The morning came around quickly and Mac awoke alone for the first time, he quickly checked his wrists and ankles, sure they would be secured, no, he was still free to move around. That seemed strange if he wanted to maybe he could just leave. Although where would he go, he didn't have anyone, and he was sure these people would find him and drag him back if he ran off. He went to relieve himself, shocked that there was blood in his urine, his kidney injury was obviously getting worse. He should probably tell someone; they'd be mad if they found he'd kept it to himself.

Dr Fray was waiting for him when he returned to the room and asked him to sit in the chair, so he could examine him. Mac did as he was told.

"Are you in pain this morning?" Dr Fray asked.

Jack had come to find him the night before to get some painkillers for Mac, when they'd returned to the room Mac was asleep, the doctor wasn't happy giving any without the patient's consent, so Mac went without.

"Some," Mac replied. "There was blood in my urine just now."

"Has that happened before?"

"I don't think so."

Dr Fray nodded, asking Mac to remove his hoody and lift his shirt. He then felt his ribs and palpated his abdomen. Mac winced a few times, but gasped and shrunk away when he touched a spot on his side.

"I have some painkillers here and I'd like to get some more scans."

Mac nodded and then morphine was injected into the port in his hand, it felt so weird to Mac not to get the injection in his neck.

"Ok, I'll arrange those tests, no food or drink until after, I don't want to risk it."

Mac nodded again, upset that he wasn't getting fed, he was thirsty too, but he obviously wasn't allowed any water. Perhaps they were annoyed that he wasn't healing quick enough.

"You need to stay in this chair until I come back to get you, I shouldn't be long," Dr Fray said, he hated to make it sound like an order, but he didn't want Mac to go back to the floor, it was obviously aggravating his injuries.

"Yes sir," Mac replied, head down.

Dr Fray left quickly getting the tests ordered, he knew Jack had to be somewhere that morning so didn't want to leave Mac alone for too long. Vanessa was going to come back when Jack did so they could talk to Mac about next steps. Soon Dr Fray was leading Mac to the room to get the x-rays, not sure if it would go better than last time.

"Like you were here before, you need to lie very still on the bed," Dr Fray explained, feeling Mac tense. "Would you like me to give you a sedative?" Unfortunately, the tests were necessary and if Mac didn't cooperate he would have to sedate him if he agreed or not.

"Yes please," Mac replied, knowing the doctor would do it anyway.

Dr Fray nodded and injected the syringe he already had ready, letting Mac get drowsy before they helped him onto the bed. They took the x-rays first and then took a CT scan of Mac's abdomen, Dr Fray stepping away to consult a colleague about the findings.

"Derek, keep an eye on Mac for me, he's still drowsy so he should be fine, I don't want him injuring himself more, call me if you have to."

"Of course," Derek said, watching the doctor leave. He got up and walked over to Mac, checking to see if he was still out of it.

Mac's head was fuzzy, like it was when he had to listen to his tapes, he'd been subjected to a few tests and now everything was quiet. He felt someone approach, thinking it was time to go back to his room.

"You got my friend fired, that wasn't very nice of you," Derek said, looking down at the man on the bed. "Pity I can't really punish you for it, it would only get me in trouble too."

Mac wasn't sure what this man was saying, he could make out some words, he thought he heard punish and wondered what he'd done. He felt something happening to his wrists, then the man spoke again.

"You tried to leave, and I didn't want you to hurt yourself, so I had to put you in restraints. Doc will understand."

Mac now knew what had happened to his wrists, they were attached to the bed frame, his ankles were pulled, and they were soon tied to.

"If you make any more trouble you'll be seeing me again," Derek threatened, walking back to his computer.

Mac just laid there excepting the punishment, it was strange being tied up on a bed, usually he was on the floor, it was more comfortable, he supposed if the doctor wanted him tied down, he wouldn't mind having to sleep in a bed to do it.

Not long later and Dr Fray came back, he heard talking and a slightly raised voice, then he was being released. He was more alert now and he heard Derek speaking.

"I'm sorry doc, I thought you said you didn't want him hurting himself, I figured using restraints was the best thing to do."

"You should have called me Derek, this may not have been necessary," the doctor replied. "Mac, it's time to go back to your room, we need to have a chat when we get there."

Once they were back, Mac was placed in the chair he was in when he had left, Dr Fray taking the fold up and placing it in front of him.

"I'm genuinely concerned about you Mac; your kidney injury is worse, and we need to do everything we can to make it better. Your ribs haven't healed any either, I'm concerned any injury to them now could cause one to puncture your lung."

Mac knew that didn't sound good, a punctured lung would be bad, he wasn't sure what else he could do to fix himself though.

"What I need for you to do is sleep on the bed, even if it's just for a few days," Dr Fray said, watching Mac shake his head. "Unfortunately, Mac this isn't up for discussion. You will sleep in the bed, I don't want to force you, but I will if I must. Sleeping on the floor is doing more damage."

