AN: I know I said this would be the last chapter, but I was wrong. There should be one more after this. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
Jack couldn't stop a few tears of joy from falling as he held his kid in his arms. The boy could smell again. That meant he was slowly getting his senses back, and in a while, he should be okay. The drug wasn't going to kill him, and he was going to recover. The only downside was that it was going to take some pain in order to get there. While Mac's sense of smell was coming back, he had been in just as much pain as when he'd lost it. Sadly, that likely meant that getting his sight and hearing back would be a painful experience as well.
"Can we give him something?" Jack asked to the nurse who was checking the kid's vital signs. "Just for the pain. It's gonna hurt even more with the next one." Mac really didn't like taking anything, and Jack hated to slip him something without his knowledge, but he hated seeing him screaming in agony even more. If they could give him something that would dull the pain, even just a little bit, it would be worth it.
"I'm sorry, Agent Dalton, but the labs haven't finished analyzing MacGyver's blood samples yet, so we don't want to risk giving him anything," the nurse said with an apologetic shake of her head. "It seems as though the drug will run its course and flush itself out naturally. We don't want to give him anything that could jeopardize that process.
Jack sighed, but he understood. He would just stay there, holding Mac, as long as he needed. His partner hadn't yet moved. It had been several minutes, but Mac was still holding on to the front of Jack's shirt and had his head resting against Jack's chest. Jack was completely content to just hold him, one hand gently rubbing circles on his back, and the others softly running through the kid's hair. From his position, Jack couldn't tell for sure, but based on his breathing, it felt like Mac had fallen asleep there in Jack's arms. That was fine with him. If he could help Mac to feel safe enough to sleep, and sleep without nightmares, that was just fine with him.
"How is he?" Riley asked, walking through the door with two coffees in hand. She set the two coffees down on the table and lightly reached around the sleeping blond to hug both Mac and Jack at the same time. It was a bit uncomfortable, but Jack would suffer through anything for his kids. She then went to stand at the foot of the hospital bed, picking up one coffee and leaving the other for Jack. Based on the sweet smile that graced her face upon seeing Mac, the kid had to be truly asleep in Jack's arms.
"He can smell again," Jack whispered with a smile. "His body temp is still low, but little by little it's climbing. The doctors all say the drug should just run its course and he'll be fine. It's gonna be painful until then, but he's gonna be okay."
"Yeah," she replied softly, gently sitting down on the end of the bed. "He looks like he's gonna be just fine. I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't." She shook her head with a sigh. "The whole time you guys were gone I just knew something was wrong, like more wrong than normal. Then when Matty finally told me what happened, all I could think was that Mac was never gonna be okay again." Riley paused to take a deep breath and a sip of her coffee. "I just wanted him to be okay. He's like my little brother, you know? I hate it when he's hurt," she finished in a mutter. "I'm sorry, I know it's all fine!" she quickly continued with a smile. "It's just been a rough few days, you know?" She sighed and shook her head.
"It's okay, Ri, I've been doing more than my fair share of freaking out too. It's okay to get nervous about it," Jack responded with a smile. "But our boy is gonna be just fine in a day or two, and that's all that matters now. The guy who did this to him is going behind bars for a long time, and everything is okay now." Jack kept up his gentle ministrations in Mac's hair. The kid may have been asleep, but that motion was calming to Jack too.
He felt terrible that Riley had been so worried. Of course she'd been. Jack knew she hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said that she thought of Mac as her little brother, so of course upon hearing that he was so badly hurt she would be terrified for him. But he was going to be okay, and that really was all that mattered.
"Bozer said that he's gonna come over to see you guys as soon as he can get away from the lab," she continued. "He buried himself in his work in order to keep himself from going crazy with worry, and now he can't get away." Riley chuckled. "Leanna is keeping him company though. Matty will be over once she finishes the official stuff."
Jack nodded, then turned his attention back to the sleeping boy in his arms. It still seemed unreal that after everything, Mac really was going to be okay. Jack had been so terrified that he was going to lose the kid, and it was hard to accept that maybe he could relax, because everything was going to be fine.
