It took about one hour until MacGyver and Thornton reached the rock face. Mac had needed a few breaks during their walk and was nevertheless panting heavily when his free hand touched the rock. His gaze went upward to the cave mouth.
Thornton eased up his hold on the young man when he sensed him lean against the rock but didn´t let go completely. It impressed him how his rookie had gotten along so far. Although he was obviously in pain, had some trouble breathing at times, and was still trembling with cold and now also exhaustion, he tried his best to hide the extent of his suffering and to not let it slow him down too much. Although being beat, he was far from giving up. He watched MacGyver as he focused on the way they had to take to the cave.
"How are we going to get you up there?" Thornton asked after a moment. "Will you be able to climb at all?"
MacGyver still strove to slow down his breath but nodded.
"Yeah… I should be," he answered slowly. His expression turned concentrated and pensive. He seemed to gauge the rock face and cave entrance. "But I`ll need a little help."
"What? How?" Thornton frowned at him. "There´s not enough room for us to climb this side by side."
"I know," Mac replied calmly. "We can´t."
"Then how do you expect me to help you?" Thornton queried, not understanding what the young man was thinking of.
"I´ve got an idea." MacGyver looked sideways at his boss.
Thornton´s eyes found MacGyver´s and he measured the condition of the pale and shivering man for a moment.
"I guess, I should have known you´d say that." he huffed then. "So, what´s your plan?"
"I need you to climb to the cave first." Mac started to explain while his gaze returned to the rock face. "I can make it over the lower part, but the footholds on the upper part of the wall are too far from each other. I need you to pull me up over where my injured leg won´t support me."
Thornton followed his gaze, tried to imagine it, but came up with it being impossible.
"How do you expect me to reach down to you?" he asked exasperatedly. "That´s too far! We don´t have any rope at hand."
"We don´t." MacGyver stayed calm. "That shoulder holster of yours… is it made out of leather?"
"My what?" Thornton´s head snapped back to MacGyver with surprise. How the heck does he know? Due to the cold weather, I´ve kept my padded coat closed. At least while we´ve been together… there´s no way he could have seen it… Has he felt it while holding on to me? … But he´s been on my right side… how…?
His thoughts were cut off when MacGyver glanced sideways at him with a little grin.
"I´ve been trained to notice concealed weapons during the past months, remember?" Mac said with an apologetic half-shrug. "So… is it?"
Thornton drew in a deep breath. Right, he thought. The training. It´s been only a few weeks since the kid has passed his certification.
"Yes, it is." he then nodded. "Why?"
"Well, most shoulder holsters are kinda like a large figure eight," Mac explained. "So is the one you´re usually wearing. Leather should be sturdy enough to carry my weight… and it´ll give you two or three more feet when reaching down – where I should be able to grab it."
Thornton´s frown eased up as he finally understood what MacGyver wanted him to do.
"Alright." he agreed, let go of his rookie, and turned to the rock face. "Let´s try it."
The senior agent climbed up to the cave entrance with a bit of an effort, and he quickly shrugged off his backpack and jacket once he´d made it over the edge. He dropped both at a safe distance to said edge, pulled his revolver from the holster, and laid it on top. Then he took off the shoulder holster and quickly turned back to the edge. He looked downward, saw that MacGyver had already started his way up, and hurried to crouch down with the holster in one hand. He knelt close to the edge, bowed down, and braced himself with his free hand. He watched the younger man climb for another moment, and then reached down to him, holding the holster securely on one loop while the other one dangled down.
MacGyver had just finished a step upward when he looked up and spotted the leathery strap just out of his reach. He drew in a deep breath, shifted his weight to his good leg, bent it a little, and then pushed himself up abruptly. He grabbed the holster with a strained grunt and quickly found a hold for his second hand. Mac pulled himself up, rested his good leg on a higher foothold, and focused on Thornton.
Their eyes locked. MacGyver tightened his grip on the leather and mentally steeled himself for what awaited him during the last part of his climb. This isn´t going to be easy… compared with the walk in the park I´ve had so far, he thought sarcastically. Then he nodded.
