"Damnit! That should've worked!"
Jack watched from the corner of the room as Mac ran his hands through his hair, fingers tangling in the long strands that were already an unruly mess. Frustration lined every inch of Mac's body, his face set in that way that even though Jack hadn't seen it in a while meant he was deep in his head trying to figure out a problem.
"Again… We're doing it again!"
Riley stood beside him, a mirror image of irritation. Her dark hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, long strands falling around her face that was furrowed deep in concentration, her fingers swiping so fast across her computer screen that Jack didn't know how she was able to see anything.
Every muscle in Jack's own body was as taut as a bowstring, worry and fear coursing through his veins with such intensity that he felt like he was about to vibrate apart. He stood quietly in the corner of Mac's living room though, pride sliding in beside the terror that threatened to consume him as he watched his wonder kids work silently in synch with each other to solve the problem. His observations revealed something else they shared as well, the look of increasing fear that shone bright in both of their eyes.
Jack didn't entirely understand about the nature of the nano technology in the quick overview he'd been given after he'd snuck into Phoenix for what was supposed to be a surprise reunion. He knew that details of what had transpired to cause the distress that bordered on panic in not only Mac and Riley, but in the rest of the team as well, were being kept from him for reasons that he still couldn't figure out.
But knew he wouldn't like.
The one thing that he was certain of was that someone… something was hurting his kids.
Something he couldn't see, or touch, or kill.
It sent fury blazing through Jack's veins, bright and hot and almost all consuming and he couldn't stay quiet and just stand idly by any longer and do nothing.
"Mac…"
"Jack… No. Just… Don't talk, alright?"
"Blah. Blah. Blah. These hidden memories aren't going to come back to y'all by trying to trick 'em." Jack said, undeterred by Mac's request for silence. "Hold up a second."
He pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning against, catching Mac by the upper arm just as he walked by, no doubt on his way to reset the "scene" and run their memory experiment yet again.
"C'mon now, hoss… Hold up a second, will ya?"
He had been gone from them for a long time and stepping into the middle of Mac doing his thing may very well cause a reenactment of their very first meeting, but Jack would risk the potential bruises and black eye if it meant the fear shining in those blue eyes was gone.
"Jack..." Mac didn't pull out of his grip, or haul off and hit him, so Jack counted that as a win. But Jack would have preferred the pain of a right-cross to the agonizing pain the look of sheer desperation on Mac's face caused him when he turned around to face him. "I have to figure this out."
Jack slid his hand up to grip the back of Mac's neck and gave it a gentle squeeze. He ducked his head, locking his gaze onto too-bright eyes hidden behind a fringe of blonde hair. Jack pushed all his own fear and worry down as far as he could, made sure his voice was steady and strong and held no doubts when he responded.
"And you will. You both will... C'mere, sweetheart." Jack glanced over at Riley and canted his head. He opened his other arm as she approached, wrapping her up and pulling her close.
"I have total faith that you will both figure this out," Jack assured quietly, looking at each of them in turn and holding their gaze for a long moment. "There are no smarter people on this planet than the two of you. But you both have tried your little memory experiment—"
"It's not an experiment, Jack," Mac corrected him, "it's State—"
"Dependent Memory Theory," Jack continued for him automatically. "Yeah, yeah, as you've said a dozen or so times since I walked through that door. Still gotta sprinkle that nerd juice everywhere, don't'cha?"
The old quip did what Jack hoped and a brought a smile to Mac's face. It was small, as was the chuckle he heard from Riley, but they were both genuine and Jack would take whatever victory he could get, however small it was.
"You don't understand everything that's happened, Jack," Riley said softly. A shudder ran through her small frame and just like that the lightness of just a few moments ago was gone, and Jack was reminded of his absence while his family faced danger without him. "We need answers. We can't go on like this."
Her voice broke and with it a little piece of Jack's heart. He pulled her closer and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"And we'll get them, sweetheart. We'll fix all of this, you'll both be okay," Jack whispered fiercely, because anything else just wasn't an option. "But all that Total Recall cosplaying didn't work a lick now, did it? So… Now it's time to listen to good ole Jack."
"We've talked about you referring to yourself in the 3rd person, you know." Mac's long used automatic response to his phrasing was forced, the banter lacking the playfulness it usually possessed, but it was an attempt at normal—their normal—and Jack played along.