He stiffened when he felt Mac moving. He'd woken up. But Mac didn't seem like he was going to move any time soon. He didn't seem to be in any pain at all, rather, he seemed content to just sit where he was, with Jack's arms around him. Mac snuggled deeper into the man and breathed in his smell. Despite everything, Mac actually looked happy. Jack couldn't help but smile.
"How do I let him know I'm here without freaking him out?" Riley asked. She'd stood up and was now standing right next to Jack at the side of the bed. Jack had climbed into the bed to make it easier to hold his partner, but Riley hadn't yet taken the seat that had been sitting vacant for the last hour.
"I can help with that," he replied. "Stick out your hand." Riley did as he instructed, and Jack removed his hand from Mac's hair and took a gentle hold of the kid's hand, which was still holding onto the front of Jack's shirt. It took some gentle prodding to make Mac let go without making the kid think Jack was leaving him, but he managed it, and brought Mac's hand over to Riley's outstretched one. Mac sat up more against Jack when he made contact with Riley's smooth skin. He dragged his hand up from hers to her shoulder, where her hair was hanging, curly and loose.
"Riley?" he hesitantly asked, then sighed. The kid was probably upset that he still couldn't hear himself speak.
"Yes, Mac, it's me," she responded, despite knowing that Mac couldn't hear her. She gently brought her hand to the kid's blond hair and ran her fingers through it before leaning down to hug him as much as she could. Mac kept one hand on Jack, but brought the other around Riley and pulled her close, almost making her fall on top of him.
"I think he's glad you're here," Jack said with a chuckle when Riley made a small sound of protest when Mac pulled her down so suddenly. "And so am I," he continued in a low voice. Despite it all, he was happy. The doctors had assured him that Mac really was going to be okay, and they would be even more sure once they had the drug completely analyzed. Both of his kids were right here, safe and sound in his arms. Things were good.
Riley would never tell Jack how much she had been freaking out while he and Mac were gone. She had just known that something was more wrong than normal, and she was powerless to do anything to help. She hated it. The utter relief she felt upon hearing from Matty that they were en route to a Phoenix hospital had almost been enough to knock her off her feet. They were okay. And now she could see with her own eyes that they were. Mac was still healing, but he was okay, and the little bullet grazes were barely worse than a papercut for Jack, so he was fine too. Riley breathed another sigh of relief from where she sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair. She had chosen to take it once Mac had released her from his hug. He'd snuggled back into Jack, and was now resting there. Earlier, he'd looked content, but now, something looked just a little bit off. Of course, that could be because he couldn't see anything, so his sightless eyes were just staring straight forward.
"How long will it be until he can see again?" She asked. She knew Jack didn't really know, but maybe he could have some insight.
"It'll be soon, I can tell." Riley looked over at Jack, and noticed that his face was set in rigid determination. "He went stiff a few minutes ago, and his breathing is different. He's in pain right now, which really is a good thing, but it won't be pretty to watch." Mac squeezed his eyes shut tight and shook his head, as if he were confirming what Jack had said. The man wrapped his arms a little tighter around his partner, and the blond clutched him tighter in turn. Riley could see tears beginning to fall from his closed lids, and her heart broke. She needed to do something.
Setting her coffee down on the table, Riley stood and gently laid a hand on Mac's shaking shoulder. He was shaking so badly that she couldn't tell whether or not he flinched at her sudden touch. Still, she rubbed his arm, and hoped it did something, anything, just to remind him that it was going to be okay.
"You're gonna be okay," she said, looking from Mac to Jack, who looked like he was almost in as much pain for his partner as Mac was himself.
Mac began to moan in pain and curled further into himself and Jack. He clenched his teeth as he began to cry out in pain, and Riley couldn't stop tears of her own from falling. Her little brother was in agony and there was nothing she could do to make it better.