He felt his boss pull almost instantly, gritted his teeth against the agony his bruises caused, and fought his way up over the rocks. MacGyver´s memories of the rest of his way up were blurry, but just before he´d reached the edge, Thornton had first gripped his wrists, then his upper arms, and helped him. He supported Mac a few feet into the cave until MacGyver dropped to one knee exhaustedly. Coughing and panting heavily, Mac lay down and rolled onto his back.
Thornton´s hands left him as Mac´s eyes fell shut, and he bit his lower lip as he pushed back the pain radiating through his whole body. Shivers shook him uncontrollably while he strove to calm his breath and fought for staying conscious. He gathered the last of his strength but was so concentrated on his insides that he flinched involuntarily when Thornton laid a hand on his shoulder a few moments later.
"It´s okay… just me," Thornton said quietly as Mac´s eyes snapped open alarmed.
MacGyver urged himself to relax as soon as his gaze had focused on his boss.
"Sorry, Sir." he breathed. "I know… I was just…"
"Shh." Thornton cut him off. "Take a few minutes to rest." he continued and draped his coat over MacGyver´s trembling body. "I´ll get some spare clothes from your pack… and whatever we can use to take care of your leg."
"Got a first aid kit in my backpack as well." MacGyver agreed. "But I can come with you."
He wanted to push himself up, but the senior agent held him down.
"No. You need to recover." Thornton ordered. "And we´ll better use the natural light available close to the cave entrance while cleaning up your injuries. We´ll move to the back once we´re done."
MacGyver nodded silently. He had shoved the need to clean and properly bandage his wounds to the back of his mind while they´d been hiking to the cave. While he was, of course, aware of the need to do so, he wasn´t looking forward to it, knowing very well how painful it would be for him. His eyes followed his boss briefly as he got up and left.
Then MacGyver let his eyelids fall closed again with a long quiet sigh and concentrated back on internally assessing his current condition. The hike had helped boost his weakened circulation, but he hadn´t warmed up sufficiently yet to stop freezing. He´d just recovered enough to get rid of the numbness he´d experienced after crawling out of the water. By now, his body was hurting with every bruise and scratch he´d sustained during his captivity and escape. Fighting his exhaustion, he drew in one deep breath after another, striving to slow down his racing heartbeat.
He´d just managed to push back the pain a little when, a couple of minutes later, he heard Pete Thornton return. Thornton dropped all the stuff he´d fetched close to his backpack and watched the young man for a moment before he addressed him.
"MacGyver?" he asked. "You still with me?"
Mac´s eyes drifted half open and he nodded with a small, tired smile.
"Right here, Sir," he answered low.
Thornton crouched down next to him and checked Mac´s pulse on his neck while he observed him concerned for a few seconds. He was, once again, impressed by how the young rookie was mostly in control of the display of his emotions. Although MacGyver had to be hurting, there was barely any hint of it visible on his pale face.
"Sit up, kid," Thornton ordered and moved his hand to Mac´s shoulder. He supported the young man when he obeyed a moment later and pushed himself up with a quiet moan. Thornton stayed with him until MacGyver had steadied and only then pulled back his hand.
"Now take off those shirts." the senior agent suggested. "Although your clothes have dried up in the meantime, I suppose you´d be more comfortable with fresh ones."
Mac nodded quietly and handed Thornton his coat back before he started to unbutton his shirt. Thornton used the time to slip into his shoulder holster, put his revolver back into place, and pulled on his jacket. He grabbed MacGyver´s fresh t-shirt and shirt and turned back to him only to freeze at the sight of the young man gingerly shrugging out of the old one.
Thornton drew in a sharp breath when he got a first good look at the bruises on Mac´s upper body. Dark blue blemishes covered part of his ribcage, a clearly visible shoe imprint spread over his spine and one shoulder blade, as well as several scratches that crossed his back, only to name a few. MacGyver reached out to him for the fresh clothes, but Thornton didn´t hand them over at once. He swallowed dryly.
"MacGyver, are you really sure there are no broken bones below those bruises?" he asked worried.
"Quite," Mac assured with a lopsided smile. "Guess, I would have noticed during the rough ride I had in the river."
Thornton sighed, handed the shirts over, and reached for the first aid kits.
"I´m gonna have a look at your back anyway." he declared.
