Mac woke early the following morning, pleased that he actually felt well rested. He'd had the strangest dreams, and he could only remember bits and pieces of them, but he thought they'd been nice ones.

He rolled over and groaned a little. He was still pretty beat up, and could feel the pull of stitches on several of the knife wounds that had been inflicted on him in that cave.

"What the hell?" he grumbled, peeling his eyes open, only to find his room empty. Was he not remembering right that Cas had been going to heal him? He felt clear headed and really well other than the cuts and bruises, which was a big improvement over yesterday, no question.

He took a deep breath, doing a sort of mental inventory of his memories of the previous twenty-four hours or so and assessing his surroundings.

Still in a hospital room, still hooked up to an IV, still feeling mildly like he'd gotten in a fight with a pissed off honey badger. But, his brain didn't feel like it was trying to turn itself inside out, he'd slept unbelievably well, and at some point he couldn't quite put his finger on, he'd lost all the monitors he'd been wired up with.

He wondered where Jack had gotten to. Then he noticed Jack's black leather jacket was still hanging over the back of the chair next to his bed, so his partner couldn't have gotten far. A moment or two later he heard the familiar voice cheerfully flirting with at least three different people as Jack made his way down the hall. Mac adjusted his bed to sitting and grinned at Jack's look of surprise when he walked in with a drink carrier and brown paper bag.

"Hey, Jack," he greeted with a smile.

"Mornin', sunshine," Jack returned, smiling but with one eyebrow raised. He set down the drink carrier and pried one of the coffee cups out of it and held it out to Mac.

Mac took it with a nod of thanks. "I don't suppose there's breakfast in that bag, is there? The food here is … hospital flavored."

Jack chuckled to himself. The kid waking up with an appetite, not to mention his sense of humor, was his best indication that Cas had been as successful as he'd seemed certain of last night. Jack opened the bag and fished a Boston Creme donut out of the bag and passed it to Mac.

Mac beamed and took a huge, slightly messy bite. "Thanks, man," he said around a mouthful of donut.

Regardless of Jack's lingering concerns, Mac looked bright eyed and ready to take on the world. "How you feelin' this morning, pal?" he asked casually, taking a drink of his own coffee.

Mac swallowed his second bite of donut with a gulp of coffee. "Good. I mean … I thought Cas was going to take care of me being all dinged up, too, but none of that's too bad I guess. And otherwise, I'm totally fine." He waited for a second, wondering if Jack would contradict him, but Jack just grinned and got a glazed donut out of the bag for himself.

"Good. That's what I was hoping to hear."

He took a bite and chewed slowly, waiting to see if Mac would start his expected litany of reasons why they should get out of here but Mac just kind of gave him an odd look and finished his donut.

Finally Jack offered, "Cas can heal everything else up, no sweat, as soon as you get discharged and we go back to the motel to get our stuff but … He was more worried about the stuff going on in your head and … Sam made the very good point that explaining miracle wound erasure is always a complication that makes the papers. And making the papers …"

"Isn't exactly ideal for a couple of guys in our line of work. Makes perfect sense." He eyeballed the paper bag. "Got any more glazed in there? That smells really good." He tipped his chin at the donut Jack was finishing.

"Sure, bud," he replied, handing Mac the bag this time and letting him pick through the contents.

He was starting to feel a little more skeptical of Mac's good spirits. The kid still looked like he'd been through a meat grinder and Jack knew it made sense not to heal those visible wounds until Mac got out of here the more traditional way, but that didn't mean he had to like it. And he didn't want Mac to do his usual 'pretend everything's great' routine if he wasn't really okay enough to make it safely to where Cas and the Winchesters were waiting. Not that Mac was showing any of the signs, but the kid had been known to play the game just long enough to lull those looking after him into a false sense of security.

Instead of a glazed, his partner came up with a chocolate frosted, with sprinkles, and started eating it, grinning like a twelve year old. "Thanks for breakfast Jack. Beats the hell out of tepid fake scrambled eggs, which is all they seem to serve here, if I'm remembering the last couple of mornings accurately. Three days, right?" he asked, seeming only vaguely curious if his brain was giving him accurate information.

Jack agreed, "Yeah, this is day four actually."