"Mmm hmm… Yeah, we have," Jack agreed, giving Mac a wink. He reached up and ruffled Mac's hair as he pulled Riley in for another hug before he stepped back.
"Now, this ain't gonna work unless you're comfortable. And as beautiful as you look, sweetheart, that outfit doesn't look like it falls under that category. So, go get changed. You too, Mac. C'mon now, shoo… Y'all heard me. Go… put on something comfy."
Jack stood in place and watched them as they both walked down the hall. Only after he heard their respective doors shut with a soft click—and Riley having her room at Mac's, her living here, was yet another story in the long list that Jack needed to hear—did he give in to the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside him.
His entire body sagged, and his back hit the wall behind him. A muffled oof escaped his lips as the air was momentarily pushed from his lungs. His knees buckled beneath him, his legs no longer able to hold his weight and he slowly slid to the floor.
Jack scrubbed his hands roughly down his face, gun calloused fingers rasping against the scruff that lined his jaw. His arms fell onto his knees and his head followed, forehead dropping down to rest on his forearms. The guilt of not being here to protect his family from all of what was happening was overwhelming. He knew that it was misplaced and irrational. He knew that he hadn't stayed away out of choice, and that even if he'd been here there was no guarantee of the same outcome not happening anyway.
But emotions were anything but logical, and the worry and fear that Jack felt for the two most important people in his life wrapped around him, heavy and thick, and left him feeling like he was drowning.
The patter of feet pulled Jack back from the darkness that had sunk it's claws deep into his chest, and he snapped his head up, long years of constantly being on high alert automatically judging their distance from him.
He pushed himself quickly to his feet. His knees cracked and his back spasmed sharply, not-quite healed injuries protesting to the swift change in position, and he bit back the groan of pain. He leaned back against the wall, tipping his head back and closing his eyes as he took a few deep, calming, centering breaths. His kids had enough worry at the moment and Jack wasn't about to add to it by having them find him sitting on the floor in a midst of a downward spiral.
Jack took a few steps into the hallway and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight that greeted him.
A smile curled his lips, so big and broad his cheeks were already sore. Then again, it had been a long time since he had smiled like this—open and honest, and so filled with genuine happiness Jack thought he just might explode.
"Wait, wait, wait," Jack said with a chuckle, one hand extended in front of himself, palm out, in the universal gesture of stop. "This is just too good to not preserve forever."
Mac and Riley looked at each other, sharing a similar look of bewilderment, but complied. Both stopping mid-step a few feet from where he stood. It was a tiny thing, them instantly doing as he requested. But to Jack, after years of being away, too many of them spent silent and beneath the radar, it was beyond huge. Beyond what he could adequately put into words, and warmth spread throughout his chest, easing the tightly coiled knot that'd sat there for so long.
Jack reached into the pocket of his jacket and fished out his phone.
"Same one I left with," he commented off-handedly, waggling the device in Mac's direction.
"I can fix that for you," Mac quipped with a smirk.
Jack pulled his phone back, clutching it dramatically to his chest.
"You keep your paws right over there where I can see 'em. This right here is a relic. Gonna go in a museum or fetch me millions on one of them there bidding sites. Now, both of you… smile big for the camera."
The two of them smiled, big cheesy grins with poses to match. Even as he smiled with them, hot tears filled Jack's eyes and threatened to spill down his cheeks.
He missed this. Missed them.
So damn much.
There were moments during his final mission, injured and out of ammo, staring down Kovac and the ticking timer of a bomb, that Jack truly thought that his house money had finally run out and he would never see his family again.
Jack swallowed thickly as he blinked his eyes a few times. He was grateful for the few feet that separated them, and for the dim lighting in the hallway that helped to conceal his emotions, still raw and exposed, too close to the surface for Jack to convincingly hide.
Even so, he bowed his head a bit, hiding his face and the feelings he still couldn't quite control, as he raised his phone, swiped open his camera and snapped a couple pictures of his kids.
"Alright… If you're through channeling your inner Bryce Villanova, you wanna tell us what's with all the snaps?" Riley asked.
"What with all the snaps?" Jack repeated. "What is the two of you. Y'all are just too precious for words. When I said for y'all to get comfy, I expected some sweats and—most likely—a couple of my shirts I bet I'm gonna find missing."
