Mac wove in and out of consciousness on the trip down the mountain. Headed down a steep embankment the sled hit a rock, bouncing hard when it landed. "Ah, ow," he complained to no one in particular.
"Hang in there, kid," said a warm familiar voice.
He opened his eyes, half expecting to find himself already in a hospital room, having conked out and missed the unpleasant finale to the mission. No such luck.
"Hey, Jack."
His thoughts felt sluggish, slow, almost drugged, but both the scenery zipping past them and the and the almost intolerable ache in his leg told him that couldn't be so. Blood loss? Hypothermia? Concussion? Shock? Some convoluted Venn diagram of all of the above? He wasn't sure, but contrary to Jack's teasing he was pretty much totally looking forward to getting to the hospital and letting somebody who made a living figuring that stuff out deal with the problem. Hopefully while he was knocked out cold.
"How you holdin' up, Mac?"
"M'okay. How bout you? Hurt bad?"
Not even full sentences. And the kid looked like shit. He didn't remember asking after Jack before either. "Not too bad, kid. Shallow cut. Ri's just being a big ole mother hen."
Mac snorted. "Wonder where she gets that from."
That sounded a little more lucid, a little more like Mac. "I don't know what you're talkin' about," he said with a teasing lilt. Then, hoping maybe for a change, Mac would just fess up and simplify matters when they finally got to help, he added, "While we're on the subject of mother hens …" He paused and Mac gave him a very deliberate eye roll that actually made Jack feel better. "What else?"
"Hmmm?" Mac asked like he didn't know exactly what his partner meant.
"Nice try, hot shot. Other than the bullet, what else do we need to know about when we get you to help?"
"Mmmmm," Mac mumbled, closing his eyes again.
He was tired, and he hurt everywhere, and he really just kind of wanted it to be tomorrow already. Because in tomorrow Future Mac was full of painkillers and all this was over with. He realized Present Mac's thoughts weren't a hundred percent making sense. He also realized that he'd get to Future Mac full of painkillers faster if he just unloaded now. So he sighed. Then he made himself open his eyes.
"Dehydrated … Beat up pretty good. Maybe concussion, busted up ribs. Kinda burned my hand … And you mentioned the bullet … So, also maybe … Generally pissed off. But I don't think there's anything a doctor can do for that."
Jack chuckled softly at that. "Anything else?"
"Pretty much proud as Hell of Bozer and Riley for keeping it together and helping you come after me."
"Helping? I gotta be honest with you, Mac, they did a lot of the heavy lifting. Especially Ri. She really took all those lectures and reading assignments of yours to heart, followed that trail of breadcrumbs you left right to ya. And I think she's startin' to realize she's good at more than just her boopity boop stuff." Mac smiled a little at that. "Although her and Boze might both hold a grudge about the cattails."
Mac chuckled and shook his head. "How pissed do you think they'll be when we tell them you can cook 'em and they taste just like the really good water chestnut appetizer at Yao's?"
"Prob'ly pretty pissed … So maybe don't tell 'em till you're off crutches, huh, kid?" Mac smiled vaguely again. Jack paused, taking in that Mac was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. They hit another bump and Mac paled another shade, biting back a yelp. "Almost there, kid."
"That's good," he said, with another tired sigh.
Mac figured it would still be awhile until help arrived. He'd helped out on a search and rescue up here about a year ago and once they'd found the kids it had taken over an hour to get emergency services to them. And the staging area had been reasonably close by.
You've already lost a lot of blood, his brain supplied helpfully in a voice he recognized but refused to acknowledge at first. Then it went on, saying something he'd all too recently heard it say in person, sitting across from its owner on the wrong side of an executive desk. Your Overwatch needs to do a better job keeping you in one piece. First you get kidnapped by Murdoc, for the second time I might add, then you can't even take a long weekend in Vegas without getting into trouble. The reality is, Angus …
"Shut up, Dad," he grumbled, not meaning to say it out loud, but wanting to still the unwelcome voice in his head.
Jack's eyes flashed with real concern. "What was that, bud?"
"Nothing," he said more distinctly when he realized he'd spoken.
Jack would have pressed but the ground leveled out and he realized they were in the parking lot of Freddie's store. Bozer and Riley increased their speed now that they were on a reasonably flat surface, calling out to Freddie loudly.
Mac opened his eyes again as they skidded to a stop and Freddie came rushing down the steps. He was aware of Jack getting up from beside him and trying to explain to Freddie what had happened and of Riley on the phone with Matty. That's good, he thought. Matty will be way faster than 911 out here anyways.
Freddie helped him take a drink from a cold bottle of water. It was an effort just to lift his head to do it. He was glad he did though. He didn't think a cold beer at the end of the longest day of yard work in the heat of an LA summer had ever tasted better.
