A tablet set on the counter top next to me was showing a live feed, a feed which was identical to that showing in the war room.
I wasn't technically allowed access to that footage but Riley had cloned the feed through to me, and Matty hadn't stopped her. Or said anything to me, though I held no illusion that she was unaware I had access to it.
I had one earphone in, listening in on the mission while still working on some research in my own laboratory. It was reassuring to know what was going on with my boyfriend and his team, without having to get the information second hand from Matty or Riley.

"We're a little stuck here, man," I heard Jack say.
I could hear gunfire in the background and shouts in an Eastern European language.
"I know," Mac shouted back, "I'm working on it."
"Not that I don't love your genius and all, man. But could you maybe," Jack broke off and the comms feed filled with more gunfire before he finished. "Work a bit faster?"
"Two more minutes," Mac shouted back. "Are Riley and Bozer in the area?"
I didn't hear the reply, but I assumed from the satisfied noise that Mac made that Jack hold told him that they weren't. I looked across at the feed and could only see the images from Jack's Tac vest and the camera that Mac was wearing. Where ever the other two were, I couldn't see their footage and I couldn't see them in any footage either.
"Okay Jack," Mac said. "I need you to cover me while I push this further into the square, and then you need to run like hell."
"You're going out there?!" I heard Jack exclaim, and I was glad that I wasn't the only one who was displeased with the notion.
"Well we don't want it exploding here next to us!" Mac shot back.
"I don't need to go far, just enough to give us some room, okay?" he said more gently.
"Tell me when you're ready," Jack told him.
"Promise me you'll run as soon as I turn my back on it," Mac said to him.
"I promise, hoss."
I watched as the two men nodded to each other and then I tipped the screen down and turned the volume way down. I couldn't watch the love of my life walk headfirst into danger, and I had learnt from experience that turning the volume down was a good idea if an explosion was imminent. The blast itself was usually loud and the fall out tended to include a lot of shouting in various languages.
I heard the muted sound of a blast, the inevitable shouts and pandemonium, and then counted to fifteen before righting the screen.
Mac's camera was showing footage but Jack's was black.
I had a moment to panic before I heard both Mac and Matty's voices through the earphone. I turned the volume back up and caught half of what Matty was saying.
"-you alright? What's going on blondie?"
Mac's voice came through, slightly strained but he was clearly alright.
"Jack was a few feet behind me when we hit the deck," he told us. He was helping Jack to his feet, who was grumbling about something. The comms weren't picking his words up clearly.
"Exfil is waiting," Matty told them. "Riley and Bozer are nearly there, so get your asses into gear boys."
I went back to what I was doing, still listening to the feed, until I heard the sound of chopper blades. That was when I noticed something strange.
Jack was swaying slightly as he walked, not his usual swagger but an honest swaying motion like he was having trouble with his balance. Bozer clapped him on the shoulder as the two groups met back up and I saw Jack stumble. Jack doesn't stumble over his feet and there was no way that Bozer's action had enough force behind it to knock Jack's balance off. My hand was already reaching for my phone as I watched them board the aircraft, but what happened next made me snatch it off the counter and run for the door.
As the aircraft took off, Jack retched and then promptly collapsed onto the helicopter floor.

