AN: I am so sorry for the long wait. Exam season was really rough, and now I'm home for Christmas break, and it's just as hectic here. I haven't had much time to write. There should only be one more chapter after this, I think. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
The chair hit the wall with a loud crash when Zeigler threw it across the room in frustration. He slammed his fist against the desk and scattered some papers. The boy was gone. His perfect test subject was out of his hands, and it didn't look like he was going to get him back. Zeigler ran his fingers through his sparse hair, pulling slightly as he breathed out loudly through his nose. He could still get the drug finished on time, he just needed to grab someone who worked for him. It wasn't ideal, but it would work, and that was all that mattered.
Zeigler turned on his heel and started for the door. But right before he got to it, it was slammed open from the outside. A whole team of men in SWAT uniforms stormed through, pointing their guns and yelling at him to get on his knees.
So he did. Zeigler got on the ground and let the men - who had yelled that they were in fact FBI - ziptie his hands behind his back. He cursed the boy. This had to be his people. The boy had definitely been an agent of some kind, but Zeigler had hoped that he would be able to finish the drug before clearing out of the facility. Apparently he was wrong. How could he have made that mistake?
Walking out, foreign hands gripping his arms, Zeigler cursed the boy again. If he ever got his hands on him, he would make him pay. Someone would certainly have to face the penalty for ruining the operation and the sale of the new chemical weapon, and just like for everything else, the boy would be perfect.
Jack had never been more thankful to ride in a chopper in his life. Helicopters typically experienced less turbulence than an airplane, which meant that Mac wouldn't be as freaked out. He'd gotten the kid onto the chopper with only minor stumbling, and was able to buckle him in without freaking him out. Since Mac knew it was Jack with him, and he'd been on a chopper before, hopefully he recognized what was going on. Of course, Jack still made sure to keep a reassuring arm around the kid, his hand gently squeezing Mac's shoulder, just to remind him that even though he couldn't see or hear, he wasn't alone. Jack was still there, and he was never going to leave him.
It seemed to help significantly. Jack was a bit concerned about Mac falling asleep, since they really knew nothing about what he'd been drugged with, but it had been a very long day for both of them, and the kid was rightly exhausted. Since he couldn't distract the kid in any way that he was comfortable with - most things would involve him at least being able to hear what Jack was saying - he just decided to hold him close, and hope for the best. Mac was sitting in his own seat, safely buckled in, but he was heavily leaning against Jack as he nodded off. The kid was clearly trying to keep himself awake, but he was freezing and exhausted and who knew what else. He could've been in pain and Jack wouldn't know. If Mac was trying to hide his pain, he would, especially since he was already so vulnerable. Unless it was as serious a pain as losing his senses had been, Mac would be able to successfully hide it. That was good, at least. It meant that Mac wasn't in that same pain that he'd had to suffer through before. Jack was never going to get that out of his head, his kid clutching him and screaming in pain and Jack being utterly helpless to do anything about it. He knew he would dream of it for years to come, most likely.
Deciding that it would be better for Mac if he just could rest and actually sleep, Jack slowly put his arm around the kid's shoulders, just slow enough as not to startle him, and pulled him in close. Mac leaned in until he was pressed right up against Jack's side, and reached a hand around to rest it on Jack's chest, right over his heart. Then he relaxed, his eyes slipping closed, the feeling of Jack's steady heartbeat right under his hand. That was really the only sense he had left, and Jack hoped to God he didn't lose that too.
He needed to call Matty. She needed an update. Jack was pretty sure that Riley and Bozer and Leanna would be freaking out by now too, without any information. Luckily, he had signal.
"What's the situation, Dalton?" Matty asked the moment she picked up. "And don't give me the long drawn out story, I just need to know what happened."
