Disclaimer: I still don't own MacGyver.
A/N: I just wanted to send a big thank you to all of you who have reviewed, favorited, and are following this story. You guys sure do know how to make a girl feel welcome! Anyways onto chapter two!
A Not So Merry Christmas-Chapter 2
A stampede of heavy feet rushes up the stairs and down the hallway to Cage's apartment. The sound of police radios and urgent commands greets Jack, Bozer, Matty, and Cage as they enter the chaotic scene in front of them. Officers are talking about canvasses and forensics. Two paramedics are shouting out orders and information to each other.
While, Matty and Cage go to speak with the offices to find out what information they know, Jack and Bozer rush to their friend's side, where a female and male paramedic are quickly and efficiently moving Mac from the floor to a gurney. The former Delta lets out a stream of curses when he finally sees Mac. He has seen corpses with more color. The kid's face is nearly translucent, the only color is a steady stream of bright red blood dripping from the kid's slack lips.
"Jesus, Mac!" Jack hisses.
"What's wrong with him?" Bozer asks brokenly.
'Brett', as is name tag says doesn't look up from his task of attaching a bag of clear fluid to Mac's IV. "Two gun shot wounds. One to the lung and one to the belly."
"Shit!" Jack says running a hand over is face. "Vitals?"
The female paramedic, Julie, throws her bag over her shoulder. "BP is bottoming out. Pulse is weak but fast. Shallow respirations."
"He's going to be okay, right? Bozer asks.
"We need to move," Brett cuts in.
Jack doesn't miss how neither paramedic answers Bozer's question. Their silence says it all.
"Where are you taking him?" Jack asks.
"Presbyterian," Julie answers as she kicks the wheels on the gurney to start to move it. "It's the closest Trauma One Center. There's enough room for one of you to come. Who's coming?"
Bozer and jack look at each other. Who is going to go with Mac? They both want to, but they can't.
Bozer takes a step towards Mac. Bozer is going to ride with Mac in the ambulance. Jack knows it's kinda shitty of him but he's a little annoyed that Bozer took it upon himself to go with Mac. It should be him. Mac is hurt. The person who did this is still out there. He needs someone there to protect him because he can't protect himself. And even though Bozer has known their friend longer, Jack should be riding with Mac. Bozer does not have the skills needed to protect Mac. And that's what Mac needs right now. He needs someone to look after him, like Jack should have been doing in the first place. He may have failed before in protecting Mac, but he's not going to make that same mistake again. If only, Bozer will let him.
Bozer bends down over the blonde and places his hand on his friend's forehead. He whispers something in Mac's ear, but Jack can't make it out.
"Sorry, but we really need to get going." Brett interrupts.
Bozer reluctantly and slowly stands up right. "Okay." He turns and looks at Jack. "You go."
His moment of aggravation with Bozer instantly flees, "You sure?
Bozer shakes his head. "Yeah, Mac needs you right now. I'll go back to Phoenix and work with Riley to find out who did this. That's where I'll do the most good."
Jack nods his head and slaps Bozer on the back before he rushes to follow Mac's gurney out the door. He's at the threshold of the door when he hears Bozer call him.
"Yeah, man?"
Bozer doesn't say anything. But the combination of fear and resolve tell Jack what the newest member of their team isn't saying.
"I got him, Bozer. I got him."
Bozer nods his head and Jack quickly turns and rushes to meet the EMT's and Mac at the waiting ambulance.
XXXXX
Jack feels like he's been sitting here for hours. And for hours before that he was pacing the small hospital waiting room much to the chagrin of the other people waiting in the small space, as well as the hospital staff. Jack checks his watch again for the hundredth time since he was first ushered to this purgatory and Mac was rushed into surgery. Words like hypovolemic shock, pneumothorax, and perforated colon are still rolling around in his head after they were first thrown at him by Dr. Russo more than six hours ago.
And except for Dr. Russo telling him in a rush that Mac was being redlined to the OR with a collapsed lung and a belly wound, Jack has heard nothing else.
To make matters worse he has not heard anything from Bozer, Riley, and Cage. Matty was the only one who has contacted him, and it was only to see how Mac was doing.
Whoever said, 'no news is good news' is full of shit. Because not hearing anything about your friend's condition after seeing their near lifeless body does not bring you any peace of mind. If anything, no news causes nightmarish thoughts. Thoughts like Mac's lifeless body on a cold, metal table with a team of medical personnel working up the nerve to tell a former Delta and a scary Matty Weber that their resident genius is dead.
"Anything?"
Jack looks up to see Matty and Bozer standing in front of him.
