AN: Here is the requested part two to my tag for Magnifying Glass. It's much less dark than the first part, but I hope you still like it. It takes place a few days after the events of the first part. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!

In general, Mac had been doing pretty well, considering all that had happened. He was still having nightmares, but they weren't too bad - or maybe it was Jack always being there to wake him up that made them not bad. Still, he was recovering well, and so was Jack. Officially, Jack could be discharged any day now, but he refused to leave without Mac, so it was just easier to keep him at the hospital too.

But Mac knew that today could be different. It had been a media circus, just as predicted, and news reporters were finally allowed to come and talk to Mac and Jack directly. Bozer had already done his interview, which had gone remarkably well. He had had to talk to the police a lot and give his statement over and over and over again, so by the time the media came looking for him, he had accepted it. He had killed someone who was trying to murder his friends. Maybe it was because of Mac and Jack constantly telling him that he had to do it, and that he was a hero, but it helped. He was okay, and he kept the media off Jack and Mac for as long as they needed him too. They couldn't thank him enough for that - in addition to not being able to thank him enough for saving their lives.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Jack said to Mac, who was fiddling with his hands due to the lack of a paperclip. The two were still in their hospital beds, but Jack had been allowed to change into regular clothes. Mac, on the other hand, had not been as lucky. He was still required to wear the hospital gown.

"Yeah," Mac replied with a small smile. "I've fought terrorists on five different continents, so I think I can handle telling the media what happened all while maintaining our cover."

"It's not maintaining our cover that I'm worried about," Jack muttered. Mac would've responded, asked him what he meant by that, but he was stopped by a knock on the door. The door swung open to reveal a woman in her mid-thirties and a cameraman.

"Hi, I'm Jessica Stevens, and this is Bill," the woman said, motioning to her cameraman. "Are you ready?"

After looking at each other for confirmation, both Mac and Jack nodded. The woman motioned for the cameras to start rolling.

"This is Jessica Stevens with the two survivors of the Zodiac Killer's attack, Angus MacGyver and Jack Dalton-" she motioned to both of them "-and they've agreed to answer some questions about that horrific night. So, what exactly happened, boys?" She was standing between the two beds, ready to present the microphone to whoever spoke first.

"Well, we were in town for a business trip, and I had left the room to get me and my buddy some snacks from the vending machine," Mac started, his voice strong. Of course he could do this. "I was just standing there, when all of the sudden Jack screamed at me duck, so I did, and then the shooting started..." Mac trailed off, remembering what had happened. Jack picked up immediately.

"I'd stepped out to let him know that I wanted some pretzels, but when I did, I saw this guy, the Zodiac, standing at the end of the hall, pointing a gun at Mac. We served together in Afghanistan so when I told him to duck, he did. Then the maniac shot me." Jack stopped to put a protective hand over his shoulder. The interview didn't miss a beat.

"And you?" she asked Mac. "He shot you multiple times, correct?" She shoved the microphone in his face.

"Uhm, yeah, he shot me five times. First in the leg so I couldn't- so I couldn't get to Jack, then he shot Jack again, and then- and then me again." Mac stopped his stuttering and turned away from the camera, taking a deep breath and running his hands through his hair.

"And then what?" Jessica Stevens said, relentlessly pushing the microphone closer to Mac.

"He, he uh, he shot me again, and Jack again, and I could hear Jack calling out to me, but then he shot me again and it just hurt so much and then he shot me again, and again, and he was laughing and I- I thought-" Mac broke off to try to slow his breathing. Okay, maybe he wasn't as ready for this as he thought. No one had ever asked him to explain how he had been tortured on live television before, so yeah, maybe Jack was right.

"You thought what?" the woman asked, completely ignorant of the fact that Mac was close to hyperventilating.

"Hey, hey, how about you leave the kid alone?" Jack said, almost in a growl. "That psychopath shot him five times and that's all there is to it. That's all you need to know. He almost died, so he really needs to be resting right now. You're free to go." Jack leveled a glare at them that would have Bozer running scared.

"Our time isn't up yet," the interviewer exclaimed.

"It is now," Jack seethed. With that, the woman and the cameraman left the room without another word. The moment they were gone, Jack quickly got out of his bed and rushed to Mac's side. "Just breathe," he said. "It's okay, you're okay."

Mac gripped Jack's hand and closed his eyes. That had been one of the most terrifying nights of Mac's life, and that was coming from a long list of terrifying nights. But he was alive, and so was Jack. That was the most importing thing to remember. He let out a deep breath as his heart rate returned to normal. Everything was okay.

"Thanks," he muttered, giving Jack's hand a squeeze.

"Any time partner, any time."

Pain. So much pain. And terror. Pure, unadulterated terror. Mac was about to die, and he wouldn't even get to say goodbye to Jack. Jack was already dead. A single shot from the Zodiac had killed him instantly. At least he hadn't felt any pain, unlike Mac, who had already been shot five times. That was the Zodiac's MO, after all, being completely excessive. He stared up at the black hood, just wanting the pain to end, hoping to see Jack again on the other side. What even was the other side? Mac wished he had paid more attention to the Bible.

But he was so scared, and it hurt so much. The man standing over him was laughing, cackling maniacally as he leveled the gun at Mac's chest. Mac closed his eyes as felt more tears slip out, and then-

Jack had called out to Mac a few times, but to no avail. The kid wasn't waking up. He was whimpering in his sleep, and his head was thrashing back and forth. Jack carefully climbed out of the bed and made his way to Mac's side.

"Hey, Mac, it's okay," he said, gently laying his hand on Mac's.

The blond shot awake with a gasp. He flinched away from Jack upon seeing him so close, but quickly calmed down. Mac brought his other hand up to his face to wipe his tears away. Jack's heart broke even more. The poor kid had been crying in his sleep. He hadn't had a nightmare this bad since the attack, and Jack knew just whose fault it was. Brief thoughts of slashing the woman's tires ran through his head, but he quickly cleared them. His kid needed him.

"I'm sorry," Mac quickly got out. "I didn't mean to wake you." He broke eye contact with Jack and started fiddling with the edge of the blanket in typical Mac fashion.

"You have nothin' to be sorry for, bud, nothin'. You've been through hell, and you're allowed to have human reactions to that," Jack said with a small smile. He would never let Mac feel bad about something he couldn't control. The kid had been through too much already to have to deal with trying to compartmentalize all of this too.

"But you need to rest too," Mac said. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

Jack had to chuckle at that, saying, "you and I both know that I could've been discharged yesterday, so it's perfectly fine for me to be out of bed. You, on the other need, need to go back to sleep. If you're gonna be out of here in a week like you want, then you need all of the rest you can get." Mac looked up at Jack with those big blue eyes of his, and Jack knew what the kid was worried about. "I haven't left you since you woke up from surgery, and I will not start now. You have nothing to fear in going back to sleep, because I am going to be right here next to you. That's what brothers do," he said with a small smile. Jack gave Mac's hand another squeeze. Mac finally made eye contact with him again, looking up appreciatively.

"Okay, thanks, Jack," he said with a small nod. Mac snuggled back into the pillow, but didn't close his eyes.

"Go to sleep, kid," Jack chuckled. "I'm right beside ya."

Mac finally let out a real smile, and closed his eyes. Jack didn't take his hand away or move back to his bed until Mac's breathing had completely evened out, signifying that he had once again fallen asleep.

"Sweet dreams, kiddo."