Los Angeles, California Mac's house
Mac sat on his living room floor and rummaged through the box of his fathers things. Why did James keep so many secrets from him? Didn't he trust Mac? Maybe he just liked knowing more than everyone else. Mac sighed audibly and rubbed the back of his neck. 'Once Jack gets here, things will be better.' Mac told himself inwardly.
Zadar, Croatia
Cam had been in combat countless times and watched too many friends die bloody over the years. He just prayed Jack's name wasn't going to be added to that list. There was something shocking about seeing a fellow soldier injured and bleeding in civies without any armor or military gear on. It just seemed so wrong and out of place. Soldiers shouldn't have to worry about this shit when they are off the clock. There was no such thing as "off the clock" while they were working undercover he supposed.
Once they reached the hospital, the medics rushed Jack through the emergency entrance and into the trauma center, leaving Cam alone in the waiting area. He glanced down at his blood-covered hands and headed to the men's room to wash Jack's blood off of him. Afterward, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Walker, the task force's second-in-command. Cam relayed everything that had happened. Walker told him he was sending three of their guys to keep watch at the hospital in case whoever had tried to kill Jack came back to finish the job. Walker would coordinate with local law enforcement to investigate the assassination attempt.
Cam sat down heavily in one of the seats in the waiting area, letting out a tired breath. He scrubbed his hands over his face and rubbed his temples, trying to ease the pressure building in his head. His phone rang, displaying an unfamiliar number. He answered, and the woman on the other end introduced herself as Matty Webber, the director of the Phoenix Foundation. He'd heard all about Jack's team at Phoenix and recognized her name immediately.
I need a sitrep on Dalton," the director ordered before Cam could say anything else.
Cam was nonplussed as to how this woman had already known that something had happened to Jack. He also wasn't allowed to reveal any information about their mission, which included the team members, unless they had the code word.
"Uh, sorry ma'am, do you ha—" Cam stammered before Matty cut him off with the correct answer to the question he tried to ask. "Rubicon," Matty declared confidently.
Cam cleared his throat, "When I got to him, he was unconscious and losing a lot of blood. He had a large piece of shrapnel in the side of his neck. I don't believe it was arterial. He was in and out of consciousness and bleeding from the back of his head. They are working on him right now, in the trauma center," Cam relayed, tiredly.
"Thank you for everything you did tonight, Mr. O'Neal. I'd appreciate it if you could keep me updated on Jack's condition," Matty requested, her tone softer now.
Cam furrowed his brow thoroughly perplexed with how this director of a think tank had known that Cam had helped Jack, not to mention that she somehow had a fairly high military security clearance. "Of course, ma'am. It's clear Jack considers you and his Phoenix team family, by the way he talks about you guys. I'll call you with an update as soon as I hear something," Cam vowed.
"Thank you. He is to us as well," Matty replied.
Los Angeles, Phoenix Foundation War Room
Riley had never left the War Room, busily hacking into satellite feeds and Croatian CCTV footage of the area where Jack's Jeep had been parked. She hoped to identify the person who wanted Jack dead. A camera from a shop across from Jack's apartment building had captured the explosion. When she saw Jack thrown violently into the wall, she nearly lost her breakfast. Whoever had done this must've known about the camera, as there was a seventeen-minute time jump at 5:10 PM—nothing had been recorded during that period. She had a time but nothing else, so far.
Zadar, Croatia
Cam sipped on another cup of crappy coffee and waited for news on Jack, along with the three team members Walker had sent. About an hour into their wait, they finally received an update. The news was both good and bad. They had been able to remove all the shrapnel safely. The piece that had hit him in the neck had narrowly missed an artery—if it had hit, he would have bled out in seconds.
The bad news was that Jack had a hairline fracture on the back of his skull and a small brain bleed. It could resolve itself on its own, but if not, they'd have to operate. He would need to be closely monitored over the next few days.
Cam relayed the new information to Matty, then took up his new post in the uncomfortable recliner in Jack's hospital room. Hodges pulled up a chair in the hallway across from the door, and the other two team members kept watch outside the hospital.
Los Angeles, Phoenix Foundation
Matty briefly considered calling Mac to tell him what had happened to Jack. She knew he'd want to know, but she just couldn't bring herself to add any more weight to the delicate thread the blond agent seemed to be hanging on by.
Riley looked up from her screen when Matty returned to the War Room. The director filled her in on Jack's condition. Hearing about the head trauma frightened the hacker the most, and her eyes welled up with worried tears. She quickly looked away from Matty, back at her screen, trying to hide her emotions.
Jack was like a father to her, and Matty knew this was hard on her.
"Riley, with what just happened with Oversight this morning, I'd like to wait a few days before Mac hears about this. Okay?" Matty asked gently.
Riley had completely forgotten about Oversight ever since she'd walked into the War Room earlier. She couldn't imagine how Mac must be feeling right now. If he learned that Jack had nearly been killed with an IED, just hours after his father had died in an explosion, it would be too much for him. This was overwhelming even for her.