MacGyver grabbed the clothes tightly and ceased any movement as his boss moved behind him. His body stiffened involuntarily, partly because of the cool air hitting his unprotected skin, partly because of his anticipation of what Thornton was about to do. Not that he didn´t trust the older man to be careful – but he knew it would hurt. He couldn´t suppress shivering with the cold as Thornton´s fingers probed along his sore back. When Thornton ran swabs he´d soaked with antiseptic fluid over the scratches to clean them, the burning sensation caused Mac to flinch a few times and bite his lower lip. But after only a small while the older man was done.
"Alright." the senior agent said low as he backed away a little. "Now pull on those shirts and then we´ll deal with your leg."
MacGyver slipped into the t-shirt, then buttoned up the flannel shirt over it, and turned a little, so he could sit leaning against the cave wall. He bowed forward and picked at the bandage around his leg with his long fingers. As soon as he had removed it, he pulled the fabric of his khaki pants away from the wounds and spread the tears a bit to allow him better access. Then he also removed his makeshift tourniquet that had slowed the blood flow.
"Hand me that water canteen of yours, please," he asked hoarsely after he´d taken a closer look at the gashes.
Thornton looked up at him from rummaging through all the first aid material they had left, caught a glimpse of Mac´s torn leg, and then followed his request.
"Looks worse than it is." MacGyver tried to calm his boss´s concerns while he moistened the remains of his shirt and used it to wash the dried blood off his leg.
Thornton moved closer once he was done and scanned the damage with his eyes.
"It´ll start bleeding again as soon as we get those splinters out." the older man stated. Then his eyes sought out MacGyver´s. "I´ll steady your leg while you pull them out?" he suggested when their gaze locked.
MacGyver sucked in a deep breath and nodded silently before concentrating back on his injuries. He waited until his boss had a secure grip on his lower leg and then reached out with both hands. One hand stabilized the skin around his wound while the other one searched for the wooden leftovers of the underwater battle for his life. He gritted his teeth and held his breath as soon as he started to tug on the first with his long fingers.
His sight blurred with the intensifying agony and he couldn´t suppress a pained gasp once he gave it a quick and harsh pull to remove it. MacGyver dropped the splinter aside and, after a brief pause, dealt with the remaining ones in the same way. He was breathing heavily and felt a bout of nausea wash through him when he reached out for the antiseptic fluid.
Before he had the chance to stop himself or reconsider, he opened the bottle and poured the fluid over the wounds. The fiery burning that spread almost instantly through his leg made him moan and filled his eyes with tears. Mac closed them when dizziness also rose within him, and suddenly felt Thornton grab on firmly to his shoulder and take the bottle of antiseptic from him. MacGyver hadn´t noticed he´d been swaying before Thornton slowly, but resolutely pushed him back until he was leaning against the cave wall. Mac blinked his eyes open, allowed them a couple of seconds to focus, and found Thornton´s concerned expression.
"You´d better lie down again." the older man advised sympathetically, now holding on to both of Mac´s shoulders. "Cause you´re not gonna enjoy what I gotta do next."
"I´m okay… I can take care…" MacGyver feebly argued but broke off when Thornton´s frown grew serious.
"MacGyver… lie down." His boss said in a tone that left no room for further discussion. "I know you could… but I don´t want you to keel over."
MacGyver sighed, but then obeyed and shifted his position until he was lying half on his side, and half on his back. He fixed his eyes on the rocky cave ceiling as he sensed Thornton move closer to his knee.
"I´ll try to be quick." He heard Thornton say and before he could reply, his boss grabbed on to his lower leg tightly with one hand. In the next second, the agony that had just subsided a little returned to his leg as Thornton cleaned the gashes with moist gauze swabs. Some of the liquid seeped back into the wounds, only worsening his suffering and causing Mac´s body to stiffen. MacGyver fought for staying silent through the pain, while Thornton wiped away whatever the fluid had rinsed out of the wounds, and also fought for staying aware and conscious.
But his senses blurred and he only realized how close he´d been to passing out when he felt Thornton´s firm hand squeezing his shoulder some time later. He couldn´t recall much of the last minutes when he blinked his eyes open, panting heavily and trembling with the strain.
"I´m sorry." Thornton´s face creased with concern while he waited for MacGyver´s gaze to steady on him. "But I had to…"
MacGyver cut him off with a small wave of his hand and a feeble smile.
