Tag to S02 E14 – Mardi gras beads + chair
A/N: I like the shorts in the beginning of the episode because they're funny, but my brain needs an ending, so here you have mine.
A portable toilet may have saved their lives, but the bumpy ride could've had consequences.
'You're right! It was a bad idea! Probably one of the worst ideas I've ever had!' Mac yelled over the loud noise of the wind outside and the banging of the toilet on the ground and everything in its way. 'But I'm allowed to be wrong every now and then, aren't I?'
'I don't disagree, but this time, it may be the last time!' Jack dramatically answered, closing his eyes as the plastic box hit the ground again and made another turn. He really tried to hang onto something, placing his foot on the floor and bracing himself on the roof, but he was shaken loose with every bump. His muscles were already burning from the continuous strain.
'We're going to be fine! This storm isn't going to last!' Mac yelled back.
'Neither are we!'
Jack glanced up, saw Mac hang on for dear life too. He trusted his friend 100% all the time, but this time, any idea would've been a better idea.
The edge of the portable toilet hit something, and it spun a little faster, making Jack almost lose his grip. Pieces of paper flew from Mac's hand as he too instinctively reached out for something.
'Hold onto those damn papers, otherwise this agony was all for nothing!' he screamed. He swore he saw Mac roll his eyes, but everything was moving and shaking too fast for him to be sure.
A muscle in his arm spasmed and he growled. He hoped this wouldn't go on much longer, because even though he was well-trained, he wasn't really prepared for being thrown around in a portable toilet. The idea itself could've been hilarious if it hadn't been so seriously dangerous.
'We're going to die!' Jack said again, this time the words lost in the noise. He scraped his throat before raising his voice to say: 'Next time you think of something stupid like this, knock me out and wake me up when it's over!'
Mac glared at him. 'Fine, I will!'
Jack opened his mouth to shout back "Fine!" when suddenly the box hit something hard and sturdy outside, causing it to slam to a halt. Not expecting this at all, Jack's hands were ripped from their hold by force, and he shot forward, towards Mac and the other side of the box. He smashed into the side, almost breaking his face on the plastic wall. An "oof" slipped through his lips as the wind was knocked out of him. As soon as he had hit the side, his momentum stopped, and gravity made him fall down into a crumpled pile. His arms got tangled up in Mac's legs, who had been facing the other way, and he felt the skinny body of his friend cushion the fall a little.
Groaning from the aches and pains the ride and sudden stop had brought on, it took Jack a moment to start sitting up.
'Well, at least we've stopped rolling to our deaths,' he loudly said. The sounds outside were still as intense and threatening as they were before.
He tried to push himself off into a more comfortable position while untangling himself from Mac's legs when he realized Mac hadn't either answered or moved.
'You still alive there?'
He waited a moment for a witty or snarky remark back, but he only heard the howling of the wind, and twigs and who knows what hitting the plastic on the outside. He felt his concern grow, like a pit in his stomach and, careful not to push off on his friend too much, pulled himself up faster. He managed to get his feet next to Mac's sides so he could get up and look below him.
Mac was laying still, his body twisted. He looked like a ragdoll being thrown and pushed into an uncomfortable position, and when Jack thought about it, that was basically what had actually happened. He felt a twinge of guilt when he realized he had been the one who had pushed him in that position.
He stepped away and knelt down as best as he could. Mac's head was facing down, and Jack couldn't see if he was awake, but judging by the lack of movement, he probably wasn't. He quickly checked for a heartbeat and breathing and was relieved to find both were there. Jack hesitated on turning his friend. For all he knew, he had broken the kid's neck and this position was all that was keeping his spine together. He ran his hands over his back, couldn't find anything, and, although it might be a bad idea, he decided to turn over his friend anyway. As he carefully lifted him by the shoulders, the kid so lightweight that it barely costed him any effort, Mac's head hung limp, and he had to pull him towards his chest to be able to turn him to his back. Sitting on his knees, he rested Mac's back and head on his lap.
Jack winced when Mac's face came into view. He had a small gash on a large, already bruising bump right next to his eyebrow. He must've hit his head and passed out. Unfortunately, Jack realized that because the bump was on Mac's left side, it was probably Jack's knee or foot that had knocked the kid out.
'Isn't this ironic,' Jack mumbled to himself, 'You were supposed to knock me out to escape this nightmare, not the other way around.'
He hoped Mac would wake up and roll his eyes at him like he often did, but the kid remained quiet and pale. Jack wondered for a moment if he should let Mac stay unconscious but decided against it for two reasons. Firstly, because he could have a serious head injury, and secondly, because Jack sure as hell wasn't going to sit in this storm all by himself considering it hadn't even been his idea.