"Thanks."
"Help is on the way, Mac," Freddie assured him. Mac just nodded his thanks, letting his head sink back, so tired now he didn't even think the frame felt all that hard. Then he heard Freddie say to Jack, "Must've been pretty damned bad out there. I don't know about you, but I'm a hell of a lot more used to him bringing people who look like something the cat dragged off the mountain than I am to seeing anything out there get the better of him."
Then Riley knelt down next to him. "He does look a little dragged," she said in a teasing tone. It sounded forced, but he appreciated her effort at keeping up the usual tenor of their team. "But less by a cat and more by a couple of wilderness newbies. Hopefully the next part of the trip will be smoother. Matty has a medevac on its way from Portland. Sorry about the rough ride, Mac."
Mac took another drink of water, this time from Bozer who was hovering, fidgeting, and reminding Mac of his eleven year old self. He managed a grin at them both. "Rough? You guys did great out there. You definitely pass."
"Only you could possibly still be thinking about why we came out here in the first place," Riley said with an affectionate smirk.
"Hey, I'm the one who's gonna have to do the paperwork." He shifted slightly to try to get more comfortable. "Ow, damn it," he breathed.
"You take it easy, Mac. The rescue folks are in bound. They'll be here soon," Jack said, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
He closed his eyes, listening to Riley start grilling Jack about his own injuries, and lecturing him for getting up off the sled to wander around the parking lot bleeding.
He drifted off again to Jack's usual minimizing bravado. "Ah, Hell, honey, I've cut myself worse shavin'."
0-0-0
Mac had hazy impressions of the helicopter landing, of being loaded on board, of Jack arguing with someone. It was noisy and he was uncomfortable. But he was also liberally medicated and warm under heated blankets.
Then there was a rougher than he cared for landing due to wind, if the chatter he overheard was not filtered through medication inaccurately. Lights passing too quickly over his head, making him feel woozy. He thought he maybe remembered getting as far as the operating room before everything went totally dark again, but he had to admit that was just as likely a dream as anything else he experienced over the next twelve or so hours. So many of his dreams blended reality with unpleasant facets of his imagination.
Mac made his way to the executive suite, his posture almost overly straight and sure. The summons had been polite, but cold.
After they'd gotten Griggs into custody and Matty got them extfil back to Phoenix he'd spent hours in Medical. A few xrays, some IV fluids, a totally forgettable meal, and several lectures later, he'd had enough.
Jack was racked out in the bed next door, waiting on results from some scan or another to make sure they hadn't liquified any important organs with their battering ram stunt or something. Jack hated those imaging machines. Said it was like being buried alive. They'd let him have a sedative and Mac suspected he'd be out until the morning. That stuff always hit Jack hard.
For his own part, Mac still hurt all over, and couldn't quite get over being hungry and thirsty. He was also fed up with being someplace he didn't want to be with anyone telling him he couldn't leave. Nothing was broken, he wasn't bleeding internally, and he didn't want anything stronger than Tylenol anyway.
He waited until shift change, got dressed, made sure Jack's phone was on silent and texted him that he would be at home so he wouldn't worry, then slipped out in the busyness of staff handing off patients and briefing in the night crew.
The first phone call came when he was still in the back of the Uber he'd called to get him home. "Hey Matty," he answered, doing his best 'everything's cool' nonchalant voice.
"Don't you 'hey' me, MacGyver. I came down to Medical to check on you and Dalton and brief you on Griggs condition and you were gone!"
"They were done with me," he hedged, sounding less nonchalant. In fact, as Jack would say, he sounded chalant as Hell.
"You have not been discharged, Mac." He heard her take a deep breath; there was real concern for him in her voice, but something else, too.
"I'm fine, Matty, honestly."
"Mmm," she grumbled skeptically. "I need you to come back in anyway."
"Matty, I'm not …"
"Oversight wants to see you."
Mac paused to get out of the car, having already tipped generously in the app, he just gave the driver a friendly wave. "Tell him I'm fine, too. Or if he's really worried, he's welcome to come over. I'll be up for a while."
"In his official capacity, Mac," she said, her voice taking on more concern, and a tinge of regret.
"Oh." His father thinking of him as an agent first and his kid second was an old feeling by now. Still, he knew his disappointment showed when he answered her. "If he wants to do the debrief, I'll come in when it's set up."
A long silence followed as he let himself into the house and locked the door behind him. "Mac, he's not very happy you left and he said …"
"Does he want to debrief right now?" Mac asked a little sharply.
"No, but …"
"So, like I said, I'll be in when it's set up."
She sighed, letting him hear it. "I'll tell him." She paused. "Get some rest at least, will you?"
"Yes, ma'am." He ended the call.