"Okay," Riley nodded in agreement.
Los Angeles, California Mac's house
After the funeral Mac felt emotionally wiped out and oddly numb. Once he got home he threw his keys on his table and stood in the entryway to his empty lifeless house and the deafening silence within, he felt so alone. It had been so long since he'd felt this alone he'd almost forgotten what it was like.
Jack had spent years convincing him that he didn't have to feel that way anymore. Jack would always have his back, that he would be there when he needed him, no matter what, that he was family and there was nothing more important than family.
Mac had really thought Jack would have dropped everything to be here for him, at the very least he thought that Jack would have picked up the phone by now. Even though Jack had left on this extended mission he still had foolishly believed that Jack would find a way to get here if Mac needed him and he did need him. He missed Jack and he wanted him here to make things right again. Things hadn't been right ever since he had left.
'Had their relationship degraded so much that he couldn't count on Jack anymore?'
Mac felt so untethered. Without Jack he was losing his grip on everything else.
Mac swiped a tear streaking down his cheek. He felt a little guilty that he was more upset by Jack not being here than he was with his fathers death.
Jack has been more of a father figure to him than James ever had, so it made sense that he wasn't having as strong of a reaction to his fathers demise. He still felt guilty though.
Zadar, Croatia
Jack cracked open his eyes and grunted with the discomfort the action brought. The ache radiated outward from the back of his head, down his neck into his shoulders and intensified with his awareness.
"Hey, Boss. It's really good to see you awake, bro." Cam said gently after returning to Jack's room from a coffee run and seeing him awake.
Jack furrowed his brow in confusion, he couldn't remember what had happened or how he had ended up there.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Cam asked after seeing the confusion written on his friend's face.
Jack closed his eyes trying to recall. It was disconcerting not knowing immediately what had happened and it gave him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Jack's memories were a little spotty, but he could remember riding back with Cam after some training at the shoot house.
"You dropped me off at my apartment." Jack reported a moment later. His voice was rough from disuse.
Cam released the breath he was holding, relieved his friend wasn't missing more time.
"Yeah, that's right. It wasn't even ten minutes later when I heard the explosion. Someone had rigged your Jeep to blow." Cam informed his team lead and scrubbed a hand down his face.
"You took some shrapnel and lost a good amount of blood, but the knock you took to the dome proved to be the most serious, Boss." Cam filled in his fellow Delta teammate.
With the way his head felt, Jack had no doubts that what Cam had told him was the truth, but Jack still had that feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't shake.
Suddenly, a blinding pain knifed through his skull causing him to clamp his eyes shut and groan in response, with the pain came flashes of memories that led up to the bomb going off in his Jeep. 'Mac's dad, Mac needed him!'
Jack's eyes shot open and he started to pull at the sides of his bed to sit up. "Woah, woah, take it easy, boss. Slow down." Cam advised his injured friend and rushed over to assist his friend.
Cam pushed the button to raise the head of Jack's bed and adjusted the pillow further down to help him sit up. He wasn't sure what had caused the sudden reaction with Jack, but by the sound of his monitor his heart rate had sped up and he was obviously distressed.
"How long have I been in here, Cam?" Jack asked his friend.
"It's been three days, buddy." Cam answered.
Jack looked devastated at the revelation.
"Jack, what is it?" Cam asked, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Mac… I shoulda been there for em..." Jack replied.
"I gotta talk to em." Jack stated.
Cam retrieved his phone out of his pocket and handed it to his friend, not needing to be asked.
"I'm going to go talk to the guys and let them know you are awake." Cam said, while motioning towards the door.
"Thanks, bud." Jack thanked him, sincerely.
Jack dialed Mac's number from memory, completely unsure of what he was going to say.
Mac frowned at his phone and the "unknown" displayed there on his screen.
"Macgyver," the agent answered.
"Mac… hey, how are you doing?" Jack struggled to make his voice sound more normal.
Mac couldn't speak for a long moment, completely caught off guard after not hearing from his friend for so long.
"I'm fine." Mac replied curtly.
Jack knows it's a lie and Mac knows that Jack knows, but he's too tired and hurt to care really.
"I'm so sorry kid… I shoulda-"
"It's okay, Jack." Mac cut him off, shortly.
Mac's words might be saying he was fine but Jack could hear beyond that. Mac was anything but fine.
"Hey, it's not really a good time right now, mind if I call you later?" Mac asked, too drained for a conversation with Jack right then.
"Yeah… sure kid…" Jack replied softly.
Mac went to disconnect the call but hesitated, furrowing his brow, after finally hearing the pain the Delta was concealing in his voice.
"I am sorry, Mac." Jack apologized softly. "I wanted to be there with ya." Jack finished, then ended the call.
"Jack…" Mac started, but realized that Jack had already ended the call. He pulled the device away from his ear and frowned down at the screen, suddenly hit with guilt over how he had just spoken to Jack and the pain he had heard embedded within his voice.