"Ohh yeah… That would be a fools bet," Riley cut in. "You're third favorite Metallica tee is now my first favorite sleep shirt."
"And don't go looking for your big, baggy army sweatshirt either," Mac added. "Oh… or your leather jacket."
"You swiped my leather?" You thief!" Jack gasped. But the warm smile that lit his face at the thought that his kids had worn his clothes while he was gone gave away his reaction for the mock horror that it was.
"And that sweatshirt is only baggy on you, hoss, because of those Kermit the frog arms of yours and that twig-like physique. Unlike yours truly, here, who fills it out in all the right places."
"Ewww, Jack…over share. Some thoughts need to stay in your head, dude."
A smirk curled Mac's mouth. "Most of Jack's thought need to stay in his head," he piped in dryly.
Jack didn't respond to the good-natured ribbing, just smiled brightly, and continued with his original comments, so damn happy to finally be home, annoying his kids, verbally sparring with them in person instead of over the staticky connection of an all too rare video call.
"But this…" Jack waved his hand between Mac and Riley as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. "The matching stripey jammies, and those fuzzy little sock's y'all have on your feeties—"
"For the record, this wasn't planned," Mac cut in, a sheepish smile on his face as he looked down at himself and then over at Riley. "It was simply on the top of the still clean enough to wear pile."
"Besides, Bozer really outdid himself," Riley added. "These are mad comfy."
"Bozer? My man, Boz, is responsible for the match game y'got going on?" Jack asked.
"Not just us," Riley informed him.
"Oh yeah, Bozer bought a matched set for all of us. Even insisted we wear them for movie night the other day," Mac said with a good-natured eye roll.
The smile of Jack's face grew wider. Of course, it was Bozer. Mac's childhood best friend had a sense of family as big and as fierce as Jack's own. Jack was eternally grateful that in his absence Bozer was there to provide that, those moments of fun and togetherness.
Remind their little wolf pack to step back, to laugh and enjoy themselves, that there was life beyond all the bad and horrible things they saw and fought on an almost daily basis.
"And by all of us, that includes you too, partner," Mac added, pinning him with a pointed look.
"Yeah?" The word slipped out before Jack could stop it, quiet and quivering with too many emotions for him to process or even be named.
"Yeah… We'd never forgot about you, old man."
Riley's attempted snarky comeback fell to pieces as her voice trembled and broke. Her dark eyes bright even in the dim light as she gazed at him, every word soft and shaking as she continued speaking.
"You may not have been physically here," Riley said softly, every word shaking as she closed the distance between them, "but you were always with us, Jack. Always. "
Jack eyes burned and his smile warbled as he nodded his head, his throat too tight and too overcome with emotions to be able to get any words out.
Both Mac and Riley's words were a direct hit to what he feared the most those long years he was away, like his insecurity was written plainly for the whole world to see or like they could see right through him.
Or maybe he was just still that transparent to his kids.
The thought brought the tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Ri…" Jack pulled her in the moment she was within reaching distance. Mac stood behind her, and Jack grabbed him by the sleeve of his pajama top and pulled him in as well.
It was a tangle of limbs as arms were wrapped around each other, and Jack tightened his grip, buried his head in their shoulders and allowed himself a moment of selfishness as he hugged them both tight.
"And it didn't matter how long you were gone. Or how long it took," she whispered against his ear. "Always family, Jack."
If Jack had his way, he would stay right here, his kids wrapped securely in his arms where nothing bad could ever touch them again. But he knew that wasn't possible, or plausible.
His kids were in trouble and no amount of Jack shielding them would solve that or make it go away this time. As much as he wanted to do otherwise, he knew he needed to let Mac and Riley go. Let them go to do what they did the best, coming up with solutions for impossible situations.
And Jack would do what he did best. What he had been forced to step away from for far too long. He would stand guard over them both. Protect them from anything, from anyone, that tried to cause them harm.
Or that had caused them harm, he thought darkly.
But first he had to do his other job, though Jack never considered it as such. Mac and Riley may be the two smartest people that he'd ever known, but they were still young, still learning and growing. As much as they teased him about it, Jack had age and experience under his belt, patience that only life taught you. He had learned through trial and error and had been knocked down by choices he had both made and not made.