He carefully shook the kid's shoulders and tapped his cheek. After a few tries, Jack felt him groan other than hear it, the vibration noticeable in his legs beneath Mac's back. Mac's hands clenched and Jack saw he was still holding onto the papers, which Jack had to give him credits for.
'Mac, are you with me, man?'
Mac blinked a few times, squinting to see up, a confused look on his face. His eyes had a hard time to focus, Jack noticed.
'You passed out on me,' Jack said loudly. Mac winced as he probably had talked too loud now that they sat so close to each other.
'What happened?' Mac tried to sit up, but Jack made him stay down while he thought about his answer, whether he was going to be honest or not.
'Something stopped us, and you hit your head,' he replied.
'But we were... on such a roll.' A grin spread across Mac's face as he closed his eyes again.
Jack groaned. 'Too soon, Mac, too soon.' He was glad his friend was awake and clear enough to be joking, although he could've at least waited with this after they had gotten out of the still raging storm. According to the last piece of information Mac had read before they had entered this damned box, that was going to take at least another hour.
Mac switched the pieces of papers to his other hand and carefully felt for the bump, hissing when his fingers found it.
'How did I hit my head on this side?'
Jack glanced around, trying to find a good answer while pretending he didn't understand the question. 'That side? I don't know what you mean, and eh, we were being shaken around a lot in case you've forgotten.'
Mac opened one eye and squinted at him again. It took his eye less time to focus than it had before, which was a good sign.
'But based on the momentum, you would've been thrown into my side,' he said, slowly coming to the solution. He opened both eyes to read Jack's face when he said: 'Wait, did you knock me out?'
Jack grimaced. 'I think you have a really bad concussion; your reasoning isn't sound and your math needs work. Better not think too much.'
Mac grinned and tried sitting up, only to be pushed down by Jack again. Jokes aside, he probably did have a concussion, and Jack didn't feel like having the kid pass out again or worse.
To his surprise, he felt Mac sigh and relax.
'This really was a bad idea, huh,' he heard him say.
Jack grinned. 'Perhaps you're not as concussed as I thought, you're finally making sense.'
He felt Mac huff instead of rolling his eyes, which probably hurt too much, but saw he couldn't keep a small smile off his face.
After ten minutes, Mac won against Jack's attempts to keep him lying down. Thankfully, although the bruise looked worse, he seemed to be doing better. However, when he said he had come up with an idea to get them out of there, and Jack had threatened him with knocking him out again, he had winced and kept his mouth shut.
The next half an hour was mostly spent in silence, apart from the wind, rain, and branches or pieces of whatever hitting their box. Mac had started putting the pieces of paper together, sticking it to the side of the box by making grooves with his knife and jamming the top of the piece inside.
The thing holding them in place instead of tossing them back out into the storm was sturdy and held. Mac figured it was probably a building, but it didn't really matter to Jack. As long as it helped them stay still, it could've been a cow for all he cared.
Fifteen minutes later, after Jack had closed his eyes and had actually become a bit relaxed by the constant sound of the wind and rain, the noise became less and less, until at some point, the worst had passed, and it became quiet. They waited a little longer still to start getting ready to get out. Mac took a photograph of the finished paper before pulling the pieces off and stuffing them into his pocket. He got up on wobbly legs, steadying himself on the sides and on Jack's arm that reached for him when he threatened to slip.
'I think we're good to go outside,' he said, listening for sounds. Jack frowned.
'You think or you know?'
Mac carefully did roll his eyes this time, seemed to regret the action and shrugged to hide his wince. 'Do whatever you want, Jack, I'm going outside.'
Thankfully, Lady Luck had helped them a little again, because Jack only now realized that the door for the toilet was above them.
'Wait, hang on, I'm not staying in this box of doom alone,' Jack quickly said, jumping to his feet. With some effort, Jack pushed open the door, causing rainwater from the outside to drip inside. The sun was shining though, and the wind had died down to a subtle breeze. Meanwhile, Mac had found out their cell service was back and had texted Matty. Jack got out of the box and hoisted Mac up.
'Our exfill is on the way, they'll be landing in that directed,' he informed Jack, pointing at the distance. The ground was littered with branches, pieces of boarding, roof tiles and other materials and items. Still, Jack smiled, relieved to be out of the box, out of the storm, and not long away from going back home.
'Allright,' he said as he jumped down and helped Mac. 'Let's rock and roll and make sure those generals lives go down the toilet.'
Mac frowned as he started walking. 'So now we can joke about it?' he asked, following Jack.
'No,' Jack said, raising his finger. 'I can. You may not.'
They bickered about that the entire walk and restful flight back.