I was out the door and running for medical while there was shouting through the earphones that I was still wearing. My fingers hit a number in my speed dial and I kept running through the corridors with the phone to my ear.
"Now isn't a good time," came Matilda Webber's terse voice as the call connected.
"I know," I replied breathlessly. "I was just letting you know that I'm already on the way to medical. I'll be waiting with a stretcher when the chopper lands."
I heard her sigh on the other end of the phone.
"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear you have unsanctioned access to mission feeds," she told me. "But good work. You're probably the only medical officer he's going to let near him."
"You'd be more surprised if I wasn't watching," I told her as I almost crashed through the doors to medical. "Should I let Riley or Mac know I have Medical organised?"
"Text Riley," she replied. "I know you aren't looking at the feed, but Blondie's a little preoccupied at the minute."
"Roger. I'll let you know when I get to the air field," I said to Matty. Neither of us bothered with the niceties of saying good bye.
I sent a quick text to Riley and shoved my phone in my pocket as I rounded on the nurse's station. I rapped on the door rapidly, hoping someone was inside and would answer quickly. I needn't have worried. The sound of running steps and the slamming of the door as I entered had gained attention and the nurse on duty opened the door.
"Have to admit, I wasn't expecting to see you," the nurse said. "You aren't rostered on down here this week."
Then she saw the slightly wild look in my eyes.
"Is everything alright?"
"We need a vehicle and stretcher to meet the helicopter when it arrives," I informed her. "Jack, I mean Dalton collapsed when he entered the chopper."
"Any other injuries?" She was instantly in nurse mode.
"Unknown," I replied. "Mac and Jack hit the deck during, or just before, an explosion but I have no idea where or what Riley and Bozer were up to."
The nurse sighed.
"You know we'll have to check Mac for chemical and powder burns, right?" she said. "And Jack is going to be a living nightmare to attend to."
"You could send me with a nurse," I offered.
"I don't even care if Director Webber has signed off on this, you're going," she said. "I'll grab someone and make sure they have a full kit with them."
As she bustled off to find someone to send with me, likely Alex Sands, I checked my phone. There was a message from Riley, a message from Matty and, surprisingly, a message from Mac. I checked the message from Matty first, but all it said was that she had told the team I would be waiting with medical for them. As much as I wanted to check Mac's message next, I knew that in terms of mission parameters, it would be more pertinent to check what Riley said. She had sent me a quick list of any injuries, but aside from Jack there wasn't anything of importance. Still, I locked the message to show whoever was coming with me before moving onto the last message. I felt my heart start racing as I opened the message, desperately hoping that it was good news.
It was a picture with a single caption. I could clearly see Riley berating Jack who looked chastened with the words 'I think he's learnt his lesson' underneath. I could hear two sets of footsteps coming back towards be, but before I put my phone away I sent my own message back to my genius.
'So long as you're okay x'

As I expected, the nurse on duty was returning with nurse Alex Sands. He was a no-nonsense ex army nurse and was just about the only person in medical that Jack and Mac both listened to.
"I would say good to see you again but under the circumstances…" he trailed off with a small shrug.
"It could be better, yea," I agreed.
The duty nurse said her good byes and Alex and I made our way to the medication room.
"What are we looking at and how long have we got?" he asked me, switching on the light and glancing about the room.
"They left Chicago about ten minutes ago, so," I hummed and pulled my phone out. "We have three hours and fifty minutes until they touch down. And here."
I passed the phone across with Riley's message on the screen, and Alex set about pulling items off of the shelves and into various bags.
"You're in charge of getting Dalton onto a stretcher and into for any scans," Alex told me.
"I figured," I snorted. "I can't see why else Matty would okay me going."
"She's a soft touch really," Alex said with a smile. "Do you know how to treat chemical or gun powder burns?"
That made me laugh and I looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"What?" he asked as he looked at me. And then. "Oh right, never mind."
"Of course I know," I said, still laughing. "I'm guessing you want me to check and treat Mac too?"
Alex zipped up a bag and slung it across his body before handing me a smaller bag.
"You're the only one who's going to be able to get agent MacGyver to even admit he's injured."
I shrugged. "It's either I find out when he lands, or I find out later in the shower or when I accidentally elbow bruised ribs."
Mac had figured out quite quickly that being open and honest with me about his injuries saved a lot of fussing later.

