Chapter II
The doctor grabbed Jack's arm and walked him away from the boy's bedroom. Jack let him for now, just because he really needed to know what the hell was wrong with his boy.
"I did a head to toe examination on Mac and I could not find any obvious reason for his losing consciousness or his memory loss at first glance Jack" the doctor said looking at Jack intently; "I want to take him to Phoenix Medical right away and do some blood tests and probably some imaging to try and rule out infections and such"
Jack nodded, "agreed", he glanced towards Mac's door, "so, let's go!"
"He is refusing to go Jack, and he is an adult, I can't make him go" The doctor deadpanned.
Jack started towards his boy's bedroom waiving his hand back at the doctor; "Adult my ass doc; he is going if I have to carry him there kicking and screaming" Jack stopped and looked at the doctor, one hand on the doorknob to Mac's room, "give me a minute with him doc, we will be ready to go in no time"
The doctor nodded. He knew the only person who could talk the boy into going into Medical was Jack. He proceeded to get his team to pack up and go outside to wait in the transport.
Mac turned his head towards the door as it opened. He knew full well who it would be without even opening his eyes. "Jack, before you start on me about going to Medical…"
"STOP!" was the one word that came out of Jack's mouth, just one word, spoken in a voice that was thunderous, commanding, loving and terrified all at once. Mac stopped speaking and waited, not sure how to react. He felt the bed dip and felt Jack's hand on his forearm. He decided to open his eyes slowly (he had been keeping them closed to help with the spinning); what he saw was Jack's face, solid like granite, eyes like fire, staring right at him, through him really.
Mac sighed; his pseudo-father could be a complicated person to navigate sometimes. He waited quietly.
"S-o-n" Jack made a point to stretch out the word before continuing, "I walked in here and found you unconscious on the floor of your own kitchen. You don't remember how or why you passed out. You then threw up every meal you've had for the last month and it is obvious you are still very dizzy" Jack took a breath and continued, "If it was any other person in this God-forsaken-World, I would be: fine, you don't want to go to Medical, don't, do whatever you want; but not you son, YOU are the most important thing to me, and I will not allow you to be so irresponsible with your own wellbeing, I will NOT allow you to just ignore this" Jack's breath hitched as he tried to reign in his emotions.
"You WILL go to Medical Mac, and we WILL figure out what is wrong, because THAT is the ONLY choice I have in order to protect you, to keep you safe" Jack looked at Mac, eyes made of tempered steel and yet filled with love.
Mac swallowed hard, also keeping his emotions in check, he nodded slightly, careful not to make himself dizzier, "I'm sorry Jack, I did not mean to upset you; I will go wherever and with whomever you want me to go"
Mac felt such love at that moment, such a connection to the man who was sitting beside him right now, literally holding his hand, worried sick over him and his wellbeing. How could he deny him anything? He felt bad for having caused Jack any undo stress, the man, his father, did not deserve it.
"Help me up?" Mac asked while stretching his free hand out towards Jack.
"I don't think so kid, you're going on a gurney, so just stay put a sec, I will be right back with the orderlies OK son", Jack ran a hand through the boy's hair as he stood and walked out of the room in search of help.
Mac sighed and did as Jack asked, thankful that for now the room had stopped spinning and the nausea had abated.
The ride to Medical was short and uneventful. Mac's vitals were back to normal, the dizziness and nausea were gone; the only thing that lingered was the slight burning sensation in his extremities which Mac couldn't figure out and had conveniently failed to mention to the doctor, or Jack.
Once they were at Phoenix Mac was whisked away by the medical staff. Jack was sitting in the waiting area about to call Mattie when she walked in.
"Jack, what the hell is going on with Mac?" Mattie stood right in front of Jack as she spoked, body language screaming impatience.
Jack proceeded to relate to his boss what had transpired in Mac's home; since he did not know much, it did not take long. Just as he finished, he looked up to see Dr. Malone enter the room and head towards them; Jack stood, and Mattie turned to face the doctor.
"Director Webber" Dr. Malone nodded in greeting as he looked down at his boss.
Jack, not really in the mood for small talk cut to the chase, "Doc, what is wrong with my boy?"
The doctor gestured towards the chairs, once seated he proceeded: "We have run a battery of tests on Agent MacGyver, blood work is normal, Tox screen is negative, imaging is clear" He paused for effect and to ensure that his audience was keeping up; he knew better than to assume his patient's family and friends were always able stay focused and on the same page as him when explaining treatment and status of patients to them.
"Why was he on the floor unconscious then?" Mattie asked, "Healthy 26-year-old boys don't just pass out for no reason"
Jack nodded in agreement to Mattie's statement, "Yeah Doc, what she said"
Doctor Malone looked at Jack when he spoke next, since he was basically the boy's father, "I honestly am at a loss right now", he paused and then continued, "all I can suggest for now is that he stay the night at least for observation, and tomorrow we can make a determination as to what should come next"
Jack noticed the doctor's tone had changed; "and?" he asked
"Well", the doctor continued, "It is possible this is stress related agent Dalton"; he looked at Mattie and then back at Jack, "even 26-year-old boys get stressed out and react to it badly sometimes"
"Stress, well, yeah, it has been a trying few weeks for Mac" Jack said, "the last two missions were long and exhausting, and the search for his dad is still weighing heavily on his mind, not to mention Murdoc's little abduction adventure" Jack looked at Mattie with a serious look.
"I agree, he should stay overnight Doctor Malone" Mattie said, "After that, if nothing shows up on the tests then Jack" she turned to face the older agent, "You take him for a couple of weeks and get him to relax, maybe take him to the Ranch?"
Jack agreed immediately.
"Can I see him doc?" Jack asked.
"Yes, he is in room 12" the doctor looked in the direction of the rooms, "we gave him something to help him rest, so try not to wake him", with that he said his goodbyes to both Jack and Director Webber and left.
"Go!" Mattie said, "Take care of your boy Jack" she smiled and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder as she stood to leave. "Let me know if you need anything"
Jack walked into Mac's room, he ran a hand over his face to center himself at the sight of his boy laying on the hospital bed, hooked up to monitors and an IV, looking so very young. He took a deep breath and approached the boy's bed, looking down at the one human being on this Earth he loved more than Life itself.
"We will get through this Mac, I promise", he started to run a hand through the boy's head, taking advantage that Mac was out cold on whatever they had given him, "we will figure it out, I will be right beside you my boy, through thick and thin, like always"
Jack proceeded to make himself comfortable on the recliner that sat beside the boy's bed and hunkered down for a night of watching over his son.
To be continued….