Once Bitten Twice Shy: Part 5
Mac awakes to a cool cloth being placed on his forehead and notices his left leg has been propped up with a pillow.
"Hey," Mac greets hoarsely.
"Hey yourself. How are you feeling?" J.J. asks.
"Not great, pretty wiped out," Mac admits.
"I'm not surprised. You have a decent fever, but the doc wants to hold off any more ibuprofen until we can run a hematology, check your clot factors, and maybe get a scan. He's concerned about internal bleeding if you didn't get all the venom extracted since it's known to be haemotoxic. I have other painkillers I can give you, but I'm afraid a cool compress is the best I can do for the fever until we get those tests." J.J. explains.
Mac hums his acknowledgement.
"I am going to start you on an antibiotic drip to ward off infection. Did you want something for pain?" J.J. inquires.
Mac shrugs noncommittally.
"I'm going to take that as a yes since you usually outright refuse." J.J. surmises as she injects a push of morphine into the line and Mac drifts back to sleep.
J.J. makes her way to the back cabin to find both Bozer and Jack awake.
"How's Mac?" Bozer asks.
"Yeah, what's the deal with his leg?" Jack adds.
J.J. relays what she knows about the snake bite, his reaction to the anti venom, the doctor's concerns, and his current condition.
"Damn," Bozer sighs, "Will he be alright?"
"Well, he's not out of the woods by any means, but he's strong and otherwise healthy." J.J. comforts.
"Thanks J.J. Will you let us know if anything changes?" Jack requests.
"Sure. In the mean time, get some rest." J.J. replies.
"Don't worry. We don't seem to be able to do much else." Jack grouses.
'Two down, two to go.' Matty thinks after back-to-back debriefings with the uninjured members of the teams that returned to Phoenix in the last hour.
The teams returning from Africa and Indonesia are expected to arrive in the next half hour. Since the latter team was unsuccessful in stopping the gun runners and will have a lengthy debrief to analyze what went wrong, Matty decides to debrief Mac first. Matty pulls out her phone and texts instructions to her incoming agents. She decides to head down to medical to checked on her injured agents in the interim. Twenty minutes later, Matty leaves an exam room after visiting one of her agents.
"You're not going anywhere!" Doc Pierce yells.
"I have to debrief! I was told to report immediately upon landing!" Mac argues.
"I don't care! This is precisely why Phoenix Medical is managed separately. I can and AM superseding your orders. You are officially declared unfit and may not engage in any agency business until I deem otherwise! I've seen seven different agents today with line of duty injuries and you are by far the worst off. I'm sure the director will understand." Doc Pierce retorts.
"No, she won't. She only cares that her orders are followed." Mac sighs.
Matty, who had overheard the entire exchange, feels horrible. First, she had no idea that Mac was injured. Second, he believes she doesn't care. Of course, that probably stems from the misunderstanding she didn't have a chance straighten out before he left for Africa. Guilt washes over her, but she knows that she told him after the incident with the DVT that she always wants to know about injuries and incidents. She was certain she'd make that clear so why is she only now finding out about the injury.
She was so caught up in her internal dialogue that she missed whatever part of the argument lead to Doc Pierce screaming, "That's it! I'm putting you in restraints!"
"On what grounds!?" Mac asks furiously.
"Because you're being combative and unreasonable!" Doc Pierce returns.
Matty takes this opportunity to make her presence known by rapping on the open glass door to the exam room and asks, "If I could have a moment with my agent, I think you'll find him much more cooperative afterward."
"Be my guest, but he is absolutely NOT to leave that bed for any reason. And I'll send a nurse in to take him down to CT." Doc Pierce storms out the room.
"Mac, what happened?" Matty asks gently.
"Once in Bangui, we found the hard drive hidden in…" Mac begins.
"…No Mac. Not the mission. What happened to you?" Matty corrects concerned.
The look of pure confusion that crosses Mac's face, causes a ripple of guilt to roll through Matty's gut. The ripple only builds as Mac explains the events surrounding the snake bite two days ago.
"Why didn't you tell me when we last spoke?" Matty asks gently.