And would, like now, step in and guide them both to step back and pause, take a breath, and look at things in a different light.
"Alright now…" Jack squeezed them tight one last time before dropping his arms and releasing them. "On the couch, the both of ya."
Jack looked at them as he motioned his arm towards the couch. "G'on now… I want to see a big ole cuddle puddle in the middle of that thing."
"Seriously old man?
"Seriously… Do I need to repeat myself? Or do you want me to go over there and carry you both? Hmm?" Jack threatened. "C'mon… Brainiac here assured me, on many occasions, that cooties don't actually exist—"
"They don't, Jack," Mac commented with a roll of his eyes as he sat down.
"See, Ri… C'mon now, scrunch on up together, your brother don't bite."
"Fine. We're sitting," Riley announced as she dropped herself onto the cushion right next to Mac. "Are you happy now?"
Sitting there like they were, side by side in matching pajamas and fuzzy socks, hair slightly askew from changing clothes, they both looked so damn young, and regret—for bringing them both into this life, for not protecting them—slammed into him.
"…No. Not in the least little bit," Jack answered quietly. "Shoulda never left you guys."
"Jack..."
He didn't respond to Mac saying his name, instead Jack dropped his head, closed his eyes as he silently berated himself for the slip. He blamed the exhaustion for his lack of usual control, soul deep from more than just months upon months of lack of proper sleep.
It was Riley's small hand wrapping around his and squeezing gently that brought him back.
"Jack…" He felt her small hand grip his, the call of his name soft and gentle and it was nearly his undoing.
He dragged his free hand down his face, using the moment to erase the emotions that showed on his face, and if the concern he saw in Riley's eyes when he gazed up at her was anything to go by, he had donedid a poor job.
"I'm fine," he told them. His voice warbled, giving away the lie that it was, and he cleared his throat, hoped he would be more convincing a second time.
"Really… Both of you, m'fine. I'm here to take care of you guys," Jack said.
"You're not fine, Jack," Mac retorted.
"Mac…"
Mac shook his head. "If you think that your being away for awhile means I can't read you anymore, big guy, your wrong. I know you're hurting, Jack. And not just from whatever injury has you—poorly—hiding a wince every time you move too quickly."
"That care goes both ways, you know," Riley added.
"I know it does, sweetheart. I know," Jack acknowledged, voice rough and barely above a whisper.
And he did. He was well aware of his family's care for him, the worry that plagued them while he had been away. It was why days, even weeks would pass between calls home. The passage of time was a physical pain that ached in the center of his chest, but Jack knew it was needed, necessary, to allow bruises to disappear, cuts to heal, and the shadows to fade from his eyes.
"I tell y'what, though, I'll make y'all a deal. Once we get you both free from the clutches of Skynet, y'all can mother hen me to your hearts' content," Jack said, because it was a when and not an if his kids would be cured, or rescued, or freed from the grasps of whatever, or whoever, thought it had been a good idea to go after his family in the first place.
"That includes a full-service trip to Phoenix Medical for you," Mac added, gaze serious and offering no room for compromise as he stared at him.
Jack's nod was immediate. "Of course," he agreed.
He knew that the doctors wouldn't find anything. The injuries Jack suffered from and that hurt the most wouldn't show up on any Xray or MRI. But he would comply, endure any exam his kids wanted him to have to ease the fear and concern he saw reflected at him.
For him.
The medicine and recovery he needed, that they needed, would not be found from any slings or plaster casts or bandages, but from the healing that only family could provide.
But they had a puzzle to solve and a mission to complete before they could relax and spend the time together that they all so desperately missed and wanted.
"So…," Riley dragged the word out as she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "We're sitting. Now what, Jack?"
"Now?" Jack repeats. "Nothing."
"Nothing? That's your grand plan? For us to do nothing?" Frustration lined every word, every muscle in Mac's body. Shoulders tense, jaw set, he ran his fingers roughly through his hair before he planted his hands on the couch cushion and shot to his feet.
"I'm not doing nothing, Jack," Mac growled. "I need to—"
"What you need to do is sit right back down, son," Jack said as he stepped in front of Mac.
There's too much Master Sargent Dalton in his voice he realized, one too many years of being in command not easily forgotten and blazing blue eyes stared back at him in the silence that followed.