Three hours and forty five minutes later, I was sitting in the airport building at the private airstrip that Phoenix used. In front of me was fruit smoothie for Riley and a coffee in a thermos cup for Mac, and was playing a pattern game on my phone. Beside me, Alex was chatting with someone else who was sitting in the lounge.
The sound of chopper blades reached me and both Alex and I shot upright. He excused himself quickly and we both raced to the van and car that we had taken from Phoenix. The good thing about a private air field was that the rules about cars on the tarmac were so much more flexible than a public air field, and they were also less worried about who stood on the tarmac when air craft had come to a stop. This meant that both Alex and I were waiting by the door the minute the blades of the helicopter had stopped spinning. Unsurprisingly, when the door opened it was Riley and Bozer who disembarked first. They gave us a friendly wave and then stood either side of the door, waiting for Jack. The older agent still looked green as he stepped out of the door and the way that the younger agents grabbed his arms proved that he was still dizzy. Alex and I wheeled a gurney over to them, not wanting Jack to start walking and potentially fall and injury himself some more.
"I don't need no gurney, man," Jack complained when we reached him.
"Double negative, Jack," Mac called from behind him. Jack turned to glare at the blond but the motion made him sway on the spot.
"Means you're saying you do need the gurney," I said cheekily. "Which, I would definitely agree with."
As Riley helped Jack towards the stretcher and steadfastly ignored his grumblings, I turned to watch Mac leave the helicopter.
"How'd you get Matty to agree to you being here?" He asked.
"Less agree, more informed her I was already on the way to Medical before anyone else got a word in," I informed him as I took his hand.
Mac wasn't big on public displays of affection, plus I knew that holding his hand was a surefire way of checking if he had any burns.
"It's probably the only reason Jack got on the gurney rather than stumbling to a car," Mac laughed.
"I don't doubt it," I agreed. "I'm supposed to check the rest of you over before we get back to Phoenix."
"I thought Riley sent you a list of all our injuries?" Mac asked me.
"Oh, she did. I still need to check, and I don't trust a single one of you to have been honest either."
I gently elbowed Mac in the ribs and he took a half step away from me with a fond glare.
"Alright, get off the Tarmac and we will all be good examples for Jack and get seen to," he sighed.
"Speaking of Jack," I looked across to where he was at least sitting on the gurney.
"I don't need to be strapped in and wheeled like an invalid," Jack was protesting.
Mac and I picked up our pace and reached the stretcher.
"Jack, just lie down and let Nurse Sands do his job," I sighed.
"But I'm fine," Jack protested.
"You're really not," Mac put in.
"Jack, I saw the footage. And you're still wobbly," I said calmly. "I know that your head is still spinning. If you lie down everything will be better."
"If I go slowly I'll be okay," Jack repeated. "This is overkill."
"Jack," I said again, my voice hard. "You are not okay. You need to have medical look at you. And we need to get off of the tarmac. Now lie down, shut up and let Alex and I .jobs."
He looked at me and I stared back at him, determined not to blink first.
"Fine," he sighed. Then he swung his legs up and lay back slowly. "Off we go."
I let out a breath and then we all made our way off the tarmac.

Riley decided she would ride with Jack and Alex, while Bozer joined me and Mac in the SUV.
Bozer had been perfectly honest in his assessment and there was only a scrape on him knuckles that barely even warranted icing. It appeared that Mac had also been honest, only gaining a few minor scrapes and bruises. Or at least, that was all I could see at the moment, I expected to see a few bruises on his chest or stomach tomorrow.
"So what do you think's wrong with Jack?" Bozer asked as I drove back to the Phoenix Foundation.
"Concussion," Mac and I answered simultaneously.
"I wish you two would stop doing that," he mumbled. Then louder. "What made you think concussion, and how would he have got one?"
"Nausea, dizziness and a loss of balance are all symptoms of a concussion," I said.
"And Jack was having trouble focussing in the chopper," Mac added. "As to how he got one..."
I kept my eyes on the road and I knew Mac was thinking over the mission.
"Dammit Jack," Mac hissed. "He was behind me when the bomb went off. I didn't notice that he hadn't started running when I told him to. He must have been thrown by the force of the explosion and hit his head when he landed."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mac reach into the glove box and rummage around for a moment before sitting back with a small sigh. We had reached a stop light and I took one hand off of the steering wheel to fish something out of my pocket and hand it across to Mac with a squeeze of his hand. He gave me a grateful smile and immediately started twisting the thin metal.