Mac froze at the doctor's words, guessing he meant he would tie him to the bed like what had just been done. He knew that he should do as the doctor asked, but he was scared to, he hadn't slept in a bed for so long, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stay still. The doctor was looking at him with a stern look, although Mac could tell there was kindness there too.

"I'm scared," he admitted, sucking in a breath, wondering what the doctor would say.

"What are you scared of?"

"I haven't slept in a bed since the last night before my father came, I don't know if I'll be able to stay still enough."

Dr Fray was glad that Mac had been honest with him, even though he looked upset about it.

"Preferably you would lie on your back and try not to move too much, I know that will be impossible, so we'll compromise. You must sleep in the bed, and spend as much time as possible on there, otherwise you may sit in a recliner, I'll bring one in from another room. You are to only get up to use the bathroom. Can you do that?"

"You…" Mac trailed off.

"Go on."

"You can tie me down if you have to."

Dr Fray sighed, he really didn't want to do that, but knew that it was a possibility. "I don't want to; you shouldn't have to be restrained. If it's the only way for you to be still I will have to, I'll attach them to the bed and then if we need to we can put them on."

Mac nodded, knowing they would need to, it was ok, he was used to it.

"Now I'm going to get you some late breakfast, can you stay in this chair please, until I come back."

"Could I have a book?" Mac asked, he was feeling brave, he was sure he'd be told no.

"Of course," Dr Fray said, handing him one and then leaving the room.

He arranged for a recliner to be taken to the room and found a nurse and asked her to take Mac some breakfast, making sure she knew to tell him to eat it. He needed to speak to Dr Barnes and Jack, let them know what was happening, he knew neither of them would be pleased at the thought of Mac being restrained, he wasn't happy either.

Luckily, Jack was on his way to see Mac when Dr Fray called so he detoured to his office, he saw that Vanessa was there but no one else.

"Dr Fray asked me to meet him?" Jack asked, wondering if he got it wrong.

"He'll be back in a minute, said he had to take care of something and to wait."

Jack nodded and sat down, the doctor appearing five minutes later.

"We need to discuss Mac's test results and what needs to happen," Dr Fray said, sitting with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Is it bad doc?" Jack asked, worried.

"Depends on your definition, his ribs aren't healing and I'm worried that any further injury and he'll puncture a lung."

"Jesus."

"Indeed, also his kidney injury is worse, there's blood in his urine and the scans show a fair amount of damage, he needs complete bed rest."

"But he won't sleep in the bed," Vanessa pointed out, they hadn't managed to get him to agree to that yet.

"I know this will sound harsh, but unfortunately it doesn't matter what he wants, he will be sleeping in the bed."

"You're going to force him?" Vanessa asked, realising the doctor intended to use restraints.

"No. I've discussed it with Mac, and he understands that he needs to use the bed as much as possible, even though he admitted to me that he's scared to."

"He told you that?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Yes. He told me he was worried because he didn't think he could keep still. He told me that I could tie him to the bed if I needed to."

"And you said that ain't gonna happen," Jack said, not liking the look on the doctor's face. "Right doc."

Before Dr Fray could answer, Vanessa spoke. "You told him that you would only do it if it was necessary."

He nodded. "I've moved a recliner into the room, he can use that during the day if he stays still enough, but I've attached soft restraints to the bed in case we need to use them while he sleeps."

"I can't believe this!" Jack cried, what was wrong with these doctors.

"Jack, I would not even consider this if I weren't concerned. If he gets up in the night and sleeps on the floor, no one will know, and he'll hurt himself even more. If this continues we'll have to do surgery and then he'll have no choice but to stay in the bed, possibly for days."

Jack sighed, why couldn't the kid catch a break.

"As much as I don't like it, I understand that Mac's physical health comes first. I'd like to talk to him before any restraints are used, he needs to know that he isn't being punished for anything," Vanessa said, seeing something on her colleagues face. "What?"

"Unfortunately, when I stepped away to talk to one of our surgeons, the tech put Mac in restraints, he told me when I returned that Mac was agitated, and he didn't want him to hurt himself."

"So, he expects you to do it, because it's been done once already, I'll still speak to him."

They all headed back to the room, Mac lying on the recliner reading a book. Jack's eyes were immediately drawn to the restraints hanging from the bed, he looked away quickly.

"Are you feeling ok Mac?" Dr Fray asked.

"Yes, thank you."

"I'll leave you guys to it then, let me know if he needs any pain medication."

Jack nodded, sitting on the chair over in the corner of the room, not wanting to get in the way when Vanessa spoke.

"Mac, we need to talk about a few things. Now you know that I don't work for you father I need to explain why I'm here."