He'd apologize later, after his kids were safe. But for now, if the authority in his voice made his former partner and best friend listen, then Jack had no regrets.
He could, however, soften his words. Make sure Mac didn't feel cornered or trapped. That wasn't Jack's intention at all, and he, more than anyone, was well aware that making Mac feel so will put him on the defensive and have the complete opposite effect of what Jack was trying to achieve.
"I know it's been more than a little while, and we're more than a tad bit out of step with each other," Jack drawled, the gentle, easy cadence to his voice hiding the uncharacteristic nervousness that fluttered in his stomach at the possible answer to his next words. "But do you trust me? Have I ever led you astray?"
"I trust you, Jack. Always."
There was no hesitation. The words were immediate and indisputable, and the butterflies that had taken up residence in Jack's gut flew away.
Mac closed his eyes for a moment as he inhaled a slow, deep breath. And like a wave receding from the shore, Jack watched as muscles uncoiled, shoulders dropped, and tight lines smoothed as Mac blew out the breath just as slowly.
"As for leading me astray… Well," Mac shrugged. Frustration still shone in his bright eyes, fear flicking around the edges that only years of knowing Mac allowed Jack to see. But there was mirth there now, and Jack crossed his arms lazily across his chest, smirk flitting at the corner of his mouth as he waited to see what Mac would say.
"I think events of Tokyo, Bangladesh, and my 21st birthday, to name just a few, are answer enough to that," Mac offered, a smirk of his own curling the side of his mouth.
Jack huffed out a laugh. "I will admit that Tokyo and Bangladesh might not 'a been among my brightest ideas—"
Mac snorted. "That's an understatement."
"But the events and outcome of your 21st?" Jack continued, acknowledging Mac's accusations. "I got this, Jack… Alcohol mixture is just simple science after all, Jack," he sing-songs. "That one's all on you, brother. I told you to listen to me."
"You were with Jack for your 21st! Dudes…" Riley looked at the two of them. "Why have I not heard about this before? That is definitely a story that needs telling."
"No. No, it really doesn't," Mac responded, and Jack looked down at her, mouthing the words I'll tell you later with a wink.
"How about I make up for that time," Mac said softly. "And listen to you now?"
"You ain't got nothing to apologize for, kid," Jack told him, voice thick with emotions. "You hear me?"
Mac nodded his head, the got it more Jack's ability to read lips than the words actually spoken.
"But how 'bout we do this? Try it my way, yeah?" Jack held out his fist and Mac reciprocated, closing his hand and bumping his knuckles up against his own. "You too, little lady. C'mon now."
Jack moved his arm over, shaking his hand a bit in front of Riley's face and she nodded her head with a soft answering, yeah, as she curled her fingers into a fist and bumped them against his own.
"Why don't you sit back on down, bud," Jack said, canting his chin at Mac and the couch behind him. He took a deep breath to re-center himself, taking a moment to find the words of wisdom that had been imparted on him years before.
"When you're trying to go the fastest is the time to slow down," Jack began.
"So, you're Confucius now, I see," Mac bantered as he sat back down.
"Don't think I've ever been that wise" Jack returned. "Or wise like my pops. He's the one said that to me, right before I left for Basic. 18-year-old me didn't understand it or appreciate it for that matter. Wasn't until I was halfway round the world, knee deep in the thick of it that it hit me what he meant. Grandad had a similar saying too, in order to go forward, sometimes you have to step back. My Delta drill instructor liked that one too."
Jack sighed as looked at his kids, both of them gazing up at him in rapt attention, trust in their eyes and seeking answers they believed he could give them. It took his breath away. Jack wished with all his heart he could do more to help them then just offer advice.
"I know you both need answers. That this is beyond important, and you need to solve this like, yesterday… I get it. I really do," Jack stressed. "But right now, you're tryin' too hard, pushin' too hard to remember whatever it is y'all have lost. That big, ginormous brain of yours, hoss, is spinning a million miles an hour and you both are all tangled in knots."
Jack stepped around the coffee table and lowered himself down onto the wooden surface in front of Mac and Riley, proud of himself for stifling the groan of pain that wanted to tumble out. Though if the twin looks of concern on his kids' faces was anything to go by, he'd done a poor job of keeping the discomfort from showing on his face.