"Well," Jack started with a sigh. "The bottom line is that one of the crazy scientist guys who was working on all these chemical weapons got his hands on Mac, and decided that the kid would be a good test subject for this drug he was working on. I got Mac out, but not before the drug took away his sense of smell. Then, the poor kid slowly lost his sight and hearing. He's asleep now, and seem's to be doin' okay, but we need to fix this, and fast." Jack shook his head, wondering once again what they would do if Mac never saw or heard again. Helen Keller had done it, and there had to be countless others in the world who lived being both deaf and blind. Jack was completely sure that Mac could do anything he set his mind to, but he didn't know if the kid would really want to try. Mac was fiercely independent and didn't like accepting help from others if he had any choice at all. Most of what made Mac who he was had to do with the way he saw the world and how he could transform those things he saw. Without the ability to do that, would Mac even want to keep on living? Jack quickly wiped at his eyes, clearing the tears away before they could really fall. This wasn't something he ever wanted to think about. The idea of Mac giving up all hope on living a life he was happy with brought tears to his eyes, and nearly sent him into a panic. He couldn't even imagine losing Mac. The kid was everything to him, and he would be there for him through this, no matter what.
He could hear Matty sigh on the other end of the line. "Understood. I'll tell the others, and I'll get the FBI to send a takedown team there. We have enough on them to put them all away for a very long time. Just try to keep him calm, and help him to know that he's safe, okay?" she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft.
"Of course, Matty," Jack replied. When Matty didn't respond, Jack hung up. In a situation like this, there was no point of small talk. He just wanted his kid to be okay.
The rest of the copter ride was pretty smooth. He just held Mac close, praying the whole way that this was reversible. Jack didn't know what they would do if it wasn't. But finally, they touched down at the Phoenix operated hospital in LA. Mac was going to need the best of care that medicine could provide, but due to the nature of what had happened, Matty had insisted that the hospital be Phoenix run.
As gently as he could, Jack shook Mac's shoulder to wake him up. The kid startled at first, but then quickly relaxed, with Jack's hand gently covering his own. Jack took Mac's hand in his, and brought it to the buckle of the safety belt. He hoped that by making Mac do the motions, he would realize what was going on, and feel more comfortable. It seemed to work, since as soon as the buckle was undone, Mac slowly stood up, Jack's hand resting on his shoulder.
"Hold on, bud," Jack said, even though he knew Mac couldn't hear him. He stopped the kid from taking a step forward. He needed to figure out how he was going to get the kid safely out of the helicopter and into the hospital. They already had a gurney ready, so he really just needed to get Mac out to it, as gently as possible. There seemed to be only one reasonable way to do that in a short amount of time.
Sighing, Jack carefully took Mac's arms and wrapped them around his neck and shoulder. The kid seemed confused, but cooperated with Jack's movements. Jack started to bend down a bit to get his arm under Mac's knees, but as soon as he did, Mac let go.
"No, you gotta stay there," he said, standing back upright and placing Mac's arms back where they were. He felt bad for the kid, who just stared ahead, his big blue eyes full of confusion. "It's gonna be okay," he whispered, gently running a hand through Mac's hair, hoping that would have the same effect that his words would. This time, when he bent down a bit, Mac kept his arms where they were. Jack couldn't stifle his chuckle when Mac gasped at the sudden feeling of being lifted into the air, but at least the kid kept his grip on Jack this time.
Jack rolled his eyes. All of this just to make sure the kid couldn't trip while getting out of the helicopter. Damn, he loved that kid.
As carefully as he could, Jack set Mac down on the gurney, and helped him to lie down. Mac's hands quickly roamed around the gurney, feeling the fabric of the sheet and pillow. That seemed to help, and he seemed to know what was going on. The feeling of hospital pillows was one that Mac and Jack both knew very well by that point, so it was no surprise that Mac could tell what was going on based solely on that. Mac sighed. He certainly didn't look happy about it, but he was smart enough to know that after being pumped full of some mystery drug, it was something that he very much needed.
Jack held his hand as the gurney started to roll towards the elevator. He kept a hand on his shoulder, gently massaging, as the doctors took blood samples and started him on an IV to get him hydrated. He gently combed his fingers through the kid's hair to calm him down when he flinched at unexpected contact, and did everything he could to remind him that everything was going to be okay. The doctors assured Jack that Mac would be under constant observation, and he appeared to be in perfect health, aside from his low body temperature and lack of most senses. That wasn't good enough.