Mac nodded, taking another drink of coffee. That actually lined up with his memories. The first "day" had really been the night they'd brought him in though. He gave Jack another small smile, thinking if he was inflating the time Mac had been here in his head by calling emergency treatment in the middle of the night a whole day, he was definitely in helicopter parent mode, and no amount of angel promises were going to get him out of it.

Mac would have to do the work himself of letting Jack know all was well. He started with a reassuring smile and was about to just lay all those thoughts out for Jack, but Jack interrupted before he could say anything.

Jack finally had to ask. "Alright, kid, what gives? You haven't asked me for your bag, or when you can get out of here ... I half expected to come back from running across the street for provisions to find you ransacking the room for clothes."

"You think the doctor is going to be down with letting me out of here this morning?"

Mac looked a little hopeful. He figured Jack would know where the doctor's head was at relative to his condition. He was sure Jack had been bugging her about it incessantly. Also, from what he remembered, she was on the conservative side, treatment-wise and he hadn't let himself get as far as hoping he'd get out of here today, mostly because he hadn't figured out how to talk her into it yet.

"Because, that'd be great. It's probably early enough to get a flight home later … And … What?" he asked, brow knitted, and almost glaring at his partner.

Jack was laughing softly. "I think we need to get Cas back in here. I'm pretty sure you're possessed."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mac asked, but he was grinning at Jack's expression.

"You know exactly what I mean, kid. You're usually in such a tear to get out of one of these places you don't even wait for the bleeding to stop before you're half out the door, arguing with anyone who gets in your way until they rage quit the conversation, up to and including me."

Mac shook his head as though he thought Jack was exaggerating terrible, despite knowing that was actually reasonably accurate. "I'm never even close to that bad."

Jack gave him the look. The one that said he probably had video footage to prove his point. Then he winked.

"Seein' you just eatin' your breakfast … all agreeable about the idea of being let loose on someone else's time table … You gotta give me that it's at least a little strange even."

Mac shrugged, giving Jack a small smile. "I'm just not that worried about it I guess. I mean, you already said Cas is willing to heal up the rest of this when I get out … I don't want to draw too much attention to myself here, like you said, and I don't know … I mean, I want to leave, of course, but …" He frowned for a second. "It's just not bothering me to be here. Which I guess is a little weird."

He shrugged again.

Jack sat back, contemplating his partner for a minute. "Do you remember anything about last night?" he asked gently.

Mac shook his head, chewing his lip for a second. "Not really … Just that I felt … Safe. Happy. Not worried about anything. I felt like …" He took a deep breath. "I felt like I haven't felt since I was a little kid. And I still sort of do. Just good, you know, like it's all gonna work out."

Jack was still giving him a very speculative look, but it didn't look overly worried or anything, just a little uncertain, and somewhat pleased. Jack handed Mac a napkin. "I'm glad."

He didn't say anything for a few minutes, just turned on the TV for the local news while they both worked on finishing their coffee. The broadcast revealed first, that the cold snap that had been plaguing the area had lifted and it was expected to be sunny and in the sixties.

The local schools had been and would remain closed for at least the rest of the week due to a fugitive at large in the community who had been targeting children. Parents were advised to supervise their kids closely until more information was available from the authorities. That segued into the story about the missing persons, the children being recovered, a consultant who had apparently been hired by one of the affected families being injured in that operation, and the woman responsible having apparently fled the area.

Jack glanced at Mac, wondering what he was making of the news. It didn't appear he was really paying much attention. He was half smiling to himself, looking out the window. He'd picked up one of the paperclips Jack had left on his bedside table and was absently bending it, looking thoughtful, forehead creasing and smoothing with the tide of ideas. He realized Jack was near to staring at him and he grinned.

"That's all good. Very solid explanations people can accept. And it makes our being here totally unremarkable. Families in crisis frequently hire outside consultants when they're unhappy with local law enforcement's results."

Jack grinned. "I didn't think you were payin' any attention to that."

Mac rolled his eyes. "Since when do I ever not pay attention to relevant information?"

Jack's smile slipped a little. "Mostly just the last couple of days, but …"

"I'm really okay, Jack. Great even." He paused, giving Jack a familiar almost mischievous sideways grin of his own, before tossing Jack the paperclip he'd bent into the shape of an angel wing. "Well, I will be, once I get on the right side of the front doors of this place."

