Sully had tried to talk them out of their bid for getting turned loose to no avail. The new doc had shown up and saved the day. He'd even given them a ride to Jack's place.

Mac had chatted back and forth with both Jack and Steve all the way across town, proving that being blown up didn't affect his memory for minute details in any comic book or comic related movie that anyone wanted to bring up.

Agreeable on the surface or not, once they got to Jack's and Mac disappeared into the bathroom to change into sweats and a t-shirt, because Steve had extracted a promise that both agents would actually take it easy, Steve took Jack aside, well away from where he might be overheard through the bathroom door.

"You've known Mac for a while now."

Jack nodded, glancing at the door Mac had disappeared behind. When he heard the shower turn on, he relaxed a little. Maybe the kid just needed to shower the smell of Medical off himself. He'd joked on the way over here that he couldn't figure out how Steve could live with smelling like antiseptic all the time, because otherwise he seemed like such a normal guy.

Jack nodded "For quite a while."

"Is he always like this?"

"Like what?" Jack asked carefully.

Steve leaned against the wall and put his hands in his pockets, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Dedicated to convincing everyone that he's okay when he's not."

Jack fidgeted with the strap on his sling. "We should sit down. If he comes out and we're standing here like this, he'll know we've been talking about him. And he'll be pissed."

They moved over to Jack's sofa, but kept their voices somewhat low so they could hear when the shower went off.

Jack chewed on his answer. He liked this guy well enough and Mac certainly seemed to have taken to him fairly readily, but neither of them knew him, not really. Jack decided on something that was honest, but not especially revealing. "Mac's a very self-contained guy."

Steve's lips pressed together for a moment. "Well, your self-contained friend probably didn't mention to you that our CT scan found that on top of everything else, he's got a bruised spleen, did he?"

Jack swore, not nearly as quietly as might have been wise given that this was not a conversation intended for his partner's ears. "How bad?" was what he followed up that curse with.

"Honestly? It's fairly minor. So when we tried to talk him into more IV fluids he had a list of reasons why he didn't need them, not the least of which was that he had normal labs when he came in and we ran them because he'd had some blood loss. But it's just as likely that the injury caused his low blood pressure as that graze or the knife wound."

Jack's eyes found the ceiling and whether he was rolling them or sending up a silent prayer to save him from stubborn blond geniuses, or more to the point to save those stubborn blond geniuses from themselves, he wasn't quite sure. "That sounds like Mac." He looked at Steve again. "And I'm guessing you would have rather kept him at Medical for a couple of days."

"And that's what I told him last night." Steve nodded. "Like I said, it's pretty minor considering you got shitmixed by a bunch of terrorists and then blown up, but yeah, usually it'd be a couple of days of observation, on fluids, regular labs … You're looking at me like you know the drill."

Jack nodded slowly. "Mac … He has this pretty intense dedication to not sticking around anywhere there's anyone in scrubs if he can help it. Since I met him." Jack hurried to add, "Not that he's not responsible." He wouldn't want this new guy getting the wrong idea. "But if he thinks it's not necessary, he just won't put up with it." Then Jack grinned a little. "Even if someone orders him to. Then he'll probably put up with it until he can irritate the staff into kicking him out."

Steve shook his head, but it was with a half smile. "After he took off to buy breakfast, Sully told me we'd better send him home with you or he'd probably wind up really hurting himself. He probably should be on bed rest. But that seems about as likely as the lottery ticket in my wallet turning out to be a winner."

Jack's brow creased. "Why'd you just bring us here? You probably could've talked him into staying. He likes you alright."

Steve shook his head. "You saw him this morning. He was done." Steve stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So, before Sully turned out to be right and he did something really reckless, I figured it was better to get him some space. I've read some of his file since I picked you two up the other day. I don't imagine somebody putting him on what feels like a lockdown is gonna be okay for a while."

There was more to it, Jack knew. But that Steve had made the connection between captivity and Mac balking at anything that reminded him of it was good enough. "Yeah, you're right about that." Jack sighed. "Does Thornton know?"

"That you guys ghosted when I probably should have gotten someone to make staying an order? Yeah. And neither her or Oversight are very happy about it."

"Shit."

Steve flashed a grin. "Don't let it worry you. I've taken heat off them before. It won't come back to bite you. I told them, my patients, my decision."

Jack offered a very genuine smile. "Thanks, man. I don't think I've met anyone, not just at DXS Medical, but in your profession at all, other than maybe Mac's friend Elliot, who thinks that much about what their patients really need."

"I try, man. I've been out in front before. And I do appreciate that you've yet to give me shit that it was with SEALs."