Bozer caught my shoulder as we were walking back up from the garage.
"Mac's gonna think this is his fault, isn't he?" Bozer said it more like a statement than a question.
"We both know the answer to that," I said with a sigh.
"I'm sure Jack will try to talk him out of it," Bozer said reassuringly.
"Let's hope so. Either way, the team will be off rota for at least a week."

"Mac and Jack are both going to go mad," Bozer said despairingly. "He's gonna destroy every piece of technology in the house."
I patted Bozer on the shoulder as we reached Medical.
"I can try to keep the destruction to a minimal," I offered. "I expect Matty will give me some time off, and otherwise I'm sure Mac can help me in the lab."
Bozer just sighed again.

We entered medical in time to hear the end of the doctor's instructions to Jack.
"- every hour for at least the next twenty four hours," he was saying.
"Yea, been there done that before, Doc," Jack told him.
"Do you have someone who can stay with you, or somewhere to stay?" the doctor asked.
Jack looked across at Mac.
"He can stay with me," Mac told the doctor. Then he noticed me and Bozer.
"Is that alright with you guys?" he asked us.
"Of course, man," Bozer replied at the same time that I said "Always."
"I'm sure you all know standard concussion protocol, but I'll send a leaflet home with you all anyway," the doctor said as he pulled his gloves off.
"Thank you," I said. "Do you know if Director Webber wants a debrief now or later?"
"Later will be fine," a voice said from behind me.
I spun around to see that Matty had entered Medical.
"Thanks Matty," Bozer said gratefully. "I can't wait to go home and have a shower."
"No problem Bozer," Matty said before turning her attention to Jack.
"What the hell were you thinking, Dalton? I thought you of all people knew that when Blondie tells you to run, you run," she admonished.
"I dunno Matty," Jack said and resisted the urge to rub his hands over his head. "I just…mistimed it?"
Matty sighed. "I suppose I should have expected it. The two of you might be slightly out of step since you spent a year away hunting Kovac."
Everyone in the room winced at that reminder. It wasn't a good year.
"Go home, everyone," Matty instructed. She turned to me. "Good work on coordinating medical and getting Jack in here."
"No problem, Matty. I'm used to wrangling this lot. Plus, I have a few tricks up my sleeve," I winked.

As we were walking back down to the garage to head home, I noticed Jack's GTO sitting in the garage.
"Oh there is no way you're driving her," I said to Jack. "Do you want to leave the car here in the garage or get one of us to drive it to Mac's?"
Jack thought about it for a moment and then slowly shook his head.
"You know I love you all, but I don't trust a single one of you to drive her," he told me.
"And that is a very fair call," I replied. "I think we'll all fit in the jeep anyway."
I kept the keys in my hand and walked to the driver's side, Mac and Bozer bickering about who would get the passenger seat.
"Yea, neither of you," I said. "Just for that, Jack gets shotgun and you BOTH get to sit in the back."
"It's my Jeep," Mac argued.
"Yes, and Jack is injured," I replied. "So Jack gets shotgun."
I smirked at Mac as I slid into the car. "Don't worry, you'll get plenty of time with me later."
Jack and Bozer both groaned so Mac smirked right back at me.
"Remember I'm in the house, guys," Jack protested.
Mac and I just laughed.