"I tried when I brought up my concern about the steep cliff, but you cut in and said there were no other options and to figure it out. So that's what I did." Mac answers with only a hint of disdain.
"Mac, I…" Matty starts.
"Alright Mac. I'm here to take you for the scan." Nurse Camilla advises.
Matty sighs, not wanting to put off the apology any longer but unwilling to delay Mac's medical care, "Mac, I promise we'll talk later. Right now, you are to let the medical staff take care of you. Understood?"
Mac nods and Matty exits so the nurse can help Mac into the wheel chair.
Matty decides to check on the rest of Mac's team before heading upstairs. She finds them in three adjacent observation beds, but the curtains aren't pulled to separate them. Doc Pierce is addressing all of them.
"It'll get better each day, but it'll be a few weeks before you're 100%. We'll do spinal taps every couple of weeks at first and then quarterly for the next two years as the parasites been known to lay dormant and then return. I have a nurse preparing adjacent rooms with a retractable partition. Bozer and Mac will share one room and Jack and Riley will share the other. Knowing how you all are, I figure that's the best way to keep each of you in bed to rest and recover. I'll be back to check on you once you've been settled in your rooms" Doc Pierce explains and takes his leave.
"Riley, are you okay with that? I don't want you to feel awkward." Jack asks.
"No it's fine. I want to be with you all. Besides, after four days of Mac helping me use the bathroom, I'm so past awkward." Riley replies.
"I know what you mean. It was weird for me too." Jack admits.
"Yeah, agreed. But I think it was just as uncomfortable for him." Bozer inserts.
Riley laughs, when all eyes turn to her, she elaborates, "Especially that last time. He'd already gone up and back down that cliff three times. Did you all know he was bitten by a snake?," at their nods she continues, "Well, his leg was so weak the last time he assisted me that it gave out. He collapsed backward and I toppled onto of him. He was mortified; we both were. He explained what happened and kept apologizing. Honestly, I don't know how he made that last climb."
"He really came through for all of us." Bozer admits.
"It's lucky he didn't contract the sleeping sickness. Had that happened, I probably would have lost my best team in one swoop." Matty realizes.
"It wasn't luck. He knew how to dress and what to do to avoid attracting those tsetse flies. He tried to tell us what to pack in the war room before the mission, but I cut him off. Then we didn't listen when he told us not to roll down the car windows." Jack corrects.
"Yeah, I remember dismissing his comments about what to pack too." Matty sighs guiltily.
"I guess we learned this lesson the hard way." Bozer sums up.
"I just wish Mac wasn't also paying the price for it. Let's face it. The whole chain of events that led to him being bitten by that snake could have been avoided if we'd listened to him." Riley surmises.
"Well be that as it may, we can't change it. Believe me, I'm as sick about it as any of you and I will be apologizing to him. But wallowing in it, isn't doing any of us a lick of good." Jack inserts.
"Jack's right. You all get some rest. I have a lengthy debrief ahead, but I'll be back by to check on all of you and give Mac an apology of my own." Matty advises and takes her leave.
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Matty had just finished briefing oversight and decides to head down and check on her agents again while awaiting his decision regarding the Indonesian fiasco. Normally a judgement made on the heels of a five out of six mission success would be lighter, but Matty doesn't trust that will be the case this time. Three teams sustained injuries. One member of the team sent to Germany had a through and through GSW. Two members of the Argentina mission had inhaled a dangerous amount of heroin when a machine gun ripped through a crate next to where they'd taken cover in the stash house kicking up a cloud of drug dust. They had been immediately treated with narcan and were expected to be just fine. Then there was Africa; not only did that team manage a 100% injury rate without so much as a fire fight or explosion, but Oversight's son was bitten by a dangerous snake and had a near fatal reaction to the anti venom. No, Matty worries that the Indonesia team will face harsh consequences.
"Matty?" Jim beckons from the door to his office before she is out of the private corridor.
She turns back to face him, "Yes?"
"Keep me updated on Angus." Jim requests.