"There he is," Jack chuckled.

Mac's grin turned a little sheepish. "I said it wasn't bothering me, not that I was having fun, Jack."

Jack tilted his head to one side. "Want me to go drum up the doc and see if she's feeling agreeable this morning?"

Mac shrugged, thinking he'd prefer sooner to later, but she seemed like the sort who would dig in her heels if she was annoyed. "I'm sure she'll be around. But … if you wanted to get me my clothes … that'd be cool."

Jack felt something inside of him relax. Mac was back, same as always. Well, maybe not the same. Something had definitely changed last night. But it clearly wasn't a bad thing. "I've got your bag in the car," Jack replied, getting up to go retrieve it.

Mac looked just slightly indignant as he reached for the bag of donuts and fished another one out. "And you didn't just bring it in, because ..?"

"Because I know you," Jack said with a little smirk and shake of his head. "Since we seem to be encountering the reasonable version of Angus MacGyver this morning, I'll go get it."

Mac snickered, taking a bite of his third donut. He didn't miss Jack's approving look at his appetite, and he sort of wanted to say if donuts from outside were the normal breakfast option when he was stuck in one of these places Jack would never have to worry about him eating. Crappy eggs he could handle. The ones in MREs were barely identifiable as food, but at least the Army seemed to know it and supplied plenty of Tabasco packets to hide them under. In a Hospital, you were lucky if they'd give you ketchup. Besides, he thought Jack's assertion that dough fried in Texas just tasted better might be accurate.

The doctor, an altogether motherly woman who was maybe ten years older than Jack came in just as he was going out. She tried to look disapproving as Mac swallowed his bite of donut with some now-tepid coffee. "That's against the rules you know, young man," she said, sounding prepared to instruct him as to why.

Jack laughed as he walked down the hall after hearing Mac's answer.

"Doc, I know you've mostly seen me half asleep, but well-rested, I've gotta warn you … the one thing I really suck at is following rules."

0-0-0

"Thanks, Cas," Mac said, holding out his hand after the angel removed the rest of Mac's injuries with a light touch over his heart.

Ignoring Mac's offered hand, Castiel pulled him into a bone crushing hug. "Coming back here after you have seen Heaven is one of the most difficult things a soul can be asked to do. You are very brave, Angus. I'm sorry … Mac. I will try harder to remember to …"

"Don't worry about it, Cas. You call me whatever you want." Mac offered a small smile, showing he really was sincere and not just trying to let Cas off the hook.

Cas stepped back from Mac, eyes searching his face for a moment. "You are truly well, then, Mac."

Mac smiled a little. "Yeah, Cas, I believe I am."

"Winchesters!" Cas said, clearly pleased, spinning to look at Sam and Dean, who were both leaning against one of the fenders of Dean's car. "Your carelessness has not done any permanent harm to our new friend. I am no longer angry with you on Mac's behalf."

Mac laughed a little at that, and heard Jack's soft laughter from beside him.

"That makes one of us, Cas," Jack said, pretended hardness in his voice.

Dean still looked appropriately chagrined as he took the few steps to get to a conversational distance with his cousin and his partner. He made brief eye contact with Jack, then looked at Mac seriously. "I'm sorry I got you involved, Mac."

Mac extended his hand, this time pretty sure he could count on not receiving an unexpected hug. "Thanks, but … I'm good. Seriously. I think …" He paused, frowning just a little. "I think I'm glad this happened. I can't say why exactly … Just little things keep coming to me and … I'm just … good."

He shrugged helplessly. Mac really liked being able to explain himself. But whenever he started to try to put words to the things he remembered both from La Llorona holding him captive and from … well, from Heaven … it just didn't seem important to explain oir if it did, he couldn't find adequate words.

And he still had that inexplicable feeling that everything was going to work out in the end. He just had to keep doing what he did, keep being who he was, and maybe, just maybe, letting go of the stuff that wasn't so great. That might take some practice, but he was willing to try.

Dean shook his hand warmly, then led Jack a short distance away for a private conversation. Sam grinned at Mac. "You know he's giving Jack the 'I know things seem fine but keep a close eye on that kid because angels don't really understand humans' talk right now."