It was a long night that night.
What was left of the afternoon and early evening was fine. We sat around the fire pit working on our own projects and chatting intermittently as we went.
When it came time to eat I discovered left over quiche in the freezer, enough for all four of us when Bozer made a couple of salads as well.
The problem came when we were all going to bed. Bozer was the first to head off, the high energy requirements of a mission not quite a norm for him yet.
"I think I might hit the sack," Jack said an hour or so later. He stood, cracking the kinks out of his back carefully.
"I'll set the alarm then," Mac said absent mindedly.
"Huh?"
"Jack, it's concussion protocol," Mac replied. "I'll have to come wake you every hour."
I groaned, knowing that Bozer was the only one who would get a full night's sleep tonight.
"Ah, it's alright hoss," Jack said. "I'm feeling right as rain now."
"Mac's right," I said with a rueful smile. "Someone's going to have to check on you regardless. The doc said for a full 24 hours and that isn't up until about midday tomorrow."
"You know, you all suck," Jack whined. But he bade us good night and headed off to the guest bedroom anyway.
"You know, you don't have to get up," Mc said as he turned to face me on the couch.
"I know," I agreed. "But this way we might each get a bit more sleep, only getting up every two hours."
"Jack's my partner," Mac tried to argue. "It's my duty to have his back."
"Jack's family," I shot back. "OUR family. So I'm gonna do my part too."
Blue eyes stared into mine before he looked away and gave me a little crooked smile.
"Thank you."
I gave him a quick kiss. "Of course."
He shook his head with an adorable smile.
"Do you want to stay up for a bit or head to bed now?" he asked.
"I was thinking a shower and lounge in bed," I replied, standing up. I took a few steps and turned back around when I noticed that Mac wasn't following. "Well, are you coming?"

I woke to my alarm blaring at its normal time the next morning. Groggily, I reached out to switch it off the noise, sagging my phone from the bedside table. Next to me, Mac grumbled and pulled his arm tighter around my middle before burrowing back into the blankets. As I slide my finger across the screen to shut off the alarm, I noticed there was a message from Matty.
I vaguely heard noise in the guest room and sent a quick text to Jack, reading Matty's message while I waited for the reply.
"Jack's up and just going to chill around the house for a bit, and Matty said not to come in today," I whispered to Mac.
"We can sleep a bit more?" he asked sleepily.
I hummed the affirmative and the squeezed my eyes shut and drifted off to sleep.

About two hours later I woke up again, feeling much more rested. Beside me, Mac was also stirring.
"Feeling a bit more human?" I asked.
"Much," Mac agreed. "Do you think Jack would mind if we just… lay here for a bit longer?"
I laughed softly.
"Probably not. But I think my stomach might."
As if on cue, my tummy rumbled and I wriggled out of Mac's grip.
"Fine, abandon me here," Mac said grinning.
"I'll see you in the kitchen," I said with a shake of my head.

In the end, Mac and I walked into the kitchen at the same time.
"Mornin' sleepy heads," Jack called. "Have a nice sleep in? Or weren't ya sleepin'?"
"Morning, Jack," Mac replied.
"Nothing like that." I gave Jack a mock pout. "Wouldn't do that to you."
"How's the head feeling?" Mac asked, pulling cereal out of the pantry.
"I'm fine, brother. Still got one hell of a headache, but what are you gonna do?" Jack replied. "Plus a few bruises now. What about you? You weren't hidin' any injuries now, were you?"
"A few minor scrapes, nothing more. I promise," Mac replied.
Jack looked across at me for confirmation.
"You got off the worst this time, Jack," I confirmed.
"As it should be," he replied, still clutching his coffee cup.
Mac and I shared a look. One day we were going to have a serious conversation with Jack about his self-esteem. But for the moment I went to the freezer and threw an ice pack at Jack.
"What's this for?" he asked, staring at it.
"That's a lovely bruise forming on your forehead," I replied. "Would have been more use last night though."
"I'm fine, a little bruise or two is nothing," Jack protested.
"Put the damn ice pack on Jack," I countered. "And I'll get the arnica gel too."
Jack looked across at Mac as I walked out of the room.
"I thought Bozer was the mother hen?" Jack asked.
Mac shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest. "That is one hell of a bruise that's forming."
Jack sighed, hunching over his coffee and holding the ice pack to his head. He wasn't going to admit it, but the cool was nice on the bruise and it was helping the headache somewhat.