"Of course. You know, you should be damn proud of him. The perseverance he exhibited keeping his team alive and literally pulling them out of Africa, despite his own injuries, demonstrates true leadership." Matty suggests.
"His dedication to them is admirable, but a better leader could have prevented the whole situation. I know you said that both you and Agent Dalton shut him down before he could fully express his concerns, but he let that happen. Great leaders knows how to reach their people. You, Matty, know how to be heard. I want you to teach him that. I'll let you know as soon as I've made a decision regarding Team Foxtrot." Jim retreats into his office and closes the door.
"Great leaders also listen," Matty sighs, "Something we could both stand to be better at."
Matty enters Team Improvise's hospital room to find Bozer and Riley dozing. Jack's head immediately whips around to see who has arrived.
"Hey. Where's Mac?" Matty asks.
"I don't know. They haven't brought him up yet. Have you heard anything?" Jack worries.
"No, but I'm been in debriefs basically since I left you all this morning. I'll see if I can…" Matty is cut off as Doc Pierce and Nurse Camilla wheel in a hospital bed containing a pale and trembling Mac; the commotion causes Bozer and Riley to stir.
"What happened to him!?" Jack demands, not liking how his friend's teeth are chattering.
"Ice baths. His fever spiked to 104.3° and we needed to bring it down. While his scan didn't show any internal bleeding, his blood work demonstrated abnormalities which prevented us from given him ibuprofen to reduce it." Doc Pierce explains.
"Well, can't you give him more than that thin sheet? He's shaking like a leaf." Bozer inquires.
"I'm afraid not. Despite the shivering, his fever is still hovering around 102°. I'll brief the rest of the nursing staff on this floor. We'll be keeping a close eye on it." Nurse Camilla answers as she arranges cold packs around Mac's body.
"What can we do?" Riley asks.
Doctor Pierce sighs, he knew this was coming and had an answer prepared, "You all should listen to your bodies and rest. When you are awake, without getting out of bed, just keep an eye out. If he seems flushed, confused, or anything else that concerns you, press the call button and a nurse will come check it out. Understand?"
"Yeah… Alright…. Okay." Come the responses of the other three patients.
"Good. Now I'm going to check you all out once more while I'm here." Doc Pierce advises.
"That's probably my cue to leave. Doc, I'll be right outside and would appreciate an update on these four and my other three laid up agents after you're finished in here." Matty advises as she leaves, realizing her apology would have to wait until Mac is more stable.
"Will do." Doc Pierce replies as he begins to examine Bozer.
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A week passes and Riley, Bozer, and Jack are actually able to remain awake for a few hours at a time. Mac's leg is no longer swollen, and he hasn't had a fever or any other symptoms of serum sickness for two straight days. The nurses have already started getting him up and walking around in preparation for release. Normally Mac would have already pestered his release out of the doc, but his friends are still here. While hospital beds are by no means comfy, the recliners are much worse. So Mac bides his time until his blood work normalizes since he knows he's staying with his friends either way. The four friends decide it's time for a Star Wars marathon. Riley manages to synchronize the television in each room, but the sound piping from four different hospital bed speakers proves weird and distracting. So Mac rigs the sound to play from the alarm speaker on Jack's IV machine since it is in the middle of the rooms and they each mute their bedside speakers.
It works splendidly until Jack's IV bag empties and the alarm sounds by playing a loop of the current audio, "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."
This causes all four to burst out in laughter, which in turn draws the attention of the nurse.
"What's going on in here?" Nurse Camilla asks entering the room but upon hearing "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope," repeatedly play from Jack's IV machine she is overcome with her own fit of hysteria.
As the laughter dies down, Nurse Camilla proceeds to Jack's IV machine stating, "I guess that makes me Obi-Wan Kenobi. I've been called worse."
This causes renewed snickering, Mac recovers first, "Sorry, we wanted to watch the movie together and the sound piping from four different hospital beds was distracting so…"
Nurse Camilla picks up where Mac let the explanation trail off, "So you decided to appropriate the speaker on the IV machine?"
"Yeah, something like that." Mac admits sheepishly.