He managed to keep his promise to Matty and actually go to bed, although it was nearly sunrise when he did. When he awoke in the middle of the morning, there was a text from his father's work number. "My office. 11 am. Don't be late."
He scrolled down his notifications and the next one made him smile. "What the hell were you thinking? You text me as soon as you're up!" followed by four lines of aggressive emojis.
That one he answered. "I had a great sleep. In my own bed. Need a ride?"
Then he simply texted, "Affirmative," to Oversight, and went into his bathroom for the world's longest, most necessary fourth shower of the last twenty-four hours.
When he squared his shoulders and strode into James MacGyver's office, he knew his eyes narrowed at the boss's expectant expression. James raised an eyebrow at Mac's bruised and tired countenance. "Your Overwatch needs to do a better job of keeping you in one piece."
He felt his jaw hardening in the old familiar way that he'd hoped they would one day leave behind. Instead of the respectful if reserved opening he knew Oversight was expecting, he sat down without being invited. "Maybe he could if you didn't keep separating us on missions."
His father stood from behind his desk and appeared to grow until he filled the room. Mac felt himself shrinking into the chair. Not metaphorically, but physically shrinking. He knew then this encounter had to be a dream. But it didn't feel like one.
In dreams you weren't supposed to be sore from a car wreck, weren't supposed to be able to smell your father's aftershave that always reminded you of your mother, weren't supposed to feel nervous sweat pooling in the small of your back.
His giant-father-boss glared down at him from the ceiling. "I'll do whatever I want about missions. Your life is mine, Angus. It always has been. You'll go in whatever direction I tell you. Just like you always have."
Mac gasped and his eyes snapped open. He couldn't see the clock on the wall across the dimly lit private hospital room Matty had secured for him. But the hushed sounds and dark outside his window said it was still night, or at least extremely early morning.
The ache in his wounded leg and all along his torso told him it was probably the latter and nearly time for them to come around and offer him more pain medication. He was going to decline and see if he could get the ball rolling to get back to LA.
Matty had called last night after he'd gotten out of surgery. He only had vague memories of her well wishes and of her apologizing for needing to call Bozer and Riley back to the office as soon as they were medically cleared. He'd still been too dopey from anesthesia to follow the conversation. He distinctly remembered Jack's face though when she'd asked to speak with him. He'd gone pale, patted Mac's arm, mouthed that he'd be right back, and slipped out of the room. Mac tried to stay awake to find out what was up, but between the pull of pain medicine and the remnants of surgical sleep, not to mention the stress and physical abuse of his stint on the mountain, his eyes closed completely without his permission.
Now his eyes searched the almost dark. The chair next to his bed was empty, as was the second bed they'd moved another patient out of because they hadn't had any actual private rooms available. He felt the tingling of real worry start to knit his eyebrows together. Would Oversight really have had Matty call Jack away again, like he had so many times lately, right from his bedside only hours after he'd been shot?
Yeah, he would. You know he would. And it looks like he did. Mac got as far as being a little pissed off about it and sort of upset that Jack would just go without a word to him. Then the door to his room opened, and a familiar silhouette tiptoed toward the chair nearest the wall. Mac smelled coffee. He grinned. Jack clearly didn't notice that his eyes were open. Or maybe he couldn't see it in the dark.
He waited until Jack had quietly situated himself in the chair, gotten himself comfortable, and sipped his coffee. Then, at normal volume, he said cheerfully, "Morning, Jack."
Jack jumped and spilled some of his coffee. He swore, then got up, brushing the hot liquid off his front. "Ah, Hell. That hurts, you little shit."
He didn't sound upset though, so Mac just grinned more,turned on the light, and carefully adjusted the bed to sitting. "I guess you probably couldn't be convinced to go get me a coffee too, then."
"I guess maybe prob'ly not! Guys who scare the living hell out of their partners have to wait for staff to get them coffee."
"I'm sorry I startled you, man." Mac held up his hands apologetically. But Jack was always jumping out and trying to scare him so it had felt kind of perfect.
"Not that, smartass. Gettin' yourself nabbed and shot!"
"Oh, yeah. That." He grinned sheepishly and shrugged a little. "Do I get to give you a hard time for getting stabbed out there then?"
Jack raises an eyebrow at him. "I didn't get stabbed."
"Yeah, you … on the mountain you said …" He frowned. "Riley and the mother hen thing … Did he dream that?" His face lined with confusion, and what Jack could see was underlying physical pain.
Jack let him off the hook. "You didn't dream it, bud. I got sliced up a little bit it's all taken care of. I'm guessin' your dreams have been less than fun anyway though. You've been mumbling a lot."