"You mean like callin' you a wimpy little water baby?" Jack smirked. He had another friend named Steve who he threw that around with quite a bit that he should probably give a call at some point.

Steve laughed. "Like that, yes."

"You're the guy with the bag full of drugs and sharp objects, man. I do my best to keep on y'alls good side."

"Well, you can do that right now by keeping an eye on Mac and making sure both of you take it easy. Deal?"

"I'll do my best to keep him taking it easy. Not like I'm gonna be runnin' any marathons myself … Anything I should keep an eye out for?"

The shower turned off then, so Steve dropped his voice. "It's tough, because some of the red flags could also be concussion symptoms, or infection from how dinged up he is, but generally if you notice he's especially pale, poor appetite, shallow or rapid breathing, or if he seems dizzy or confused, you should get him to come back in. And, it goes without saying, but if he passes out, call 911 or one of us."

Jack ran his hands over his face. "Jesus."

"It's unlikely, Jack, but I wanted you to know." Steve frowned a little. "More likely this'll just present as him being a little tired, and maybe having some upper abdominal or shoulder pain on his left side. But those are things that if they come up enough to notice, maybe get him to come in then, too. Or call up his buddy Elliot and let him be the bad guy."

Mac came out of the bathroom then, hair still tousled from drying it off. He stood looking at them for a moment. His head tilted to one side. "You guys look like you're up to something," he observed.

Steve stood. "I was giving Jack a lecture about following his icing and anti-inflammatory protocol if he wants to avoid another surgery since he was ready to take his sling off the second we got through the door," Steve lied smoothly.

"Jack, seriously?" Mac demanded. He took several brisk steps across the room to the couch and neither Jack nor Steve failed to notice his eyes tighten around the edges. He sank down in the armchair nearest him like it was just about getting eye level with Jack. "After how bad that shoulder was dislocated? You've got to be careful with that." Then he grinned. "I don't want to have to break in a new Overwatch, man."

Jack chuckled and shook his head (though what he wanted to do was lecture his stubborn genius partner about leaving Medical with a bruised spleen and not saying anything, but he knew as well as Steve that it would be a bad move, so he didn't). "I'll try to make sure I get to stay on duty." Then he couldn't help himself. "So long as you promise to do the same and make sure I've got a skinny bomb nerd to need watching."

Steve took it as an opportunity to remind both of them what they should be doing. "I like this plan. You both keep each other in line." He nodded at each of them in turn. "You got blown up. Remember that. Or I'll forget to be so likable next time you need to be at Medical."

"Neither of us want that, man," Jack said seriously.

Mac just nodded, glancing at Jack with real concern. "We'll take it easy, Doc."

Steve gave a little grinning shake of his head. "Call me if you need anything. I'll run interference with the rest of the crew if you need me to."

"Seriously?" Mac asked.

"Don Foster may quit before his teeth set back up, so it may be less necessary," he chuckled. "But I want you to know you can come back in and be treated like people rather than problems, alright?"

Jack nodded, "We appreciatcha, Doc."

Mac just said, "Thanks."

After Steve closed the door on his way out, Mac looked like he might want to lecture Jack about keeping his sling on, but instead, he picked up the remote and asked, with a familiar grin, "Wanna order pizza and watch Die Hard?"

0-0-0

They were watching Sunday night football. Mac was trying really hard to concentrate enough to follow the game and still maintain the semblance of a conversation, but concussion, aches and pains, and the general sense that maybe, just maybe, Sully's assertion that he was stubborn and ridiculous might just be right were making that difficult. So he fell silent more than was typical.

Mac had already come to have more than a little affection for Jack's beloved Cowboys, so he was pulling for Dallas, and the tense shootout they were having with the Giants at least explained the lack of their usual banter.

It was harder during the commercial breaks though.

Jack kept glancing at him. Mac felt like he had to try especially hard to figure out how to just 'be normal', because he got the sense that maybe Jack was waiting for some sign of weakness to use as an excuse to drag him back to Medical.

Mac's head was kind of killing him, his stomach hurt, and he kind of wanted to go rack out in Jack's room to get away from the noise of both the TV and Jack swearing at the refs, but that wasn't something he could do without his partner going full Overwatch. Then an ad came on for the upcoming Thanksgiving game schedule.

Jack flashed him a grin (though his eyes were searching Mac's face in a way that told Mac that Jack knew he was struggling some). "The boys are playin' on Turkey Day. It don't get much better than that."

Mac smiled in return. "Maybe by then we'll both feel like eating something." He gestured at the almost untouched wings and nachos they'd ordered in for the game.