Mac shook his head. "I wonder if they realize how much alike they are."

Cas stepped between them. "Probably about as much as you two realize that you have much in common."

Mac grinned. "You mean a couple of nerds who love research and like evidence and get driven to distraction by overprotective big brother types? Nah, I hadn't noticed any similarities."

Sam snickered. "Yeah, details like that are always getting by me, too, Cas."

Cas turned to face them and narrowed his eyes at both of them, not quite smiling. "You just did a sarcasm. Both of you."

It wasn't supposed to be a question, but they could both hear it. Mac laughed. "Yes. We did. Good catch."

Cas grinned and then he was gone.

"You ever get used to that?" Mac asked with a little shake of his head, almost like he needed to clear it.

"Nope," Sam shrugged. "But you do learn to just assimilate it as part of reality after a while. Like a lot of other things we've seen."

Mac nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't have believed it, but I think I'm already getting there."

Jack and Dean rejoined them then and friendly goodbyes were exchanged all around.

Jack and Mac walked toward their waiting vehicle. As Mac climbed in he asked with a smirk, "So did Dean give you the 'keep an eye on him' lecture Sam warned me about."

Jack just laughed.

"Like I need a Winchester to tell me how to look out for you, brother."

0-0-0

Matty was in full flower, firing repeated questions at Jack. Mac widened his eyes at his partner across the table, raising an eyebrow as he reached for another paperclip. "Wow," he mouthed. She was taking the lack of apprehending any suspect in a case Phoenix had been asked to consult on rather personally.

"You seriously mean to tell me that you let another suspect that kidnapped and tortured your partner get away?"

Mac didn't think he'd ever heard Matty sound more disapproving in his life. Jack was starting to look really uncomfortable, too. Everybody picked on Mac, saying he was a terrible liar. Thing was, Mac was actually a damned good liar, when he wanted to be. You had to be to be a spy. Usually, so was Jack. But when it came to putting one over on Matty, Mac was the pro. He figured he'd better step in before she really got personal and pushed Jack's red line, or their story just started to fall apart under scrutiny.

"Matty … The only two local cops we had with us had their hands full with the kids she'd cut loose and Jack was kind of busy trying to keep me from bleeding to death, so it's not like anyone could chase down the suspect."

Her glare transferred to him. Her tone was pure accusation. "And you."

Mac's eyes went just a little wide. "Um … yeah?"

"Letting yourself get pinched! Practically getting yourself killed! This is becoming a ridiculously bad habit, MacGyver."

"I … um … sorry?" he said tentatively.

"And what are you two even doing back here already? Shouldn't you still be in the hospital? Or did you just bribe or irritate them into letting you go? Maybe I should just send you to Medical. Maybe if you're there for a couple of days we can avoid having anyone get taken hostage for a minute. And maybe you'll think twice before you do something so careless again!" Her genuine concern was ratcheting up her irritation.

Mac let out a breath. He should have kept his mouth shut. Now that he'd spoken and Matty was focused on him, she was wearing that angry babysitter face that he really hated. "I'm fine, Matty. And I didn't so much as step a toe out of bed until the doctor in Texas said it was okay. I wasn't being careless. I was just focused on those missing kids and this woman got the drop on me. You can't possibly still be holding the Murdoc thing against me. He jumped me in my own home."

"I'm just doing my job, looking out for my agents," she said with eyes narrowed at him.

"Well, you're making it sound like sending your people to Medical is either a punishment or a deterrent … or maybe both. Which I sort of suspected before now, but that seems kind of …"

"My only option with you two!" she snapped. Then she went back to questioning Jack about every aspect of the mission, ending about forty minutes later with a practically growled, "And now I'm going to have the two of you out of commission for weeks! I ought to make it without pay!"

"Weeks? We're back, ready to work, Director Webber." Jack gave her a very charming smile.

"And I'm likely to let an agent recovering from hemorrhagic shock just go galavanting all over the planet," she replied with heavy sarcasm.

Mac just looked at Jack and shook his head. There wasn't any way around an enforced vacation without having to explain why it wasn't necessary.

"Well, I suppose that's wise, there Matty, but we could take on local things, free up another team for the more excitin' stuff and …"

"Why aren't you freaking out, Jack?" Matty's eyes narrowed further.