Mac shrugged and looked away. Part of him wanted to tell Jack about the dream about his father. Mostly because he wanted to tell Jack about the real conversation he'd had with him where Mac got the distinct impression Oversight was trying to split up their team and had been for a while. Another part was just embarrassed that his nightmares were so apparent. "You know drugs always do that to me. Especially anesthesia."
Jack nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, unfortunately you look like a guy who could use some more pain meds about now. Dreams or not. You could page the nurse, kid. It's not that early."
Another shrug. "Nah. I'm good. I'll take some Tylenol or something when I get out of here."
Jack smirked and shook his head. "You're gonna go without pain relief for a week, huh?"
"A week?" Mac scoffed. "I'm fine to get out of here. I want to get back to LA. I'm perfectly capable of taking my prescribed medications, changing my bandages, all that stuff. Not exactly the first time something like this has happened."
"Well, yeah, that's true. But, the docs don't know that. The doc who got the bullet out last night told me six to ten days here. That's their average stay. And as far as they know, you're just an average guy."
Mac sighed. That was true. He also had to admit that now that some time had passed with him really awake, his leg hurt quite a bit more, and he was feeling every other bump and bruise too. "I know, but …"
"I could call Matty, see if we could get you transferred to Phoenix," he hedged. "Foster's on vacation so odds are nobody there would piss you off too much."
"No, I don't think …" he trailed off. "I don't think I want to be a captive audience for anyone at Phoenix right now, actually."
"Somethin' going on that I should know about? Jack asked with concern.
"No … Not really." He decided he wasn't ready to let Jack know what he suspected was going on with Oversight. It would just piss Jack off, and Mac wasn't in any kind of shape to chase down his partner to talk sense to him. He gave Jack the expected eyeroll. "I'm not interested in exchanging one set of bossy nurses for another. Phoenix's are way worse."
Jack just chuckled. "I think maybe you're right, kid." He pulled his chair closer and put his feet up on Mac's bed, careful not to jostle his leg. "That mean when they offer you're gonna be sensible and take something instead of sitting here making that face all day?"
"What face?" Mac asked defensively.
"You know what face. The this hurts like hell but if I say so it's gonna be more trouble than it's worth face." He gave Mac a speculative look. "And you know it ain't. Not everybody is your … Oversight."
Mac's eyes widened a little when Jack got so close to the things that were on his mind. "I …" He cleared his throat. "I guess I probably will take something."
"Good man," Jack grinned his approval, itching absently at the tape across his bandaged stomach.
Mac smirked. "That doesn't mean I'm planning on spending six days here, just so you know. It just means I'm not planning on leaving this morning."
"This morning?" An eyebrow climbed.
"Fine," he huffed. "Today."
"If the usual is six days, how about you give me at least half that?"
Mac grinned and shook his head a little. "Maybe."
"I'll take it. In fact, maybe I will go getcha a coffee as a reward for good behavior."
"Now you're talking, partner."
Jack got up and headed out the door, ostensibly to go get him some coffee. When a perky nurse who looked way to happy to be working at this ungodly hour stepped into his room less than a minute later, he knew it had probably been a pretext. He must not have been doing as good a job at keeping his misery under wraps as he'd thought.
He did his best to smile pleasantly and answer all her questions while she took his vitals, and changed out his IV fluids. He thanked her for offering to get him some pain medication and accepted, saying he'd rather not have the stuff that would make him all dopey. "My girlfriend's gonna call this morning. I don't wanna be half asleep."
The lie came out very naturally. The motherly woman smiled brightly at him telling him she'd thought he looked like a sweet thoughtful boy and then asked the appropriate questions about the lucky lady in question. Mac thought he did a good job of keeping his story up and winning an ally. He'd casually mention that he had a first date anniversary coming up and he'd hoped to pop the question. Nurse Ivy would doubtless bend over backwards to help him get his walking papers a little early for that.
She told him she'd go check the orders and be right back with something. She also assured him breakfast would be around shortly. He'd given her a sunny smile and thanked her as she left.
He lay back, thinking. He needed to figure out what was going on with Jack. Even more, he needed to figure out what to do about Oversight and his own lingering feelings of unease around his return to Phoenix and his father's role in his life.
He plastered on a smile he wasn't quite feeling when Jack came back with his coffee and a contraband jelly donut. "Thanks, pal."
"Any time, kid."
He took a bite of donut and a swallow of coffee. The smile become more genuine. "Thanks for coming after me out there."
"Of course I can after you, ya big dumb genius. I'm your Overwatch. I've always got your six, Mac. We're partners."
Always. That was a good word. And for a man who took giving his word as seriously as Jack Dalton, Mac knew he could count on it.
A/N - I really enjoyed writing this tag. I may take up the hobby of writing tags to the episodes to put Jack back with the team where he belongs. In any event, hope you enjoyed this one. ~ J