"Nada."
"That's good right?" Bozer asks hopefully.
Man, Jack wishes he can have some of Bozer's optimism right now. But Bozer didn't see Mac. He didn't see Mac being rushed to the OR with a tube down his throat because he can't do the simple talks of breathing on his own. Bozer did not see the doctor's scrubs soaked with Mac's blood.
"I talked to Medical at Phoenix. They're ready to go as soon as the doctors give the okay. I don't like him being in an unsecured Hospital," Matty says.
Matty doesn't need to elaborate. He's been thinking the same thing. If someone can get to Mac on the outside what or who is stopping Mac's assailant from finishing the job within a hospital where there are countless pharmaceuticals available to finish the job.
Speaking of assailant. "Any idea what the hell happened here?" Jack asks. "Any leads?"
Mac is in surgery and physically there's nothing he can do to help him. But, he can find whoever did this to Mac and make them pay.
"Cage is still working the scene. So far, she hasn't found anything," Matty says.
"How about Riley?"
Matty shakes her head. "So far, nothing. Whoever did this is a ghost. A professional."
"How about your contacts? Any chatter?" Jack asks. "I mean, Mac and I took down a fair number of bad asses. We pissed off a lot of people."
"I reached out to all my contacts. Nothing."
Jack lets out a loud sigh and motions with his hand down the hall towards where Mac was rushed to hours ago. "Great! Great! Just fucking great! Mac is lying in the hospital with a hole in his lung and belly and we got shit!"
Matty looks around at the confused faces of the half dozen people sitting in the waiting room. "You need to check yourself! We need you to keep your head in the game to find whoever did this. We and Blondie can't afford to have you go AWOL off the reservation guns blazing!"
"Um…guys." Bozer attempts to butt in.
"Look, Matty."
"Don't 'Look Matty' me."
"Guys," Bozer tries again this time louder.
"It's my damn job to look after the kid!"
"And what Blondie needs now…"
"GUYS!" Bozer yells.
Matty and Jack glare at Bozer.
"What?!
"What, Bozer!"
Bozer motions to the sheepish looking doctor who is looking at them.
"You here for Angus MacGyver?" Dr. Russo asks.
"Yeah, Doc." Jack answers.
"How is he doing?" Bozer asks.
"Well, as I told Jack before, your friend came in with two gun shot wounds. One to the right lung and one to the colon. The one to the lung hit a rib and splintered. It caused his lung to collapse and we had no choice but to remove his spleen. Another bullet splinter lacerated his kidney, but we were able to repair the renal laceration."
"Now the bullet wound to the colon is a little trickier. It hit a major artery and he was already in hypovolemic shock when he was brought into the ER. We were able to repair the artery and damage to the colon. However, we did have to perform a colostomy."
Dr. Russo sees the visibly shaken looks on the trio's faces. He puts his hands up. "I performed a temporary colostomy. Mr. MacGyver's colon needs time to heal and a temporary colostomy lets that happen. If all goes right the procedure will be reversed within the next couple of weeks."
A collective sigh of relief can be heard.
"So, he's going to be okay?" Jack asks. Cautiously.
"In time. It's not going to be a quick recovery. But, I'm reasonably optimistic that your friend will make a full recovery, if there are no complications within the next 48 hours," Dr. Russo explains with a small smile. "He's currently in recovery but will be moved shortly to ICU."
"Good, that's really good," Bozer says with a small chuckle.
"It is," Jack says with a smile.
For the first time in hours Jack feels like he can breathe again. In his relief he is half listening to Matty talking to Dr. Russo about making the necessary arrangements to move Mac to Phoenix.
"I'm going to call Riley and tell her," Bozer says as he excuses himself.
Jack nods his head. He's about to call Cage when a young nurse clears her throat.
"Excuse, Mr. Dalton?" A nurse named Emma asks.
Jack looks up from his phone. "That's me. Is Mac ready to see visitors?"
She gives him a small, sad smile. "I'm sorry, but not yet. But, you do have a phone call at the nurses' station."
"Me?" Jack asks.
" Are you Jack Dalton?" Emma asks with a smirk.
Jack laughs as she points towards the nurses' station. "You better get it."
Jack reaches the nurses' station in a few quick strides and picks up the waiting Phone. "Jack Dalton."
"Hello, Jack! How is our boy doing?" an all too familiar, infuriating voice replies.
Jack looks around the nurses' station in alarm. "Murdoc."
I'm a real sucker for Mac Whump and Protective Jack and Bozer, so don't worry there will be plenty more to come.