"It´s okay." he breathed and noticed that his leg was already bandaged. "Thanks, Sir."
"I´ll take my pack and the remains of all this…" Thornton said with a small gesture toward Mac´s knee. "To the back of the cave and prepare everything… so you can rest back there."
Mac only nodded silently, still occupied with calming his breath, and let his eyes fall closed. Thornton quickly gathered whatever was left of their first aid kits, got up, picked up his pack, and strode off.
He dropped his stuff with a deep sigh once he´d reached their camp at the back of the cave. As impressed as he´d been about how the young man had concealed his state of pain and weakness and had pushed on nonetheless… as worried Thornton was now about MacGyver. Taking care of his wounds had given Thornton a glance at how bad Mac´s condition truly was… under his carefully kept-up calm façade.
Thornton kneeled down, turned on the small camping light, and assessed the cave floor. He spread the kid´s roll mat out on the most even and comfortable surface he could find, reached for his own sleeping bag, wrapped it around MacGyver´s, and spread them out together as one on the mat. Then he got up and hurried back to the young man – only to find him on his feet, balancing against the cave wall and limping toward the back of the cave. Thornton stopped baffled, but then a surge of anger flared up within him.
"What the heck are you doing, kid?" he snapped at MacGyver as he quickly took the last strides to his side and grabbed onto his arm and belt to steady him. MacGyver winced at the sharp tone of his superior.
"Coming after you…" he offered a bit discouraged. "You said, you´d prepare everything, so I thought…"
"Did it occur to you that I might be coming back to help you?" Thornton cut him off pointedly. "That you ought to be careful and take it easy?"
"Yes, Sir." MacGyver nodded and opened his mouth to continue, but Thornton gave him no time to.
"Good thing we at least agree on that," he replied harshly and wrapped MacGyver´s arm around his shoulders. "Now hold on." He cautiously led Mac to the camp and helped him settle on the readily opened sleeping bags.
"Thirsty?" Thornton offered his water bottle as soon as MacGyver had adjusted his worn-out frame to a somewhat comfortable position but was still sitting.
MacGyver accepted the canteen with a grateful nod and took several large gulps while Thornton searched Mac´s backpack. MacGyver understood without a word when the older man turned back to him with fresh, dry socks in his hands. He set the bottle aside and started taking off his clammy boots and socks. Those hadn´t dried up yet. Thornton aided him whenever his wounded leg wouldn´t cooperate.
Slipping into dry socks improved MacGyver´s comfort a lot. Nevertheless, he was still breathing heavily and shivering when he finally slid his long legs into the sleeping bags and lay down half on his side. Thornton was quick to wrap him up and closed one zipper after another before he sat back on his heels and observed MacGyver for a long moment. His sudden anger had deflated already.
"Now get some rest, kid," he said softly. "You hungry as well? I suppose you gotta be… after such a long time without getting anything."
MacGyver´s half-closed eyes wandered up to his boss.
"Not really," he answered slowly. "Mainly cold… and exhausted." When Thornton remained silent, Mac continued. "I just wanna get warm… but I guess, eating something, getting some energy into me, will help."
"Alright." Thornton nodded. "I´ll see what I can do with our supplies… and start a fire for you."
"You can´t, Sir." MacGyver´s reply came low, but fast. "No fire… not back here."
"But you need the warmth." Thornton countered immediately.
"Not enough air circulation… the smoke would suffocate us." Mac reasoned shakily. "And if you start one out front… they might see it. Moreno sent out patrols sometimes."
Thornton watched his rookie baffled and silent since he was out of arguments.
"I´ll just have to warm up by myself," Mac added with a feeble smile and a weak shrug.
"Fine… at least we´ve got a camping cooker," Thornton answered after a few seconds. "You do allow me to use that one, do you?"
The feeble smile on MacGyver´s face grew a little wider as he nodded silently. Thornton noticed that he stopped explaining and arguing since he was only half-awake anymore. Mac´s exhaustion slowly took over, now that he felt somewhat safe, now that his adrenaline level took a nosedive. Thornton observed MacGyver´s eyes fall closed and waited another few moments, assuring himself that the young man was asleep before he moved over to their backpacks and searched through them.