"What are the plans for today?" Mac asked once we had eaten.
"I wanna go down to the grocery store," Jack said. "Grab a couple a things. I talked to Bozer and I'm making dinner tonight."
"Jack!" I exclaimed. "You don't need to do that. Especially if you still have a headache."
"A lil heachache isn't gonna stop Jack Dalton, honey." Jack smiled at me. "And, I know I don't needa. But I want to do this, as a thank you at the very least."
"I told you, Jack," Mac said. "You don't need to thank us for anything like that. You'd do the same for me, or Riley or even Bozer. It's just, what we do."
"And I keep tellin' ya, I'll keep thank you for saving my life," Jack replied.
This had the feeling of an old argument and I left them bickering while I grabbed bags from the cupboard.
"Well, if you want to come with, I'm going to the shops in a second," I said as I walked back into the kitchen.
Jack stood quickly, placing his empty cup in the sink before heading toward the guest room to grab his wallet.

I wandered around the grocery store, grabbing a few things that we needed and placing them in my trolley. Jack had disappeared as soon as we entered the store, stealing a bag and promising to wait for me when he was done.
"I can't let you spoil the surprise," he said before he strode into the store. I watched him walk off with a bewildered shake of the head before doing my own thing.
As I got to the counter, I could see Jack leaning against the door at the entrance. He looked like he was just casual watching the world go by, but I knew that he was cataloguing everything and he was well aware that I was nearly done.
As if to prove my point, the moment I finished paying he sauntered up to me.
"Need a hand with the bags?" he asked.
"I can manage," I said with a grin. "But if you insist."
I passed one of my three bags across.
"Now, will you tell me what you're up to?" I asked as we loaded the bags into the car.
"No can do," Jack replied swiftly. "I really do mean for this to be a surprise for at least a little bit longer."
He shrugged when I looked across questioningly.
"I'm under no illusion that I can keep a secret from our boy wonder, unless you keep him VERY well occupied for the entire day."
I rolled my eyes as I started the car.
"Even I can't keep him THAT well occupied for that long," I replied.

When we got home, Mac was in the garage working on something. I could see that Jack was cheering internally at that bit of luck.
"I'll put all of this away and either go sit on the deck or go back and annoy Mac," I told Jack when we got upstairs. "Don't worry, I'll let you have your secrets for a little longer."
"Mighty kind of you," he said laughing. "I promise I'll clean up after myself, don't worry."
"It's not me you need to be afraid of," I replied with my head in the pantry. "This is Bozer's domain. I wouldn't cross him before, let alone now that Matty's given him training."
Jack snorted in agreement. "I may be a seasoned agent but even I'm not gonna mess with Bozer's kitchen."
With all my groceries stowed where they belong, I left the kitchen. I could see a cabbage, carrots, flour and a slab of meat on the counter. I had no idea what Jack was planning, and I was going to leave it that way.

It was early afternoon when Mac set down his tools and walked over to where I was sitting on an office chair in the garage.
"Hungry?" he asked.
"I could do some lunch," I agreed. "Jack's probably finished in the kitchen by now."
"What is he even making?" Mac asked. "Did he tell you?"
"Nope," I shook my head. "Kept saying he wanted it to be a secret."
Mac shook his head fondly and wiped the grease from his hands. He tipped his head toward the stairs and I placed my work down and followed after him.
When we got upstairs I could smell something unusual but delicious coming from the direction of the decking. Jack was sitting on the couch, ice pack on his head which was tipped back and his eyes were closed.
"Finished with the bike, then?" he asked without opening his eyes.
"For now," Mac agreed. "Have you had lunch, Jack?"
"Nah, not hungry," he replied. "Starting to feel a little nauseous again."
I made a noise of sympathy and went took the toaster out.
"You really should eat," I said. "I was going to make toast with ham and cheese. What if I just make buttered toast for you, Jack?"
I was already putting the toast in before he made a noise of assent.
"I'm smelling smoke," Mac said. "Have you got the smoker out?"
"Yea, brother," Jack said, standing up slowly and walking over. "It's on for dinner. I've invited the team around. That okay?"
"Of course it is, you know that Jack," Mac replied.
"Well I was just checking. Never know what might have changed while I was away," he said.
"Some things might have changed, but not that," I told him. "So are you going to tell us what you've made?"
"Let our boy wonder guess," Jack smirked.
Mac rolled his eyes at the older man but then he smirked.
"You've got the smoker going, and I saw cabbage scraps in the bin before," he started. "And I know you, Jack. You're a sucker for comfort food when you aren't feeling great. So it's definitely something Texan."
"That big brain of yours is still working fine," Jack smiled. "So, what am I making, Mac?"
He frowned for a moment. "I don't know what meat you bought."
"I saw a nice chunk of meat on the counter," I volunteered.
I saw the moment that Mac figured it out, his blue eyes lighting up and a small smirk playing on his lips.
"Are you doing a brisket and coleslaw?" Mac asked.
"Right in one, hoss," Jack smiled. "Can't go past Jack Snr's smoked beef brisket."
I had our lunch in front of us, but my stomach was growling for dinner.