"Huh?" Jack took on the look of a deer caught in headlights on a dark road at midnight.

"Your partner was abducted and tortured for the second time this year. This time he was in real danger of death from blood loss. And you just march back in here like nothing happened? After Murdoc grabbed him, you slept at Mac's house for a week and practically followed him to the bathroom for a month."

Mac was just trying to keep eye contact with Jack and giving almost imperceptible head shakes and non-verbal 'stick to the story' encouragement.

"I … um …" Jack began.

"What really happened in Texas? Because I know you're full of it. And I knew it before you acted weird about Mac's injury, which I'm assuming is even worse than the medical records the hospital sent over since even you're trying to cover up for Blondie."

She glared at both of them.

"You let a dangerous maniac slip right through your fingers! And it happened because nothing about this mission was on the up and up! Officers Tom Baker and Matt Smith not only don't work for the Los Reyes PD, but they don't exist. Those names belong to a couple of guys who've starred in Doctor Who. Who were those guys, why'd you really go to Texas, and what the hell really happened? I want answers. Now! Or I will split up this team. If your lucky. Maybe I'll just fire you!"

Jack swallowed hard.

Mac jumped in before Jack could speak, going in with the best defense he could think of, which was attacking Matty's indignant position.

"Jack's not covering up anything and you know it. You've seen my hospital records, I'm sure. Besides … We didn't just take off, you gave us the assignment! How were we supposed to know Baker and Smith weren't the real deal?" he finished, hoping he was matching her indignant accusatory tone.

From her expression he thought he'd done alright, then she said, "Like I believe a full blown geek like you didn't recognize a Doctor Who reference."

Mac inhaled, trying to think of something to say.

Then Jack just blurted. "Those guys are my cousins. And that 'woman' was a ..."

"Oh, Jack, don't," Mac said almost under his breath.

Jack either didn't hear him or couldn't stop himself. "Demon or something. Like for real Matty. All those little kids we rescued were possessed and that ... thing ... she didn't just cut on Mac, she drank his blood. She killed a couple people doin' too."

"Jack Wyatt Dalton," Matty said with a clear warning.

"I swear, Matilda, it's true," Jack said in his most earnest, all or nothing voice. "And Mac was in a real bad way, but he managed to make this trap that stuck her to one spot and my cousins they did a spell and locked her up in some kinda magic box thing, and we got Mac to the hospital, but the thing, she's gotten in his head and messed with his mind, with his soul, Matty. I swear I don't think I've ever been more scared in my entire life."

Now Matty's eyes were searching Jack's face and her frown transformed from angry to truly worried. She glanced at Mac, but he just looked away, fidgeting with the paperclip in his hands. He couldn't say stuff like this out loud. It still just sounded so crazy.

"So," Matty said carefully, a slight quaver in her voice which told Mac they were at a very dangerous point in this conversation. "If he was that badly off, what's he doing here, out of the hospital, with you pushing for the two of you to be able to stay on the duty roster?"

"My cousins' friend is an angel and he healed him. First he let him have a peek at Heaven and his mom to heal up his mind and then he healed the rest of the stuff after the doctor let him go this morning. We didn't think it'd be a real good idea to heal up the visible stuff at the hospital because that woulda meant questions and …"

"MacGyver?" Matty began, her voice a strange combination of concerned friend and irritated supervisor. "What the hell is he talking about?"

Mac swallowed. Then he puffed out a long breath through his cheeks. He wanted to back Jack up, didn't want Matty to even think about separating them or worse, kicking them out of Phoenix, but he found saying out loud, yeah I saw my mom in heaven after a demon tried to kill me and then an angel fixed me all up, was not something he could force himself to do. Not if he could avoid it.

He tossed his most recent paper clip sculpture on the table. "Look, Matty. Some bad things happened. As much as I'd like to tell you about them, it feels to personal. You know the mission critical parts. So, unless you force the issue, I'm just going to say that I can neither confirm nor deny Agent Dalton's version of events."

Her expression wavered somewhere between a smile and a frown. He leaned forward. "You saw the police photographs of my injuries, right?"

"Yes, Mac, I did. And I read the clinical reports from your care team."

