Howdy!

In this chapter the Past and the Present begin to collide. Again, thanks for the kind reviews!

"I'm not even sure what these images all are Jack; they are jumbled and confusing"

"It's OK kid, just tell me what they are showing you, we can make sense of them together" Jack encouraged the blonde to continue, he knew they had to get to the bottom of what this was, and these images may be the key to what was bothering the boy.

Mac gave him a small nod and continued; "My grandpa and I were in the bank, I remember looking up at the counter where he was talking to the clerk" Mac ran a hand over his face and closed his eyes as images assaulted him, "there was a noise and suddenly grandpa was pushing me under the counter and behind him, ordering me to stay still and quiet"

Mac's breath caught for a second before he continued, " I peeked from behind him though, I could see 4 men, they were…Um…they were wearing Halloween-type masks and all black outfits"

As he spoke, the longer he spoke, Mac could feel his headache getting more and more painful, there were evidently knives poking him from inside his temples and a sledge hammer hitting the back of his head. He could feel his body starting to shake and grey spots were starting to return to his field of vision; he was not sure how much longer he could go on, but he knew he needed to figure out what the hell was going on? He pressed on.

Jack could tell the kid was not doing too well. It was obvious to him that he had a massive headache, the way he was closing his eyes every few minutes, squinting at him when he did look at him. He hated doing it, but he remained silent for now, letting the boy speak.

Mac took in a deep shuddering breath and continued, eyes thin slits as the light in the room suddenly felt like it was attacking his senses.

"They started to bark orders at us…they…one of them…he..um..he came over to where we were… he grabbed grandpa by the collar of his shirt and pushed him down to his knees; that was when he saw me…"

Mack stopped speaking and was still and silent for almost a minute before he felt Jack's hand on his cheek, he knew Jack was speaking but he could not really make out the words, they sounded far away, and they were intermingled with those of the men in his head. He suddenly felt the world flip flop on him and he could not help but let a moan escape his lips.

Jack waited a beat and then two, realizing the boy was basically frozen, stuck in his own memories or images, whatever these were, he placed his hand on Mac's cheek and started to rub his thumb back and forth across it as he called the boy's name; "Mac, son… you with me? Angus, brother, you need to stay with me boy"

Jack heard Mac moan in obvious pain, he then used his hand to shake the boy's shoulder and increased the volume of his voice 10-fold, switching to his command voice, he felt the boy flinch under his hand.

When Mac suddenly heard Jack's, voice thundering in his head, calling him, he jumped, startled out of his reverie; he blinked at the older man and then rubbed at his eyes with his hand; "Sorry" he said softly. "Where was I?" He said tiredly.

Jack had enough. He knew it was important they keep going, but he also knew his friend and he could tell that Mac was close to collapsing again if they continued. He did not want to stop but he was not about to hurt his boy by making him talk about something that was evidently traumatic enough to make him so off kilter he was willing to subject himself to medical care, drugs, even encroachment of his personal space.

"It's OK son" he squeezed the kid's shoulder as he continued, placing a soft smile on his lips, "we can stop for now; you look like you need a nap, and I could use some breakfast" Jack looked at his watch and realized it was nearly 6 am, they had been at this for 3 hours now; the boy needed a break, and frankly so did he.

"It's OK Jack" Mac said softly, "I can…I should continue"

"No!", "I am making the calls right now kiddo; we're stopping" Jack grabbed the blanket and pulled it up higher, so he was sure the kid was covered, he could feel him shivering some, or maybe he was shaking, either way, the blanket would not hurt. "I am going to grab a shower while you rest some, then I'm going to make us breakfast while you, if you feel up to it, take a shower and change too; then we will go out and enjoy some fresh air, maybe get some sun" Jack paused for effect and to make sure the kid was tracking, "We will pick up where you left off later, after we, you, have a chance to catch your breath, OK kiddo?"

Mac was about to protest, about to tell Jack he was fine, but then he decided he was already traveling down this path, he needed to trust Jack knew what was best, to let the older man take care of things without him trying to pretend all was well; besides, he was tired and maybe catching a quick catnap and getting some air may not be such a bad idea.

"Whatever you say old man" Mac responded, inserting some of his usual banter to try and find a semblance of "normal" in the situation.

Jack smiled and ruffled the kid's hair; "that's right! About damn time you start listening to your elders boy!" Jack stood to go take a shower, he glanced at the sliding door and then the front door, making sure they were secure, he then looked back down at the blonde; "DON'T MOVE off this couch, you hear me?" he commanded.

"Yes sir" Mac nodded, already closing his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere Jack"

Satisfied the boy would stay put Jack went into his room to grab some clothes and take a quick shower. All the way there, Jack could not help but worry about Mac, worry about these memories that seem to be causing him pain and anguish, what ever the hell happened inside that bank 16 years ago was probably not good, and somehow, living through the Puerto Rican heist triggered something in Mac's ginormous genius brain that opened the flood gates to these memories which he probably had not explored in 16 years. Jack knew what PTSD could do to a man, he knew they were threading dangerous ground and he knew this may be more than Jack could help the boy with on his own, but, before he called anyone else in, he was going to try and help his boy through this in private, he knew that is what Mac would prefer, and he also knew that Mac trusted him to make the right choices on his behalf right now, while he was so lost and confused.

Jack was not about to let his boy down, not now, not ever.

By the time Jack was in the shower, Mac was sound asleep.