Mac looked up as the blond man – Danny, he reminded himself – came into the room. He had a tall, dark haired man with him who was looking at Mac with trepidation.

"Hey Mac," Danny spoke softly. "How you feelin'?"

"Kinda like a Piñata," Mac answered, and Danny laughed a little. Don stepped forward nervously.

"Mac?"

"Mac, this is Don Flack," Danny said. Mac looked up at the man and smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry," Mac offered with a sigh. Flack gave a wide smile and a shake of his head.

"Don't worry about it," He replied. "Just focus on getting your memory back." Mac nodded; seemingly happy to have something to focus on.

"The rest of our team are working right now," Danny explained. "But they'll come in and see you as soon as they can." Mac nodded but didn't answer. Danny understood, and kept talking.

"The doctor is clearing you to be released tomorrow. We'll get you back to your apartment, maybe take you to the lab and see if anything shakes loose." Mac didn't know what to say, but Danny seemed to understand. Mac's eyes were drawn to Flack as the tall man sat in a nearby chair. Mac closed his eyes as a sharp pain stabbed behind his eyelids.

Blood was rushing through his fingers. Panic rose in his chest as he looked down at Flack's unconscious form; covered in soot and deathly pale.

Mac's eyes snapped open. Danny and Don were looking at him worriedly.

"You alright?" Danny asked slowly. Mac shook his head.

"I saw… I think I remembered… There was so much blood." Flack stood slowly.

"What was it, Mac?" Mac looked up at Don; pain clear on his face.

"It was you. There was so much blood and dirt. You were…" Mac swallowed thickly. "Dying." Danny and Flack sighed almost simultaneously, and Mac was surprised to find it was in relief.

"That was a long time ago," Don explained quietly. "There was an explosion. You saved my life that day." Mac didn't know what to say, so he just nodded slowly. Flack's phone rang, and the tall man answered it. After a moment of quiet conversation, he hung up and turned to the other two men in the room.

"That was dispatch. I gotta get going." Danny followed Don to the door; closing it behind the detective. Slowly he turned back to Mac.

"You should get some rest," He said as he sat in the room's only chair. "The doctor wants you stronger before he'll let you leave." Again Mac nodded, and Danny was disconcerted at how quiet his boss was being. Not letting it show on his face, Danny watched as Mac let his eyes fall closed.

Danny studied his boss as he slept. Things would get much harder for Mac as he started to remember. The loss of Claire alone could kill the usually stoic man. Remembering Flack meant it wouldn't be long before he remembered Corporal Whitney. Danny didn't know anyone who could help him through these losses – it was way before his time. Sighing softly, Danny closed his eyes. Knowing Mac was ok had relaxed him more than he was expecting, and he didn't fight it when he felt his eyes slipping closed.

(~*~)

Danny awoke to the sound of Mac in distress. The older man lay motionless in his bed, but an unintelligible stream of pleas were falling from his lips as he slept. Moving slowly, Danny approached Mac in the bed; trying to make out his words. All he got was 'no' 'please' and 'help' but it was enough to set alarm bells ringing. As carefully as he could, Danny rested a hand on Mac's chest; shaking him slightly.

"Mac?" Danny's voice was quiet, so he raised it just a little. "Mac, can you hear me? It's Danny. You need to wake up, Mac. C'mon." After a few more runs of mostly the same words, Mac's eyes began to flutter open. He looked up at Danny and the younger man felt him visibly relax.

"Danny," Mac sighed. Danny smiled; Mac remembered his name.

"Do you know what you were dreaming?" Danny asked carefully. It could have been old memories surfacing. After a long few seconds on trying to remember, Mac shook his head with a sigh. Danny nodded; his hand still on Mac's shoulder.

"Try and get some more sleep," Danny spoke quietly. "You need the rest; I'll be right here if you need me." Mac nodded; trying his best to ignore the sudden tightness in his chest when he looked at Danny. He could still feel Danny's hand on him, even as the younger man returned to the chair. Closing his eyes, Mac tried to relax. It was too late in the night to start analyzing the emotions that were swirling around inside him. Mac turned his head to the side; watching Danny in the darkness. The younger man had his eyes closed again, and Mac subconsciously smiled as Danny's breathing evened out. Mac continued to watch Danny sleep and in time his own eyelids became heavy.

(~*~)

Danny was at the front desk when he was almost bowled over by a ball of nervous energy called Adam.

"Danny!" Adam's eyes were wide and he looked a lot like he hadn't slept. "Where's Mac? Is he ok?"

"Adam, calm down," Danny spoke softly, but couldn't keep the chuckle out of his voice. "Mac is fine. Or as fine as he can be, since he has amnesia. I'm just filling out the paperwork to get him out of here." Adam nodded along with Danny's words; visibly relaxing as he spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"Everyone else was too busy, so I volunteered to check up on you. This case is all legwork, no forensics."

"Alright," Danny turned back to finish signing the papers, before leading Adam to Mac's room. "Mac is through there; he won't know who you are, but I need you to help him get ready to go." Adam nodded and after a small hesitation, he entered the room.

"Mac?" Adam spoke before coming fully into the room; wanting to give Mac fair warning he was there.

"Hello?" Adam took the response as a good sign, and slipped all the way into the room.

"Hey boss," He smiled. "How you feeling?" to his surprise, Mac laughed.

"Everyone keeps asking me that." This was the only explanation Mac offered, so Adam shrugged it off.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Adam," Adam answered. When he didn't elaborate, Mac gave him a look, and Adam laughed in relief. Mac looked confused.

"Sorry," Adam explained. "It's just that look you gave me. I've seen it so many times; I guess it's kinda comforting." Mac nodded, still a little confused but also relaxed by the answer.

"I'm Adam Ross," He tried again. "I work for you; at the lab." Again Mac nodded. Adam wasn't sure what to say next. He took a stunted step towards the man in the bed.

"Danny asked me to help you get ready. He's signing the papers to get you outta here." Mac sat up fully, and Adam was at his side. When Adam touched Mac's hand, a flash of feeling went through him. Unconsciously he smiled.

"You ok?" Adam asked carefully. Mac looked up at Adam, still smiling.

"Yeah…" Mac looked back down and where their skin touched. "This feels familiar. Like I know you. I feel… protective, somehow." Adam smiled at this as he helped Mac out of the bed.

"You've, uh…" Adam's other hand moved to scratch the back of his head; suddenly embarrassed. "You've kinda become like a father to me over the years." Mac didn't know what to say to that. He had the feeling that Adam had never told him this before. They were saved by Danny opening the door.

"All the papers are signed. I'm ready when you are." Danny smiled, and Mac was hit with another wave of emotion. Pushing it aside, he simply nodded. When they got out of here, he would have to figure out why his apparent employee was suddenly stirring feelings that were far from professional.