a wide berth.

Jack tossed the cloth away and gently cupped Mac's cheeks. He pulled Mac's face up. Mac's eyes darted away from his.

"Mac? Mac!" Mac jumped and slowly focused on Jack. His blue eyes were wide with fear, his pupils almost swallowed by the silver-blue. Mac blinked. Jack could see Mac's gaze slowly focus on him.

"Jack." Mac finally rasped, his body relaxing, "Jack."

"Yeah, brother, it's me. Keep breathing, alright?" Mac nodded and pulled his knees to his chest. He circled his arms on his knees and laid his head in their coils. Jack rubbed his back feeling his breathing ease and the knots in his muscles slowly loosen then melt away. Jack waited. Mac finally took in a deep breath and lifted his head. He rubbed his face and shot Jack a weak smile.

"S...sorry, Jack. I was feeling a bit claustrophobic." Jack tilted his head and studied Mac for a long minute.

"And?" Mac picked at his boot laces.

"And what?" Jack let out a long huff. He'd just slammed his head into one of Mac's walls.

"Alright, it can wait. Are you ok?" Mac wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"For being drugged, kidnapped and dragged around the world? Sure." Jack shook his head. He was beginning to think this was a bad idea after all. He frowned. Should they pack it up and go back home? As always, Mac knew what he was thinking.

"Shall we continue our Magical Mystery Tour?" Mac punched Jack's shoulder. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"So you aren't pissed?"

"Well, yeah, but I trust you," Jack couldn't meet Mac's sincere eyes. Mac squeezed his shoulder.

"Seriously, Jack, I do. Besides, I'm kinda curious." Jack smiled and reached over to squeeze Mac's shoulder.

"That makes two of us, kiddo." Jack said grunting as he stood up and his knees popped. Mac stared up at him taking Jack's hand to help him to his feet.

"What do you mean two of us? You don't know where we're going?"

"Of course I know where we're going, mostly. C'mon, our luggage might be going back onto the plane by now." Mac gaped at his partner as Jack took his elbow and guided him through the crowded terminal.

Their bags were the last two circling the conveyor belt. The two men grabbed their duffle and Jack led the way out to the Taxi stand. With gestures and massacred Mandarin, Jack directed the driver to take them to the docks. Mac stared at Jack.

"A boat? Are we going on a cruise?"

"Why would I drag us all the way to China for a cruise?"

"I don't know, because you're you?"

"Ha, ha. No, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Relax, we have about…" Jack looked at his watch and silently figured the math in his head, "...six more hours to go once we're on the boat." Mac's mouth hung open.

"What? That's...that's the middle of the ocean, what the hell are we doing in the middle of the ocean?" Jack grinned and grabbed Mac's arm with enthusiasm.

"Trust me, it's gonna be awesome!" Jack shook his head and rubbed his forehead. A headache was settling in behind his eyes occasionally sending off sparks.

"Great." He grumbled. Jack grinned and sat back almost bouncing in the seat. Mac leaned back and closed his eyes. He hurt everywhere. His gut wobbled with sea sickness and he couldn't see the ocean yet. Mac didn't know if they were going to have a good time or not; he hoped Jack's attempt at surprising him wouldn't leave them both floating with the fishes. Mac groaned. Great, now he was thinking like Jack.

Mac grinned when he saw the boat. The Yuan Gui was a bright green experimental catamaran. It looked like the new Nauti-Craft 4x4. Jack rolled his eyes as he handed his bags to a tall thin Asian with spiky hair with bleached ends. Mac leaned down to examine the high independant suspension grinning. He'd only seen pictures of the Australian experimental craft. His hands twitched with the desire to take it apart and see how it worked.

"Sweet ride isn't it?" The thin man called down as he pulled Jack aboard. Mac looked up.

"Yeah! Is this based on the Australian R and D version?"

"Only the basic design, we're trying a new automated hydraulic system that actually uses the flows of the tide-"

"I hate to break this up, but can we get going." Mac rolled his eyes. He took the man's hand and hopped lightly into the boat beside Jack.

"I'm MacGyver, this is Jack." Mac said. The man smiled. His brown eyes sparkled.

"I know, I'm stoked to meet you!" Mac raised his eyebrows and shot a look at Jack who rocked on his heels grinning, "Sorry, my name is Cody, I'm an experimental engineer. When I read about your background-Man, Mr. Macgyver-finally somebody will know what the hell I'm talking about!"