"I'm not knockin' science and technology," he told them, waving off their hands that were reaching forward to no doubt check him over. "I've seen the incredible things the two of you can do with 'em. But the more you try to force yourself to remember? The more desperate and tied up in knots you get yourselves? The tighter those big ole brains of yours will hold onto stuff and not release their secrets."
"So… The Jack Dalton Way? Doing nothing…?" Riley asked.
Jack hummed as he nodded his head. "A way of recharging. Giving your minds time to reset. Like when you're tryin' to remember a song lyric all day and can't and all of sudden you bolt awake with a Yureka moment at 2am knowin' the entire line."
"Not remembering song lyrics? That never happens to me," Riley said, face scrunched, and voice raised in what Jack knew was mock confusion. "You ever had that problem, Mac?"
"No. Never," Mac admitted, one side of his mouth curled up in a smile as he looked at Jack.
"Must just be you, old man," Riley said, extending one of her legs and knocking her foot against Jack's knee.
"You two are a coupla comedians, aren't ya?" Jack said and shook his head with a chuckle.
His knees popped and his back cracked as he stood up and this time, he couldn't quite contain the groan as he rose to his feet.
"As soon as I get the two of you settled, I'll go on over and relax and rest in that there chair over there" Jack promised quickly, heading off the words he knew were coming. "But first… it's relaxing and rest time for the two of you. So, cuddle on up. Y'hafta be comfortable. Allow yourself to unwind so those hamster wheels will slow on down and let those big brains of yours reveal their secrets."
Jack leaned forward and grabbed the multi-colored blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. "I'm gonna cover you on up with Nana Dalton's afghan, then turn the TV on low and y'all are gonna close those peepers of yours."
He unfolded the afghan and gave it shake, spreading it out and tucking it around Mac and Riley.
The action brought back memories. Catapulted him back in time to movie marathons and long talks, to sleepless nights and a set of gentle hands tucking this same afghan around his younger self. It had always filled him with a sense of safety and security. Of love and the bonds of family. And he hoped it would give his kids the same.
He watched as Mac picked the remote up off the side table and pressed the red power button, the television coming to life and lighting up the room.
Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs… sounded from the speakers and Jack couldn't help the wide grin as he looked over his shoulder at the screen and then glanced down at Mac and Riley.
"Best movie to watch with family," Jack drawled as he started back at the television. "Been too long since I've seen my man Bruce's face."
"Well then, it's the perfect opportunity for you to go sit your battered and bruised body down on that chair over there, enjoy your manBruce, and get some rest yourself," Riley told him with a pointed look.
"I'll think I'll do just that," Jack responded with a wink. He tucked the afghan around Mac and Riley, smoothing it out one last time to make sure it covered every bit of them, leaning in and placing a kiss on Riley's forehead and ruffling Mac's hair while he was at it.
Jack crossed the room and carefully lowered himself onto the side chair, sinking into the cushion with a contented sigh. He could already feel his muscles relaxing, limbs loosening and he sagged deeper into the cushions.
He tipped his head back and allowed his eyes to slide closed. Exhaustion pulled at him. The fatigue much more than the accumulation of a multi-year mission's worth of too many sleepless nights. His weariness was soul-deep, and Jack would have liked nothing more than to give into its pull and fall into oblivion.
But Jack had more important matters to attend to before his own needs and wants.
He forced his eyes open, the effort expended in that simple act exhausting him further. He blinked his eyes against the grit and dryness that had already settled as he rolled his head towards the couch.
Mac's gaze met him when Jack focused back on his kids. His eyes were heavy, each blink coming a little longer than the one before it. They slowly slid shut and Jack's hope that he was finally sleeping were dashed an instant later when Mac's eyes immediately snapped back open.
Blue eyes stared straight at him, wide, unblinking, swimming with uncertainty and fear.
"Awww, kid." Time hadn't stolen his ability to read his best friend, to interpret the swirl and intensity of emotions in the gaze that greeted him, and Jack's heart clenched painfully in his chest.
Jack leaned forward, closing the distance between him and Mac. He peered around Mac's other side and glanced at Riley. She was leaning against his side, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder already fast asleep. A soft smile came to his lips as he looked at his little girl resting so peacefully and easily, and he lowered his voice so not wake her.