Mac put his book down and gave her his full attention, he was curious to know.

"I'm a psychologist and I help people who've been through trauma, people like you. Now I know that you think that everything that's happened to you over the last month has been deserved, but I'm here to tell that it's not true, nothing that your father did was your fault. I'm going to be spending time with you helping you to get through what's happened and get you back to some form of normal." Vanessa sat back, letting Mac take in the words.

Mac wasn't sure what this doctor was saying to him, he knew what a psychologist was, but he hadn't been through a trauma. She was wrong about him not getting what he deserved, didn't she know some of the things he had done. His father had been kind to him, kept him safe, he'd only hurt him when he needed it. Sometimes pain is necessary.

"You're wrong," Mac said, needing her to know she was wasting her time. "My father did what he had to do to keep me safe, to do that he had to make sure I was obedient, make sure I wasn't weak, pain is necessary it helps sometimes. What my father did was normal, wasn't it?"

"No Mac, it wasn't normal, most people don't get hurt as badly as you were by their fathers," Vanessa responded, not believing what had just come out of Mac's mouth, pain was necessary, it helps, she couldn't understand how anyone could think that. "Your father told you a lot of things that were wrong, it's ok to still believe them. We'll talk some more later about it. For now, you need to rest."

Mac nodded, confused again, he wasn't sure who to believe. He went back to his book, hoping that this doctor didn't come back for a while, he needed to think.

Mac got his wish and Vanessa waited until after Mac had eaten dinner to return, she wanted to talk to him about the possibility of using the restraints that night, before he had to get ready for bed.

"I wanted to talk to you about what Dr Fray told you might happen tonight," Vanessa started and watched Mac automatically look at the bed. "I need you to be honest with me and tell me why you think we need to put you in restraints."

"Because I won't be able to stay still and the doctor said I have to," Mac replied.

"Is that all? Do you think you're being punished somehow?"

"I don't think so," Mac said thinking about it. "It's ok, I'm used to being tied up to sleep, I'm surprised you haven't done it before."

This is what Vanessa didn't want to happen, for Mac to assume that this was a normal thing. "I need you to understand that the only reason this is happening is for medical reasons, nothing else, as soon as you've healed so Dr Fray is satisfied then they will be removed."

Mac nodded.

"Ok, well why don't you get ready for bed and then we'll get you settled," Vanessa said, moving out of the way so Mac could go to the bathroom.

"I'm not sure I can be here for this," Jack said quietly. "Watch while you tie him to the bed, and he thinks it's normal."

"I'm not going to make you stay, but it might be good for you to, keep him company. If we tie him down and then leave then he will feel like it's normal. I'm sure his father never hung around for a conversation."

Jack sighed and nodded, she was right, he'd sleep in the recliner, that way if Mac needed him he'd be there.

Mac came out of the bathroom but stopped, not sure what he should do.

"I think to start with you can just lay on the bed, and we'll cover you with a blanket," Vanessa said, wanting to make it as painless as possible. "Can you get on the bed for me?"

Mac nodded and came over, shaking slightly, this was harder than he thought, he carefully got onto the bed and laid down on his back, tense.

"You need to try and relax Mac, you'll only be more uncomfortable if you're tense," Vanessa soothed.

"I'll be back in a minute Mac," Jack said, going to find Dr Fray, Mac needed some painkillers.

Mac laid as still as possible, his breathing quick, he couldn't do this, he needed to get up.

"You are doing great Mac."

The door opened and Dr Fray came in, looking at his patient and not liking what he saw. "I've bought you some painkillers Mac, hopefully they'll relax you a little as well."

"Ok."

Dr Fray dispensed the medicine and soon Mac's body loosened, his breathing was still a little fast, his fingers twitching.

"Are you ok Mac?"

"Why haven't you tied me down?"

"I wanted to wait until you fell asleep," Vanessa said, she didn't want them on longer than necessary.

"It's ok Mac, we'll put them on now," Dr Fray said, seeing his patient was upset. He nodded to Vanessa and between them they put on the four-point restraints. Hoping they wouldn't have to use them too often. "Someone will check on you through the night, we can take them off if necessary."

"The morning's fine," Mac said, closing his eyes. He felt better now that they were on, he didn't think he'd be able to fall asleep otherwise, he was too tense, ready to jump off the bed so he could sleep on the floor.

"We'll let you sleep, goodnight," Vanessa said, leaving the room with Dr Fray.

"I'm staying right here buddy, you just call out if you need anything," Jack said, getting himself settled on the recliner.

"Why?" Mac asked, thinking that he'd be left alone now that he was secured.

"I don't want you to be by yourself kiddo, you've been tied up and alone too many times. Not tonight."

Mac smiled, glad that Jack had stayed, he closed his eyes again and was soon asleep, waking only once before morning, reassured that Jack was still there.