"Mac, not Mr. MacGyver, and...uh, thanks?" Mac shot a look at Jack. Jack shrugged and sat in one of the middle of six seats.

"Sure, sure, sorry." Cody looked at his watch, "We'll be off in another ten minutes. We're waiting on another couple."

"Uh...we aren't a couple." Jack said his brow wrinkling.

"What? Oh, I know that, not that it would be a bad thing if you were, I just meant-"

"It's ok, Cody. We know what you meant." Mac shot Jack a dirty look. Jack shrugged and watched as a yacht pulled out to sea beside them, "Who else is coming?" Code sprawled across the pilot's seat.

"A married couple, Maritime Archeologists Hiro Muraki and her husband Leonard."

"Leonard?" Cody shrugged as if to say who am I to judge?

"Maritime archeologists?"

"Yeah, they're coming down to work with Yòuhuò."

"With what?" Jack asked. Cody shot him a confused look.

"The city, that's why you're here, right? To study the city?"

"Of course, we just haven't heard much about it yet." Mac said smoothly. Cody nodded.

"Yeah, you were booked last minute. I get it. I'll let the others fill you in, although you're probably going to be working in the Pod like me?" Cody almost quivered with excitement. Mac nodded.

"Sure, who knows what's going to happen, right?" Mac glared at Jack as he spoke. Jack leaned back and let out a long pleased sigh. Mac turned to ask another question.

"Oh here's the others, hey Leonard, Hiro!" Mac raised an eyebrow at the mismatched pair coming toward them. If he had to guess, they were Japanese. Both wore uniform button ups, jeans, and sandals. Hiro was short and thin. Her hair looked like it was made out of ironed orange plastic gleaming in the afternoon light. Leonard topped six feet. He was more than a head taller than Mac. The man was thin, looking all knees and elbows. His short cut hair was uneven and seemed to stick up in all directions. He wore thick rimmed orange glasses that matched his wife's hair that magnified his eyes making him look a bit like a Koi.

"This is Mac and Jack." Cody said taking shopping bags the Muraki's handed him. Hiro raked them with her eyes. Her long lashes, somehow also sparkling in the daylight, flitted up and down as she studied Mac and silently dismissed him. Her eyes narrowed as she studied Jack. Her eyes darted to Leonard who also studied Jack. The tall man's throat worked. Leonard leaned forward with a smile.

"I'm Leonard, this is my wife Hiro." His voice was deep and rich and had a hint of a British accent. Mac shook his hand surprised by the strength of the grip. He frowned feeling the man's calluses. Mac glanced over to Jack whose smile took on a feral tint as he shook the man's hand. Jack felt it too. Leonard's calluses were very like those Jack had, like most Special Forces had. Mac wouldn't know exactly which military service Leonard was with, but Jack would know. Hiro nodded and slid into the back seats. Leonard nodded and followed suit. He walked awkwardly. He moved clumsily. Mac shared a look with Jack, both men wondering if it was all an act, and if so, why?

"Ok, buckle in kids, here we go!" Mac managed to stagger to his seat as Cody revved the engine and whirled the ship from the dock. The boat was incredibly fast, and smooth seeming to float along the surf. Mac's enthusiasm was dimmed a little by the mystery of their boat mates. Jack put on his mirrored aviator shades and sat with his back to the water, watching them.

Mac leaned over the back of his seat.

"So you're maritime archeologists?" Leonard grinned and leaned forward launching into an enthusiastic discourse about the growing field. Mac found himself pulled into the more technical aspects of the satellite ground penetrating the pair of archeologists were the premiere designers of. He was oblivious to the silent staring contest taking place between Jack and Hiro.

Watched tonight's episode. I have to say I like Desi. I think she's going to bring a new and interesting dynamic to the team. I'm glad they aren't trying to recreate a replacement for Jack. There is only one Jack. For my part, I think of Fanfiction MacGyver different from TV MacGyver, and in my little corner of Fanfiction, Jack will always be part of the team. I still love the show, and nothing is going to change that. I also think they are introducing Desi better than they did Cage (Could anything be worse?) and I can see her and Mac becoming partners without having a romance (thank god). I also like how they keep Jack alive rather than drop him and never mention him again. I would have liked to see a little more moping from Mac-but we did get him almost naked-so, I'm good. LOL Pox.