"I'll still be here when you wake up," Jack assured, as he locked gazes with his best friend. "M'not going anywhere, hoss."
"Promise?" Mac asked, quiet and hesitant and the lump of emotion that clogged Jack's throat nearly choked him.
"Promise, Angus," Jack declared, voice thick but his words unwavering. "I ain't gonna leave you kids. Not now. Not ever again."
And he wasn't.
Jack made it clear in debrief, to the Secretary of Defense, the gathered military brass, and the Commander in Chief himself that taking down Tiberius Kovac had been his very last mission. He was officially retiring from military service, done with campaigns and conflicts that took him away for years at a time.
If a ghost from his past resurfaced again, he would not be the one to chase them to the ends of the earth. He told them he would consult, offer his knowledge and guidance, but that was not his life any longer.
He had a new life. A new purpose. A new job. One that meant the world to him. One that was his world, and he wouldn't place them second again.
"'kay." Mac's eyes slid closed, his breathing slowed and evened out, and just like that he was asleep. Jack stared for a moment, once again overcome and close to tears that after all the silent time that, necessary or not, he allowed to pass between them that Jack's words still held weight.
That's Mac's faith in him was absolute.
Jack grabbed the remote off the side table, muting the sound on the television as he settled himself back in the side chair. Now that Mac and Riley were finally sleeping, he didn't want the sound of gunfire to seep into their subconscious and cause nightmares. And if he were being honest with himself, he didn't need it for himself either. Besides, he certainly didn't need sound to follow along and enjoy his favorite movie of all time.
The trill of an incoming text broke the silence and Jack quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, silencing the ringer while he swiped his thumb across the screen.
There was no picture that accompanied the message to identify the sender, Jack had his new crew of nerdlings remove any personal pictures from his phone to a separate secure location early on in his mission, but the Hun that flashed across his screen told him all he needed to know.
How are the kids?
Even though it had only been the span of a few moments, Jack looked over at the couch. Mac's head had fallen to the side in sleep, resting now on the top of Riley's. Deep, even breathes filled the space, punctuated by the occasional soft snore and snuffle.
Jack's heart overflowed with love at the sight. He closed out his text messages and tapped on his camera and snapped a quick picture before he gave the sit-rep the boss lady was looking for; because even though he wasn't currently an employee of the Phoenix, or anyone for that matter, she would always be boss lady to him.
Jack shut his camera and reopened his text message. Finally got 'em to sit down and get some sleep he tapped out.
That's good. They both need it.
Before Jack could respond with how he agreed with that statement another message came through.
As usual your Mac-radar is spot on and your timing is perfect. Mac and Riley really need you. We all do.
Jack scoffed as his fingers furiously typed out a response.
If my timing was all that perfect, I'd a arrived to stop whatever the hell happened from happenin' in the first place. Or never left at all.
His thumb hovered over the send button for a moment before he exhaled a deep sigh and erased everything he just wrote.
Guilt hounded him ever since James pulled him into his office and informed him that the military was recalling him to head up the task force to locate and eliminate Kovac. Effective immediately, with an as long as it takes release date.
The feeling he chose duty over his family added to the self-condemnation that he had broken promises he had vowed to keep for life.
The logic of knowing that by leaving he was protecting his family—did protect his family—from becoming pawns in the personal game of chess the battle between him and Tiberius became didn't soothe the hurt in his heart.
Jack's fingers hovered over the tiny keypad. There was a lot he wanted to say. A lot he needed the answers to.
What exactly were these nanobots?
Who was behind them, and just how dangerous were they?
How the hell did they let his kids get infected by them?
And right up on that list of questions Jack needed answers to was why was Russ Fuckin Taylor the new head of Phoenix?
But Jack knew all of those questions, and the dozens of others he had, would be best answered in person. Accompanied with a tumbler of the top shelf whiskey Matty kept hidden for just these types of serious conversations.
Instead, Jack kept his response simple and to the point. Honest.
I'm glad I'm home too.
He placed his phone on the side table and grabbed the television remote as he settled back into the chair.
Jack let his eyes fall closed as he inhaled a slow, deep breath and held it for a count of four, exhaling just as slowly.