Nurse Camilla makes her rounds to Bozer and Riley, whose treatments are also ending causing their alarms to sound, as she replies, "Well Mac, I know you are aware that tampering with hospital equipment is frowned upon. I needed a good laugh though, so I'm not going to report it provided you restore the equipment to normal right now. In the mean time, I'll see if I can rustle you up some actual speakers to use."
As Mac hurriedly starts working on the IV machine, Jack replies, "Thanks Cam. You're the best."
After Mac finishes the repair and climbs back in bed, Bozer sighs, "Well, I guess our movie marathon is on hold. What now?"
"Since we're all awake and feeling better. We could try conversation." Riley suggests.
"Yeah, actually there's one that's long overdue." Jack admits, glad Riley opened the door so he could finally apologize.
"I agree. I'm fully aware of all the mistakes I made in Africa and I'm sorry that you all got sick. I failed you as a leader and…" Mac begins.
"…Whoa, hold up hoss! You did not such thing and what happened is not on you! You tried to tell us what to pack and I dismissed it." Jack interrupts.
"Yeah, and you advised against rolling down the car windows but we ignored you." Bozer adds.
"If you didn't have to take care of us, you'd have never been at that stream where you were bitten." Riley inserts.
"And despite that, you managed to drag all of our butts out of Africa on a bad leg while feeling like crap." Jack piles on.
"Geez Mac, you could have died trying to save us!" Bozer sighs, "What we're trying to say is you have absolutely nothing to apologize for."
"Yeah, and thanks for everything. We know it wasn't easy tending to all our needs, especially after we evacuated the clinic. You saved our lives and brought us home safely." Riley admits.
"Most importantly, we owe you an apology. I'm sorry Mac. I should have heard you out. I know that you don't dole out random advise and I shouldn't have shut you down." Jack states sincerely.
"Yeah man, I'm sorry too. After twenty years, I should know better." Bozer tacks on.
"Sorry Mac. Can you forgive us?" Riley asks hesitantly.
"Of course. I'm just glad you're all going to be okay." Mac readily replies.
"Yes, you are all going to be just fine," Doc Pierce walks in with a train of nurses, "In fact Mac, it's time for your hall walk. Riley, Jack, and Bozer, will be joining you today."
A nurse each assists Jack, Riley, and Bozer as they walk, heavily leaning on their IV poles for support. Another nurse follows behind each of them with a wheel chair. Mac trails behind them letting them take as much time as they need. Riley crumples into her wheel chair halfway down the hall and Bozer follows after a couple of feet. Jack manages to make it to the end of the hall before conceding defeat.
"You all did great!" Mac praises as the nurses wheel them back toward the room.
Riley and Bozer are too spent to reply, but Jack grumbles, "I think we have different definitions of great, hoss."
Mac starts to follow, but Nurse Camilla taps him on the shoulder and advises, "Their walk is over, but yours is not. Doc wants you to try a few stairs."
Nurse Camilla opens the door to the stairwell for Mac and he complies by heading up the thirteen steps with ease before she could follow. He stops on the landing where the staircase turns and starts back down. Mac's leg buckles; he grabs at the handrail to keep from falling but misses and ends up bouncing down the stairs on his butt.
"I need help in here!" Camilla shouts as Mac reaches the landing and just lays on his back.
She's at his side instantly, "Are you alright?"
Before he can answer, Doc Pierce arrives, "What happened here?"
"He practically jogged up the stairs no problem. Coming back down, his leg gave out and he slid down them on his backside." Camilla advises.
"Mac, where are you hurt?" Doc Pierce asks as he starts feeling limbs for breaks.
"Busted pride and bruised dignity," Mac moans.
Doc Pierce chuckles at his joke, "Well, those will heal on their own in time. Anything else?"
"Don't think so." Mac replies testing his muscles and limbs.
"Alright, Nurse get a wheelchair to escort Mac back to his room," Mac opens his mouth to protest but Doc Pierce quickly shuts it down, "No arguments."
When Camilla returns, she and Doc Pierce help Mac into the chair. Mac is unable to suppress a painful hiss at being seated.