We all ate lunch at the counter but Jack still looked unwell.
"You know, the 24 hours of observation are up," I said to Jack. "You could have a Panadol and a nap."
He looked at the clock over my head.
"Yea, maybe," he agreed. "I gotta check on the meat again in an hour but I could have a short nap."
He put his plate in the sink, took a Panadol with some water and then ambled to the guest room.
"Netflix?" I asked Mac.
"Yea," he agreed. "Your turn to pick."

It was around 5ish; Bozer, Jack, Mac and I were watching a quiz show on television and shouting answers over the top of each other, when there was a knock at the front door. I nearly didn't hear it over Mac and Jack arguing over the answer to the last question, and the door opened before I could get up from the couch.
"Is that what my best agents do on a day off?" Matty asked as she walked in.
"This is tame," I told her. "They haven't started wrestling yet, and Mac's only given us one science lecture."
"Hey!" I heard him shout from the couch.
"And I love your science lectures, sweetie," I assured him.
"I brought drinks," Matty told me as she held a bag up which clinked at the movement.
"I'll stick them in the cooler on the deck," I told her, taking the bag. "Jack, what needs doing with the brisket?"
He extricated himself from the debate and went to the deck with me.
Only a few moments later Mac and Bozer joined us.
"Still waiting on the girls?" Bozer asked.
I nodded and Jack checked his phone.
"Riley says there only a few minutes away. Leanna wanted to go home to change."
He pulled the meat out and placed it on a chopping board that was set up next to the smoker. I watched in fascination as he wielded the sharp knife with expert precision to cut the meat up as it virtually fell apart.
"Yet another reminder to not get on your bad side," I said casually as I watched him.
"Don't get shot, turn traitor and then reveal you've been lying to us the whole time and I think we'll be good," Jack replied equally casually.
Mac choked on his beer. "That was once!"
"And it won't happen again," I promised. "Now, do you want me to get the slaw and biscuits out?"
Jack agreed and I went off to the kitchen.
"Have more faith in my background checks, Dalton," I heard Matty say. That was followed by the sound of Jack yelping. Matty must have whacked him.

The sun had set and everyone was sitting around the fire place, drinks in hand and throwing things into the fire.
"Are you sure you're alright now, Jack?" Riley asked.
"Of course I am!" He announced. "Something as simple as a concussion can't keep Jack down."
"Jack, really?" Riley asked again, voice soft.
"Yea, baby girl," Jack said honestly. "Had a bit of a headache earlier but that's gone now. Don't worry about the bruise. It looks worse than it is now."
He held his arm out and Riley shuffled across so he could pull her into a side hug. Beside me, Mac linked his hand in mine.
"Good work with getting medical there," he said quietly.
"I should have them on speed dial," I complained. "I'm sure Matty does."
At the sound of her name, our boss looked across.
"Actually getting Jack on the stretcher and to medical was all you," she said. "I might add you to the team's roster as medical officer."
I shrugged with a half smile. "Whatever needs doing to keep these guys actually healthy."
"Hey now! That's not fair," Jack complained.
"Life isn't fair, Dalton. Get over it," Matty shot back.
Sitting by the fire, surrounded by my found family bickering and full of good Texan food, I realised that everything was perfect.