"What are you going to tell me when I come around?" Dalton asked, as one of Janet's nurses started an IV.

"I had planned on telling you there was a car accident and you hit your head. It's usually the story we use for those from planets with cars."

"I'm not sure if the fact that you've done this before makes me feel better or worse," Dalton admitted.

"Well, it should make you feel better. You're definitely not the first, but this is the most amount of time we've attempted to erase."

"You don't seem too alarmed at the fact that you've never, uh, done this specific thing before."

Janet smiled knowingly as she prepared the medication cocktail.

"Most of my job I've ever done before. In fact, most of my job consists of things that humanity has never seen before. Honestly, it would be nice to treat something like a kidney stone or migraine once in a while. Something mundane with a solid treatment plan."

Her nurse nodded in acknowledgement of the statement. "Oh yeah."

"How about you make up something around the mirror. I might remember that, or parts of the alternate reality. I, uh, really don't want to be watched for the rest of my life."

He laughed nervously.

Janet smiled. "I can do that," She said confidently. "You ready?"

He nodded, watching her intently.

"You're going to feel relaxed and sleepy. Don't try to fight it."

She carefully injected the drugs and flushed the line. Not thirty seconds later, the drug kicked in and his eyelids started to droop.

After he was firmly asleep thanks to the sedative in the mix, she injected two more syringes. She turned to her nurse.

"Okay, give two more of those in fifteen minutes, I'll check in at that time as well."

"Of course, doctor," She said.

Now it was a waiting game.

o-O-o-O-o

The first thing he was aware of was the fact that his head hurt. A lot. The next thing was that it was bright where he was, painfully bright. He supposed that meant his eyes were open.

Ahh! His eyes were open! How did that happen? He quickly snapped them closed.

"Jack?" Go away.

"Can you open your eyes again for me?" No. Go away.

A warm hand rested on his forehead, and suddenly he felt a bright light burning painfully into his retinas. He winced and twisted his head away.

"Sorry," A gentle female voice soothed.

He closed his eyes again.

"Hey, can you wake up a little for me?" The same voice was insistent.

Grudgingly, he pried his eyes open, having a feeling that the voice wouldn't leave him alone until he proved he was alive.

"There you are. Do you remember what happened?"

If he didn't know any better, he'd say the woman talking sounded anxious.

He thought back. "Yeah... something about a strange mirror... I found it in the woods behind my house...I think."

"I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about," The voice replied. "Do you know a 'MacGyver'?"

He opened his eyes all the way. "Yeah. Is Mac here?" The lady, a brunette woman, was standing beside his bed.

"Yes. Do you want me to get him?"

"Please. I'm um, having some trouble remembering where I am," He said, looking hopefully at her.

"That's normal after this grade of concussion, most people lose memory surrounding the incident."

"What happened?"

"You tripped and fell. That's all I'm sure about, your friend might know more."

Just then, Mac appeared behind her.

"Hey Jack," He said quietly.

"Mac! What happened to me?"

"You smacked your head on a rock, that's what."

"Why?"

"You tripped. What do you remember?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me what I remember?"
The brunette lady spoke. "I'm just assessing your memory. A doctor thing," She smiled.

"I remember finding a strange looking mirror, and going through it somehow. We met some other people- I think they shot at us!" He struggled to sit up. Both people standing next to him hurried to keep him from hurting himself.

"Like Alice in Wonderland?" Mac said with a smile. "No Jack. You came to get me to look at the mirror. We decided that it was pretty cool, and I was going to come up with a way to help you move it when you took a tumble on the way back. Everything else must have been from the smack on the head."

Dalton nodded. It wasn't his first concussion, and he was familiar with the idea of concussion induced hallucinations.

"You were out cold for two days." MacGyver informed him. "We figured you needed the sleep," He joked.

"The mirror… it's probably valuable. Will you still help me get it?"

A barely imperceptible look flashed between MacGyver and Dr. Fraiser. Anyone who wasn't watching closely would have missed it, but in that glance, everything that needed to be said was communicated.

"No. Sorry Jack. There was a hail storm the first night you were here, and when I went back the next day the glass had been broken. I cleaned it up to make sure that nobody stepped in the shards and trashed the rest of it."

Dalton nodded. "Darn. That would've been so cool." He thought for a moment. "Where am I?" He asked. Mac looked for Janet to answer. "Centinela Hospital." She said without hesitation. "It's one of the best neurotrauma centers in the area. You're about an hour away from your apartment. Now that you're awake, we can transport you back to a hospital closer to home."

"Okay. Are you sure I need to stay in another hospital? I feel fine."

"How about we play it by ear for a few hours?We'll run some more tests and see how you feel, then make the decision."

"Sounds good Doc."

Mac noticed Dr. Fraiser quietly injected a syringe into Dalton's IV. Not a minute later, he was peacefully sleeping, deep under the effects of the sedative.

Janet turned to Mac.

"I'll be honest with you. That felt…" She struggled to come up with the right word.

"...wrong," Mac finished uneasily for her.

She sighed. "Yeah. It's what he wanted. We have a record of that." Collecting her things from the table beside his bed, she turned away.

"But it still feels like a violation of his rights."

Mac watched her go, and turned back to his sleeping friend to wait for the next step.