"What is it, Mac?" Doc asks.
"Really hurts to sit. Could I just walk back to the room?" Mac replies.
Helping Mac up out of the chair, Doc answers, "No, but we'll get a stretcher to take you to X-ray."
Moments later Nurse Camilla returns with a stretcher, "Alright, lay on your stomach," she advises while helping Mac onto the stretcher.
After a series of x-rays standing and then sitting followed by a brief exam, Mac is hanging out in a triage room waiting on the doctor to return.
"Well Mac, the films confirm my suspicion. That fall down the stairs fractured your coccyx. Sitting will be pretty uncomfortable for several weeks," Doctor Pierce holds up a weird buttock shaped pillow, "This cushion will help alleviate the pressure when seated. I'm altering your physical therapy orders to include exercises that will help speed your recovery by strengthening the muscles around the fracture. In fact, your earlier hematology was normal so you can take ibuprofen to help with the pain. The fracture will heal on its own in time." Doc Pierce advises.
"Seriously, a busted tailbone? Jack will never let me hear the end of this." Mac sighs.
"Well, the good news is that it's not going to prolong your hospital stay. I do want to observe you on ibuprofen for a day or two to make sure your clot factors remain stable, but then I should be able to release you." Doc Pierce explains..
"What about Jack, Riley, and Bozer? How much longer are they in for?" Mac inquires.
Nurse Camilla, who has arrived with a wheel chair, laughs, "You know it's not a prison sentence right?"
Mac smirks and opens his mouth to reply, but Doc Pierce cuts him off, "It depends on their PT, but I suspect a week or two. Don't worry, I know that you have no plans to leave before they do and your bed will be in the room even after you're released."
"But you'll have to change the sheets yourself." Camilla adds good-naturedly.
"Good deal." Mac agrees.
Doc Pierce places the special pillow in the seat of the wheel chair and asks, "So how about we give this cushion a chance?"
Camilla wheels Mac back into the room as Jack whistles and exclaims, "Damn Mac, it's been nearly two hours! That's got to be some sort of hall walk record."
Camilla chuckles as she helps Mac back into bed, "Oh, it was a hall walk first alright."
Mac pulls his pillow over his face and omits a noise that sounds like a cross between a growl and a moan.
"What happened?" Jack inquires, half amused and half concerned.
"Not my story to tell. I'm sure Mac will share it once he's finished sulking." Camilla advises as she leans the special cushion on the wall next to Mac's bed for easy accessibility.
"Mac?" Jack asks worried.
"I'm tired," Mac mumbles from under the pillow, "Besides, it's not a story I desire to repeat more than once so it can wait until everyone's awake."
"Oh, we're awake." Bozer pipes up.
"Yeah." Riley adds.
"I'm not." Mac huffs and rolls onto his side, pulling the blanket over head and putting the pillow under it.
"Alright, well you can't hold out forever." Bozer reminds.
Mac throws the blanket back and proclaims, "Fine. I fell down the stairs and fractured my tailbone. Happy now!?"
There is a moment of stunned silence followed by an outburst of laughter. Riley, Bozer, and Jack each try to get it under control with varying degrees of success.
"I'm sorry, Mac. It's not funny that you were hurt. I don't know what I expected but it wasn't that." Riley managed wiping away tears as she struggles to contain her laughter.
"Yeah man, definitely not funny but…" Bozer's statement trails off as he cracks up again.
"Mac, sorry. It's just… I hear people say 'I literally busted my butt in PT today' all the time, but you actually did. I just… I can't…" Jack chortles.
"Well, I'm glad you find my pain so amusing," Mac feigns hurt which quickly sobers his friends up, "You know, you all can be a real pain in the ass. Trust me, I should know."
Mac smirks and starts laughing, soon his friends all join him.
A/N: I know several of you are waiting for Matty's apology and I'm sorry to leave you hanging, but I try to keep chapters under 5,000 words. I have an audition this week to prepare for so it may take me a couple of weeks to post the next chapter. No, I'm not a professional actor just a girl who loves community theater.