Jack didn't leave Mac's side until the kid fell asleep in his hospital bed. The nurses had been hounding him about getting his bullet grazes checked out for hours by that point, but Jack wouldn't be moved. He was never going to leave that kid, no matter what. But, when he was safely resting, Jack forced himself to move from the chair next to him, to the neighboring bed. It was only a difference of two feet, but Jack didn't like it. He kept his eyes focused on Mac the whole time.
"These should heal up just fine," the nurse said, finishing up the wrapping on Jack's arm. "Neither one needs stitches, so as long as you keep them clean, you should be good as new pretty quickly." She smiled at Jack, and blushed as he put his shirt back on. If Jack had been looking anywhere but at his partner, he would've noticed that the pretty nurse had been checking him out the whole time, and had taken her sweet time with his arm, if only to keep him shirtless longer. But as it was, Jack only cared that his kid was okay, and thus did not notice her desire.
"I knew they would be," he mumbled in reply. If he'd had it his way, he wouldn't have had the grazes treated at all. The bullets had barely touched him. He'd gotten worse scrapes from falling off his bike as a kid. This was nothing.
Once the nurse was gone, Jack immediately moved back to the uncomfortable chair, and took up Mac's hand in his. The kid was asleep, and Jack knew that he should get some shut-eye too, but he couldn't bring himself to. He couldn't bring himself to do anything but pray that Mac would be okay when he woke up.
Mac was alone. It was dark, so dark he couldn't see anything, not even his hand in front of his face. And it was quiet. It was a bone-chilling quiet, not a single sound to be heard at all, not even the blood rushing through his eardrums. Mac tried to call out for Jack, but he couldn't hear his own voice. He knew he was panicking, he could feel himself beginning to hyperventilate. Where was Jack? Jack always helped him through his panic attacks, so where was he now? He tried to call out for Jack again, but he didn't hear anything.
Then there were arms grabbing him, holding him down. Mac tried to scream, but he couldn't. He was so scared, he'd never been more scared in his life. What was going on? Why couldn't he see or hear anything?
But then he could, and wished he couldn't. The darkness abruptly changed to a bright light, which faded to the mad scientist who'd drugged him. He could see the man in front of him, and he could hear him cackling, like something out of a B rate horror flick. Where was Jack? Jack always saved him. He called out for Jack again, and he could finally hear it.
"He's gone," the scientist said, a sadistic smile on his face. "You called for him, so he came for you, and we killed him." He stepped aside, revealing Jack, lying dead on the floor. "So, really, you killed him."
Mac could feel hands on his shoulders holding him down. His eyes flew open, and the darkness was back. He could feel himself screaming, but once more, he couldn't hear it. And it hurt. It hurt so, damn, much. The hands kept holding him down but his nose just hurt so much and he wanted it to stop, for the pain to finally end. Why did he have to go through so much pain? Mac tried to curl in on himself, but the hands stopped him from moving. He knew he was crying, and at this point, he didn't care. He just wanted it to be over.
And finally, it was. Just like before, the pain left as quickly as it came. Mac stopped screaming, and stilled, trying to calm himself down. It was okay, the pain was gone, it was fine. He took a deep breath, and breathed in the terribly familiar scent of hospital antiseptic.
Mac froze. He could smell the antiseptic. He could freaking smell it. He couldn't stop a huge smile from breaking out on his face. He could finally smell again. Mac took another deep breath, and tried to take in any smell that he possibly could. Jack was there, he had to be. Mac could smell him, could smell that recognizable mix of gunpowder and fading Old Spice and home. That always meant Jack.
"Jack?" he felt himself call out, hoping against hope that he wasn't stuck in another nightmare - although, this whole experience had been a nightmare. He lifted up a hand to search out for Jack, but still flinched when it collided with an arm that felt big and strong. That had to be him. "Jack?" he felt himself repeat. Oh so gently, that arm snaked its way around Mac and pulled him close. It was him. It was Jack. Mac clung to the man with all he had, and breathed in his scent. It was the most beautiful smell Mac could imagine. He buried his head in the man's chest and tried to keep his tears at bay. At least this time they were happy tears. He could smell again. "I can smell," he tried to say. He still couldn't hear it, but he hoped that Jack could. He leaned further into the man, and relaxed, just letting himself be held. Maybe it really was going to be okay.