Jack sighed and picked up a wing, almost like he was trying to show Mac that his appetite was just fine and in no way influenced by his concussion or the pain meds he was taking for his shoulder. He also wanted to see if Mac would follow suit. "Oh, I feel like eating. I just keep getting distracted by the damn refs tryin' to ruin my boys' chances."

Mac grinned and shook his head. "They do seem to be feeling kindly disposed toward New York today."

"Bastards," Jack agreed, chucking the chicken bone into the bowl they'd brought to the table for that very purpose and picking up another one. He looked from Mac to the food on the coffee table, then back to Mac again. "You really not feelin' any food, kid?" Loss of appetite was definitely something Steve had mentioned as a concern and Mac had been doing okay so far since they'd gotten back to Jack's, but Jack didn't think he'd seen him eat anything today.

Mac shrugged, irritated that it hurt his chest and ribs, but he managed not to let the pain register on his face. "I…" he began, almost ready to cop to the terrible headache he hadn't been able to kill with the prescription dose of ibuprofen Steve had suggested and the stomachache that just wouldn't quit. "I kind of had a fight with Nikki."

He sighed. It was true and he didn't exactly want to lie to Jack. But he didn't want to get dragged back to Medical either. And he had a sneaking suspicion Steve had left instructions with his Overwatch. Jack was a ninja master at ghosting Medical, all while hovering over Mac like he might die from a damn paper cut.

"Oh yeah?" Jack asked like he wanted to believe that might be what had Mac off his feed.

"She called while I was getting changed. Flipped out because we were gone from DXS when she finally decided she was going to come see how I was."

"I'm sorry, man."

Mac shrugged. "It's okay. I think I smoothed things over, but … I've never been in a relationship long enough to have really had a fight like that before. It was weird."

"Women, kid. I'll never figure 'em out."

"Well if you can't, I'm screwed," he said with a slightly forced laugh.

"Maybe we'll just have to share tips as we figure them out."

Mac nodded. Then he got silent for a few minutes as the game came back on. "I just realized something," Mac said with what Jack read as at least a little anxiety.

"That we're cursed?" Jack said lightly, eliciting an eye roll from his partner, just like he intended.

Mac flashed a little smile, too. "Some days, Jack, I think you might be right about that." He absently scratched at the stitches on his chest through the t-shirt. "Because we definitely look like guys who got blown up, and Thanksgiving is in less than a week."

"You're worried about Boze and the holiday."

Mac shrugged. "I'm worried about feeling like shit on the holiday, but yeah, that, too."

Jack looked at him for a long moment. He was worried about a lot of things right now, and he was even more worried that he felt like it all fell on him to do the worrying. "I … Um … What would you think about spending the holiday at the ranch?"

"Thanksgiving at the ranch?" Mac asked, his face suddenly lighting up.

Jack smiled at that. "I was actually thinking more like the whole holiday season. I mean we're on mandatory R and R anyway. Why not spend it in the great state of Texas?"

"Through Christmas?"

"Mac, buddy, you've gotta know that spending that time with the family would make them happier than anything we could possibly send them, right?"

Mac grinned hugely. "I'd really like that. I don't think…"

"What is it, bud?"

"I don't think I really … knew you … Until you took me to the ranch."

"Is that a bad thing or a good thing?" Jack asked with a small smile.

"I … I've never known anything like that. Not even with the guys back at the FOB and that's brotherhood that goes way beyond biology. Your nana and grandpa … Marlene and her kids … your brother coming in from Vegas just to meet me … It was a lot … But, Jack .. It was …"

Jack smiled fondly, thinking of the few weeks they'd spent in Texas after he'd gotten Mac back from O'Neill. It seemed to be exactly what Mac needed, to see in person the love and affection he'd been offered over video call when they'd been deployed together. "Family?"

Mac looked away, but cleared his throat and said, "Yeah .. Yeah. And the holidays with family sounds … Perfect."

"Great!" Jack hesitated for a second. He really wanted to ask Mac to get checked out by Steve or Elliot before agreeing to head to Texas, but he didn't think Mac was open to it. Not right now anyway. He'd have to talk to his grandfather about contingency plans in case things went south. "I'll give Nana a call right now and tell her to make up the back bedroom."

"You don't think she'll mind?" Mac asked with a hesitancy that reminded Jack that Mac wasn't fully familiar with what family, especially the Dalton version of family, really meant.

"Mac, buddy, I guaran-damn-tee that Nana will consider me asking to be the greatest Christmas gift she could ever get, fully a month in advance."