A nurse stopped by to make sure that everything was "okay", but there was nothing she could do either, since they still didn't want to give him anything, so she left to give them all some more privacy. Mac just continued to cry out, and Jack even had to take his hands so he couldn't scratch at his eyes. That's what broke Riley's heart the most, seeing the tears in Jack's eyes as the man had to restrain his partner for the boy's own protection. She tried to hold Mac, to keep him both still and maybe a little bit more calm, but she didn't know if it helped at all.
Then, Mac's shaking stopped, and he went limp. Riley moved away to arms-length. Could he see now? Jack brought his hand back up to Mac's hair and resumed his ministrations. Mac still had his eyes squeezed shut, but he tilted his head to look up at Jack, and so slowly opened his eyes. A huge smile broke out on his face as he stared up at Jack. That's all Riley needed to know that he could see. Mac mouthed Jack's name as happy tears filled his eyes. He just kept staring up at the man, the smile on his face only growing larger when Jack smiled too. He probably thought he might never actually see Jack again.
Finally, Jack motioned over to Riley, so Mac quickly turned his head and saw her too. He mouthed her name and continued to smile, resting his head on Jack's chest.
"Beautiful," Mac said, but Riley didn't know if he was talking about her, or the room, or being able to see in general, or even Jack. She couldn't exactly ask him, but he was happy for now, and he could see again, and that was all that mattered.
Jack wrapped his arms around Mac once again, and the blond snuggled back into him.
"He's tired," she said. Mac seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open, but he kept looking between Jack and Riley, like they were all he wanted to see. But he couldn't stay awake forever.
"Pain takes a lot out of ya," Jack replied, rubbing circles on Mac's back to relax him. "He needs to sleep, rest more."
Riley waved her hand to get Mac's attention. He kept his eyes wide on her, almost comically wide, like he didn't want to miss anything. It reminded her of a puppy who just wanted to stay awake forever. Riley pointed at Mac, then motioned for him to sleep by turning her head to the side and putting her hands under like a pillow. If the smile that broke out on his face was anything to go by, then he understood exactly what she was trying to tell him. Mac looked up at Jack, who nodded vigorously. With another smile, Mac closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into Jack.
"I hope he's comfortable," Riley said with a laugh. She took the last sip of her coffee and leaned back as far as the stiff chair would allow.
"I'll have you know that a 12-year-old Riley thought that I was the most comfortable bed in town whenever she wanted to be carried in from the car," Jack replied with a smile. Riley groaned and shook her head. He just couldn't seem to ever let her forget about that. "But he's probably the best snuggle buddy I've ever had, just don't let him know that. In fact, as soon as he's healthy again, he's probably not gonna even wanna bro hug for like a month just to make up for all the cuddling we've done these past few days."
Riley couldn't help but laugh at that, but knowing Mac, Jack was probably right. He was generally only a touchy person in private and during traumatic times. While this may have technically still counted, she knew that once the whole team was there, Mac wouldn't want them to see him snuggled up against Jack. In most situations, she would've loved to get photographic evidence of it to use as blackmail, but this time, that didn't seem right. Mac had been through hell, and he deserved to be held without fear of being blackmailed for it.
"I'll just let you guys be for now," she said with a smile. Riley stood up and grabbed her empty coffee cup.
"You don't have to go," Jack protested. "You won't wake him up, he can't hear you." Jack made eye contact with her and smiled, letting her know that the almost-pun was completely intentional.
"No, I need a coffee refill anyway, and I should give Matty and the others an update. Besides, it looks like you could use a nap too." Riley stood over the two of them, and gently ran her fingers through Mac's hair. "Take care of him," she said with a smile.
"I always do," Jack responded, holding the boy close.
Riley turned the lights down lower as she left the room, and she even stopped by the nurses' station to make sure that Mac and Jack would be undisturbed for a while. They needed all the rest they could get, and if she could help them get that, she would. Throughout their predicament, she had been completely powerless, but not anymore. Now, she would do anything she possibly could to help them, even in the smallest of ways.