Mac sat in the chair next to the exam table, waiting. It was deliberate, though not what he'd been instructed to do.

He'd already put up with Sully, her newest trainee, and jumping through more than the usual hoops. He wasn't going to get caught swinging his feet like a kid for the second time. When Sully had returned, unannounced, with a strep swab and flu test (which he absolutely hated because one was like being waterboarded and the other just made him want to throw up), he'd appreciated that she'd ditched the new guy to get the specimens herself. What he didn't appreciate was her poorly concealed smirk. She'd completed her tormentor's duties, told him to stay put, gone out the door, then leaned back inside to say, 'Stay!' Like he was a goddamned puppy.

Now he sat, slouched in the chair, glancing at his watch every little while, annoyed Steve hadn't been in yet.

He'd been annoyed for a while anyway. He reflected on his conversation with Oversight on the flight home. For his own part, Mac had been pretty forthright.

"I've been having a hard time kicking a throat infection for a couple weeks. Not the sort of thing I thought I was expected to report up the chain though. Medical is aware."

"Then why haven't I seen the report?"

"I don't know." And he didn't. He and Steve were friends, sure, but that had never stopped the doctor from doing his job, regardless of what Mac might have preferred. Then Mac hadn't been able to help himself. "He's probably racking his brain for a reasonable plan of care since someone basically needs to be dead for us to get a day off lately. Rest and recovery from minor illnesses hasn't exactly been a priority."

"You and I both know this isn't a recent issue, Angus."

"In the grand scheme of things, it's extremely recent."

"Angus, don't start—"

"Look, I know it's come up before. But it hasn't in a long time. And I'm taking care of it."

"Long time? I seem to recall the incident with Murdoc holding you captive and my subsequent orders being ignor—"

Mac interrupted again, his tone taking on an edge. "Catching an infection after being kidnapped, tortured, and escaping through a sewer isn't related even a little. And it never would have happened at all if I hadn't been trying to track you down through Professor Quesnel to begin with." Mac took a breath. That wasn't the point, and he wasn't going to let their relationship enter into this discussion, even though that's what he was being baited to do. "But regardless, no medical advice I got from anyone qualified said I needed surgery then."

"And what about now?"

"What about it?" Mac practically growled.

"Do you consider Dr. Rodgers a qualified medical professional?"

Mac took a breath before answering. "Steve is a great doctor. Not bad back-up in the field either."

"Excellent. And when he tells you you need a tonsillectomy? What then?"

Mac's teeth ground together and Jack gave him a look, clearly wondering what Oversight had said to him on the phone. Mac took another measured breath. "He's not a specialist," Mac hedged. "But, if that's what he says, he and I will discuss it."

"Angus, there's no 'if' here, and there's nothing to discuss."

"While I may work for the government, I didn't believe I was government property even when I was a green recruit on the bus to Basic. So, no matter what Steve says, it will be a discussion."

"One that as Oversight, I'll be involved in."

"No. You won't. Unless it's something directly related to a mission, you can't make anything that goes on in Medical an order. No matter how much you might want to."

"Angus," his father began in a very familiar tone, so Mac interrupted tersely.

"Did you need something else, sir?"

A long pause followed his question.

"Not at this time, Agent MacGyver. Report to Medical when you arrive."

The, "Yes, sir," had implied a sarcastic salute, although that hadn't been the hand gesture he'd used as he'd set his phone down. Jack had laughed.

Sitting in Medical now, he wished he'd taken Jack up on his offer of company once they'd gotten back. Then again, he could deal with a little boredom now to have his partner running interference to keep Oversight as far from this department as humanly possible so he could have a private conversation with the doctor.

Finally the perfunctory tap at the door, followed by the not-quite-awkwardly tall, dark Dr. Rodgers, entering without waiting for an invitation. "Hey, Mac," he said mildly. Mel thinks you're dying."

It took Mac a second to process that he meant Sully. "What'd I do to her this time?" he grinned slightly.

"Apparently you didn't give her enough shit."

Mac shook his head, amused. "If she wants a hard time, I've got nowhere to be."

Steve laughed. "That might be kind of fun for me, but she said you even willingly coughed up a blood sample for the CBC I ordered without talking to me about it first. And you let her newbie do the poking."

Mac shrugged. "The kid's gotta practice on someone's veins and from the way Sully and the rest of the crew down here bitch about it, I figure mine are the worst. He didn't do too bad either. Only had to stick me twice, and only because he didn't listen and use my hand the first time."

Steve cocked his head. "Why are you grinning about an unnecessary bruise courtesy of a sharp object?"

"Because Sully told me that to give him a good reason to do the job right, for every extra stick I get a free revenge prank. Be good to remind your nurses that I'm no one to cross."

They shared a laugh. "Well, that explains what incentivized your cooperation." Mac grinned again. "You're negative for flu and strep, which we'll take as the good news of the evening."

"What's the bad news?" Mac asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I haven't even examined you yet. How would I know?"

"You've got your bad news face on. The one you save for telling Jack he needs a bunch of shots."

Steve chuckled. "We'll, for starters you have a fever. Not bad. But that's cropped back up with this last couple sore throats."

Mac nodded. He had pulled his jacket back on after they'd taken his vitals and finished the blood draw. He hadn't asked, but Sully had patted his shoulder and asked if he wanted an extra pillow while he waited, instead of teasing him about trying to avoid being jabbed any more. He'd figured that meant something was off. "And?" Mac prompted.

Steve's expression creased into something between amusement and irritation.

"And why do you look like that bugs you almost as much as it bugs me?"

"Because he's not your goddamned doctor," he said with a little bit of heat.

"I've never seen you snap into your attending physician persona. It's kinda scary," Mac joked.

"Yeah, well, boss or not if Oversight walks in here and tried to decide how any of this goes for either one of us, especially my patient, he's going to find out what it's like to hear that tone when I'm not friends with someone."

"Oh no, you've caught helicopter parentitis from Jack."

Steve shook his head. "No. But I'm good at my job and apart from being friends outside Phoenix, I think we've worked damned hard to have a good doctor patient relationship, too."

"I think so, too."

Steve smiled, genuinely pleased. "I don't want whatever it is that's between you two following you into my exam room. You know?"

Mac nodded and stood, slipping out of his jacket and hopping up onto the exam table without being asked. "Then let's get to your professional opinion of the mess my throat is before he shows up, Doc."