A little more than half an hour later, Pete Thornton had managed to forge a hot soup out of some of their resources. He had grown hungry himself while preparing the food, which wasn´t all too surprising given that he´d been on the move since before sunrise. After all, it was mid-afternoon by now. He smelled probingly on the steaming liquid in the small pot and then nodded satisfied to himself. He´d offer it to MacGyver first, see how much the young man was willing to eat, and probably prepare something else for himself – in case it wasn´t enough for both of them.
Thornton turned off the gas stove and turned to MacGyver. It was hard to tell in the little light the camping lamp provided, but Mac´s face looked concerningly pale under his sun-tanned skin. His breathing had calmed down once he´d dozed off, but he was still shivering, despite the two sleeping bags.
"MacGyver?" Thornton addressed him low but got no reaction. He laid a hand on the young man´s shoulder, squeezed softly, and tried again. "MacGyver?"
Mac´s body tensed up instantly. His head turned a little, he blinked his eyes open and found his boss next to him.
"What?" he asked hoarsely. "Something wrong?"
"No." Thornton shook his head. "Sorry to wake you… but I made some soup. It´ll help you get warm."
"Oh… that´s great." Mac nodded, still a bit dazed. "Thanks."
Thornton opened the zippers of both sleeping bags just enough to enable MacGyver to sit up and then turned back to the pot. He retrieved a cup and poured some of the soup into it. When he faced MacGyver again, the young man had already pushed himself up. Mac took the cup with shaking hands, smelled probingly at its content, and then took a sip. He sighed with relief when he sensed the warm liquid running down his throat to his stomach. A few minutes later, he´d emptied the cup.
"Some more?" Thornton asked as Mac handed the cup back to him.
MacGyver concentrated on his inside for a couple of seconds, but then tiredly shook his head. He didn´t trust his stomach yet to handle more of it.
"Later," he replied. "Not too much at once. Don´t wanna get sick on top of it all."
"Alright." Thornton watched him lay down again with concern. "I´ll keep it for you."
He made sure both sleeping bags around Mac were tightly closed and sat back next to their backpacks afterward. He sealed the pot with a lid and reached for the rest of their supplies. Thornton pulled out some bread and jerky and chewed on it while he kept an eye on MacGyver from the distance. He had noticed how cold the young man´s skin had still felt when their hands had met while handing him the cup. Mac had now curled up on his side and had trouble falling asleep again since he was trembling so violently at times. Thornton´s worries grew with every minute he sat there, eating… and observing.
There had to be a way to help his rookie warm up… without a fire. The kid had to rest and recover – otherwise, they´d never make it to their helicopter pick-up in time.
Thornton took some time to straighten up their camp and get some order into their stuff once he was done with his meal, so he wouldn´t spend so much time searching anymore. He came across the mobile radio set and instantly thought about calling in, so help would arrive earlier, but as quickly remembered that the thing wasn´t working. Pete Thornton sighed. If MacGyver hadn´t been able to repair it, he wouldn´t be able to do it by himself either. They were on their own… until tomorrow evening.
The memory of something he´d learned during his survival training in the military popped up in Thornton´s mind and he turned back to watch MacGyver again.
Only half asleep and still shaking like a leaf. Breathing labored again. The young man´s jaw is set to keep his teeth from chattering.
It would place us both into what might be a truly awkward situation… but maybe I´ve got to…
Once again, Thornton´s desire to keep up a professional distance to the rookie fought with how almost fatherly protective he felt toward him deep inside. The senior agent drew in a deep breath and then softly shook his head to clear it from the doubts swirling around. He got to his feet and went to the front of the cave to check the intruder alarm. Satisfied to find it readily prepared, Thornton stood at the cave entrance for a couple of moments and looked into the sky. Clouds had gathered since they had arrived. The bad weather predicted for tonight seemed to come in faster than forecasts had anticipated. Doesn´t matter, Thornton thought. We already do have a safe and dry place to stay.
He returned to MacGyver and kneeled down close to him. Once again today, it wasn´t as if he had a lot of choices. Pete knew only this one way to provide MacGyver with the warmth he so direly needed – keeping his distance wasn´t on priority right now. Thornton opened up his padded coat, pulled the revolver from the holster, and placed it safely under his backpack. Cautious not to startle the young man, he laid a hand on his forehead and addressed him simultaneously.