"Good," he smirked and rolled up his right sleeve, all the way to his bicep. "So you know how badly I was cut?"

She nodded and he extended his arm and turned it over.

"How in the hell ..?" She looked from his perfectly smooth arm to his slightly smiling face that conveyed both sympathy at how hard this was to believe and amusement at her sudden discomfort. He couldn't tell if she was more uncomfortable with having to let Jack off the hook, or the fact that he'd more or less just said, oh hey, angels are totally real. "You had a scar from explosive shrapnel on this arm. I've heard that Christmas story and seen it."

Mac grinned openly now, rolling his sleeve back down. "Yeah, well, Cas maybe got a little over enthusiastic. He kinda likes me."

Jack smiled at Mac. He could appreciate that the kid wanted to avoid saying anything he didn't have to, but even what he managed took a yard of guts, based on his past relationship with Matty and her constantly calling him into question.

"Cas?" she began. "You know what I don't want to know." She gave them both a hard look. "Something tells me you two are up to something. But I do know I can't tell Oversight you fought a demon and had a little vacation to Heaven."

She stared at them for a long minute.

Mac started to get fidgety again, reached out for a paper clip, and then just let it drop when she widened her eyes at him.

"Here's how we are handling this," she said calmly. "If this case gets called up for Oversight review, you will tell them exactly what you told me … In. Your. Original. Report. Is that clear?"

Jack only nodded, but Mac managed, "Yes, ma'am."

"You are taking a week off, wherein I do not want to so much as receive a text from either of you. No coming in to the lab. No showing up at the gym. No coming to this side of the city. And definitely no interacting with other Phoenix employees."

Mac swallowed hard this time. "Um … Matty … I live with Bozer. It's not gonna be like I can …"

"You are not to breathe a word of this insane story to Wilt Bozer. I'll send him on a field assignment. If it wraps up before your enforced R&R is over you are going to let him go full Mama Bear on you from perfectly chilling your gingerale to making you his mother's chicken soup. He knows you were hurt and he's been beside himself. You're going to let him get it out of his system. Understood?"

Mac cringed a little and sighed, but nodded and repeated, "Yes, ma'am."

"Jack?"

"I … um … Yes, ma'am," he agreed, thinking Bozer would be even harder to lie to than Matty, but that it was probably for the best, at least if Mac agreed to it. That would remain to be seen. Mac didn't keep much of anything from Boze, especially since Murdoc had blown his cover.

"Before you come back to work after this week off, you will report to Medical and let them run every lab known to man so Oversight can see for themselves that you're fit for duty. Agreed?"

Mac hesitated. "Um … If I go to Medical… how are we explaining that I'm not still healing and stitched up like Frankenstein?"

She glared at him. It was a good point. She considered it for a moment.

"You've been trying to convince them of your miraculous healing powers for years. You'll just have to double down," she finished a little smugly. "You. Labs. Oversight happy. Yes?"

Mac sighed and nodded. "Fine."

"Good." Matty nodded, looking almost pleased with her solution, but also looking like maybe she was getting a monster headache, too.

Jack and Mac exchanged a look. Silence started to draw out.

Finally Matty snapped. "Go home then! Get out of here! Before I change my mind and decide you both need a psych workup that'll keep you out of the field for a month."

"Yes, ma'am!" Mac practically leapt up and headed for the door, and Jack quickly followed.

Jack turned around at the last moment, "Are you sure you want both of us out of the office for …"

Mac pulled on Jack's arm. "Let's just get out of here, Jack, before she adds anything else to the list."

As their chatter faded down the hall, Matty sighed.

She didn't know quite what to make of their story. It was obviously a wild fabrication but … Mac's not just injury-free but scar-free arm made her heart flutter just a little. It leant a distressing credibility to another one of the team's wild post mission justifications.

She'd had about enough for the day, and they were the last team she needed to check in with. She was going to go home and have a very stiff drink, and just try to forget their crazy-assed story.

She tucked a few papers into a folder and stood.

The light glinting off one of Mac's bent paper clips caught her eyes. He'd littered the table with about thirty of them during the debrief. She reached out and picked it up.

It was an angel wing. All of them were.

She sighed again, before tucking one of them into her pocket.

Make that two drinks, she thought.

~ End ~