He repeated the process. Every inhale a bit easier than the last. Every exhale boxing away the problems he had no answers to, the troubling thoughts that kept sleep a distant memory, and peeled away the darkness he once again had to slip into to match wits and stop a madman.
Each cleansing breath pushed them all further away. Locked them down tight for another time and place until all that remained was the one thing most important.
Overwatch slipped back around him like an old friend. Brought with it a sense of contentment and fulfillment, of peace that he was giving instead of the taking he spent so much of life doing.
He could see Mac and Riley clearly in his periphery, their reflection in the television screen in front of him essentially giving him a front row view. The corner position of the chair allowed him full field of vision to the windows that surrounded them and the front door just beyond the entrance way to the room.
Nothing and nobody was getting close to his kids.
The credits to Die Hard were rolling across the screen as he turned his attention back to the television and he flipped through the channels, automatically stopping on a nature documentary.
And quickly changed the channel as the narrator excitedly began explaining how Octopuses have nine brains. Jack had enough on his plate at the moment to have to worry about octopuses—or was it octopi? he thought—rising up and taking over civilization.
That was a conversation he'd bring up at a later time when a certain nerd needed to be riled up and pulled out of his head.
After a few more flips through the channels, he settled on a football game. It wasn't his beloved Cowboys, and it certainly wasn't a current game, but it was a little slice of normal that Jack needed.
A sudden gasp broke the peace and Jack's attention immediately snapped to the couch.
Mac bolted awake. The blanket that covered him fell away, pooling at his hips as he sat ramrod straight on the couch. His only movement the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he sucked in breath after breath from his open mouth.
More than anything, Jack wanted to reach out. To wrap Mac in a hug, comfort and console him from whatever demons had startled him awake. But Jack had been in the game long enough to know what a dangerous move that would be.
That didn't mean, though, that Jack's hands didn't grip the arms of the chair, blunt nails scratching into the fabric to kept himself from moving.
He made himself call out instead. Pitched his voice into a calm he didn't feel as he tried to get his best friend's attention.
"Mac…Hey...You're safe, Mac. I need you to look right on over here, at me, bud. Can you do that for me, Mac?"
Mac's head slowly turned to the side.
"…Jack?"
The uncertainty in his voice, in the wide, blue eyes that stared back at him, like Mac questioned what he was seeing was real, broke Jack's heart.
"Yeah, Mac… I'm real. I'm right here and I'm not goin' nowhere," Jack assured as he leaned forward, still not touching, but closing the distance between them.
Mac blinked a couple times. His eyes cleared, sureness and certainty shining bright and he nodded his head.
"I got it," Mac declared.
Before Jack could clarify what Mac got, that knew Jack was real or a solution to their current predicament, Riley's sleepy voice sounded. Hair askew and rubbing tired eyes with the back of her hand, she sat up and looked between the both of them. Jack couldn't help but smile, the image bringing back memories of a young Riley and early school mornings.
"Hey… what's going on? Mac? Jack? Everything okay?"
"Yeah… Riles, sorry. Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Mac apologized. "But I got it. Jack… you were right. It worked. Resetting, recharging? It work. I figured it out."
"Getting rid of the nanobots?" Riley asked hopefully. "You have a way of getting rid of them?"
"Well now, course he does," Jack confirmed. "Never had a doubt he wouldn't figure somethin' out. And, so you both know, we'll be revisiting that Jack you were right in the near future. But for now… you wanna share with the class, hoss?"
"You're not gonna like it," Mac warned. He glanced down briefly at Riley before looking back at Jack and locking gazes with him.
There was none of the playfulness or teasing that always occupied that well-worn phrase that Mac must have said hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of times to him since they met.
There was only seriousness. The words heavy and grave as they hung in the air.
A Bad or Worse plan.
A Hail Mary to save the two of them.
"I guess it's status quo for us then, brother," Jack drawled.
Because it was.
Last ditch, eleventh-hour plans had been their specialty.
Mac was the brains, and he was the muscle. Protecting his kid while he got his genius on.
From the bad guys.
If needed, from himself.
And Jack was back.
Back where he belonged. Back where he was meant to be.
He would stand sentry over his kids. He would keep them safe while they worked the problem, while they freed themselves from the things implanted in them, that were trying to control them.
He would stand beside them. Stand in front of them. Shield and protect them.
Do anything that needed to be done to ensure they were safe.