"MacGyver?"
MacGyver´s skin felt cold to the touch and Pete sensed him tremble. His reaction took a second. He half-opened his eyes and lifted his gaze to his boss a bit disoriented.
"What?" he asked dazed.
Thornton moved his hands to the zippers and started to open them up.
"What are you up to?" Mac frowned at him.
"Sit up, kid." Thornton slid the zippers down to Mac´s waist.
"But… why?" MacGyver lifted his head a little, still only half-awake, and instantly felt Thornton´s arm weave around his shoulders and help him up.
"We need to get you warm," Thornton replied flatly and lifted the sleeping bags as soon as Mac was sitting, albeit unsteadily. He sat down right behind MacGyver, wrapped his arm around Mac´s upper body, and pulled him back against himself. The young man stiffened as soon as he sensed his boss´s rotund belly against his back. He was wide awake at once.
"What are you doing?" he asked hoarsely, with a mixture of confusion and surprise.
"You are still suffering badly from hypothermia." The senior agent explained the obvious while he used his free arm to adjust his jacket and the sleeping bags tightly around them. "I can´t think of another way to help you. Now relax, lean back, and consider me your oversized hot water bag."
MacGyver hesitated. Logically, he knew that, given their current situation, his best chance of returning his temperature to normal fast was sharing body warmth. But the man sitting behind him and holding him real close was his superior… he respected the older man way too much… that was why he hadn´t even considered asking for this earlier.
Then another round of shivers shook him, and Thornton moved his arm around his chest. He grabbed on to Mac´s upper arm and wanted to tighten his hold.
"Lean back, kid," he ordered softly when he still felt some resistance from MacGyver.
Mac took a deep breath and strove to control the tremors running through his body. It wasn´t that he didn´t appreciate the warmth offered to him. It wasn´t that he hadn´t noticed how Thornton´s tone when talking to him had changed since the morning. But he still felt like he´d failed to meet the expectations the older man had set in him… as if he´d disappointed him.
"But, Sir…" he tried to argue. "I can´t just…"
"Shh." Thornton cut him off. "Save it. Now, would you please relax and take what warmth you need?"
MacGyver was stunned silent by how much Thornton´s voice behind his head had sounded like a father getting slightly impatient. He held his breath for a moment and then decided to give in. His boss was offering this… so it had to be okay. Mac let go of his tension as best as he could and let his head drop back against the front of Thornton´s shoulder. His eyes fell closed as his tiredness got the better of him. He concentrated on slowing down his labored breathing while Thornton readjusted their covers so that no cool air could seep in.
"You comfortable?" Thornton asked low after a minute, after he´d gotten a secure hold on the young man. He sensed MacGyver's cold frame shivering against him now.
"Yeah." Mac nodded feebly without raising his head or opening his eyes. "Thanks, Sir."
Thornton drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long, quiet sigh.
"MacGyver…" he said slowly and softly. "Don´t you think, it´s time you finally dropped the 'Sir'? The name´s Pete."
Instantly, some tension returned to Mac´s body but he didn´t move. His eyes snapped open with those words.
"We´re partners, kid." Thornton stopped his objection before Mac had time to even voice it. "I owe you my life… more than once… and you´ve more than earned my respect by now. So stop seeing me as just your superior, will you?"
The thoughts in MacGyver´s exhausted and dazed mind ran wild abruptly. I did what? … Well, yeah, I saved you back in the desert, but… I let you down on this assignment…I still feel like I´m not worthy of your respect… I´ve still got so much to learn… first and foremost from you… But his insecurity faded when Thornton shifted his position and pulled him even closer as another shudder ran through him.
"I might try, Sir," Mac replied low between raspy breaths and relaxed against the older man. Then a tired, but mischievous smile widened on his face. He glanced up at the senior agent and closed his eyes afterward. "If you´d drop the 'kid'…" he added.
Thornton couldn´t suppress a short chuckle at the young man´s cheeky answer.
"It´s a deal… Mac." Thornton remembered that MacGyver had offered him to use the short form of his name already a few weeks ago. He sensed the young one sink against him just a little heavier. "Now try to rest."
MacGyver just nodded feebly.
"Deal… Pete."