Chapter Text
He was pretty sure it was day four, or it might’ve been five. There was no sense of time while being tied up and gagged in a dingy old room. He could only make a guess with how many times he failed to stay up when sleep beckoned him. So he was pretty sure it was day four or five.
Mac had been taken out of the room nine times in that timespan, being returned bloodied and bruised more than when he left. Bozer didn’t know what he was thinking, what his plan was, but surely he didn’t need to suffer every day to make it happen.
Each day when Mac was sat back in the chair, hands rebound and filthy gag put back into place, he looked towards Bozer, eyes going soft with an attempt at a smile and the smallest of nods. His plan must’ve been working. It must have, otherwise he wouldn’t keep continuing on with the the torture he was enduring.
Bozer believed in Mac with his everything. Ever since they were kids, Mac seemed to be able to pull off the impossible with his experiments. And he’d heard stories about him getting free from captivity before in much more difficult circumstances. So there was no way Mac wasn’t going to be able to not get them out of there.
But then the days carried on, and Mac was taken, and when he was returned, there were no soft eyes or nod. There was no comfort or planning going on behind his eyes.
Because they were shut.
Mac had been unconscious when he was returned that day.
But their captors didn’t care in the least. They still bound his wrists and placed the gag in his mouth.
Bozer was scared before, but that time he was outright terrified. He couldn’t see Mac’s face at all, his head lolling downward towards his chest. He couldn’t even tell if Mac was breathing at that point, but figured their captors wouldn’t go through the trouble of rebinding him if he was dead. Bozer could handle that, could handle Mac being passed out because passed out was a lot better than being dead. It was just like if he was sleeping. He would wake up on a few hours and everything would begin to be okay again.
But Mac didn’t wake up. Not for hours. He didn’t move at all, for so, so long. And Bozer had made a note that their captors hadn’t returned at all either. So maybe it was some fucked up joke; actually rebinding Mac’s corpse just for the fun of it to give Bozer a false sense of hope.
And he couldn’t take that.
So he started screaming, calling out for Mac to give him any sign that he was alive, even though all that came out from behind the gag was a muffled yell at best. He tried breaking free of his bindings, but the most he struggled, the tighter they felt. He didn’t stop though, not even when his wrists had been rubbed raw and begun to bleed or the gag had become saturated with his own saliva.
It went on for hours, until his voice was hoarse and wrists were sticky.
He only stopped when the door opened, terror overcoming him at the thought of what they’d do to an unconscious Mac.
But all sense of dread, terror, and hopelessness was wiped from his mind when Jack was the one that was in the doorway.
“I gottum!”
Bozer didn’t fight the tears that started spilling down his face.
Riley was in front of him, very carefully undoing the gag and bindings. “Sorry, I’m sorry if I’m hurting you. Medics are waiting outside.”
Bozer didn’t care about himself, because Mac still wasn’t moving.
“Mac—” The name felt like sandpaper in his mouth. “Mac’s not— is he okay?”
“Bozer I need you to focus on me right now.”
He watched as Jack undid Mac’s bindings and gag, watched as Mac sagged into Jack’s chest and was a rag doll in Jack’s arms. “He’s not moving Riley. He hasn’t moved in so long.”
“Bozer, look at me.” Riley’s hands were on his face, forcing his eyes off Mac and on to her. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
He took a deep breath, making his lungs sting slightly. “No. No they— they didn’t touch me.”
“Is there anything I need to know to tell the medics?”
Bozer’s eyes went back to Mac, watched as Jack gently picked him up and carried him from the room, still zero movement on Mac’s part.
“Hey.” Riley snapped. “Is there anything I need to tell the medics?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m okay.”
“Okay then. Let’s get you outta here huh?” She nodded and helped Bozer out of the chair, slinging one of his arms around her shoulders. “Mac’s going to be fine. Jack’s not going to let anything happen to him. You’re both safe now.”
Of course. They were safe now. Mac was safe now because Jack was there. Mac wasn’t safe when he was there, and that hurt Bozer more than any physical pain could.
***
Mac was in the hospital for two days.
Bozer was fine to be released after a few hours.
Bozer stayed in the hospital for two days.
Mac had woken up very briefly on the way to the hospital, eyes glancing around the vehicle until they settled on Bozer before finally closing again.
The second day had just been a precaution. Mac had woken up, feeling just about as good as he looked, but there was no real danger to his health; bruised ribs and a headache that would last a while was all he had to really worry about.
When he’d first woken up, it was to Jack sitting at his bedside, as was custom whenever he awoke from unconsciousness that wasn’t regular sleep. There was a flash of panic as the previous days flashed through his head, but Jack calmed him down, and moved so he could see Bozer, sleeping in a chair off in one of the corners.
“He ain’t moved since you got put in here.”
“He’s okay though? Nothing happened to him right?”
“Wrists and head gonna be sore for a while, but he’s gonna be just fine, just like you, come time.”
“He shouldn’t have been there Jack. If he’d gotten hurt, or— or if anything happened to him—”
“It didn’t. Nothin happened to him. You made sure of that. He’s going to be just fine. You both are.”
Jack hovered when they finally went home, staying with both of them for a day until they finally convinced him they were alright and really just needed some peace and quiet. Riley had dropped by at one point, just to check in and see if they needed anything. She hung around for a little while, before the heaviness of the house just seemed to get to her, making an excuse— or not, neither man really knew— that Patty needed her.
Mac would’ve been lying if he said he was fine with her leaving. He wanted another body there. Something to help ease the pressure that was building up. Jack was a whole other story though. Jack would do everything for the both of them, talk to both of them about what happened. Mac just wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.
They avoided each other, for the most part. Listening to where each other was in the house so they wouldn’t come face to face. They needed to talk, but they couldn’t, not then they couldn’t.
It changed though, on the third day. Both knowing neither had really been getting sleep. They’d finally met in the kitchen, in the really early hours of the morning. It shouldn’t have been awkward, they’d been in much more awkward positions before, and that was downright pleasant in comparison, finally seeing each other after days of not.
“Hey.”
“Morning. How you been?
“Still sore, but uh, nothing I haven’t had before. You?”
“I’m good. Gotten burns that are worse than these.”
“That’s uh, I guess that’s good then.”
Awkward.
“I’m just going to get some water then head back to bed. Hope you feel better Boze.”
Extreme awkward.
“I hate you.”
Hearing those words made Mac go still.
“For an incredibly smart guy, you have really, really fuckin stupid ideas. Why the hell did you think that lettin yourself get tortured for days was a good idea? What was your plan in all of that? Just gonna let yourself die? No, really, I actually want to hear your thought process on why you thought it was a good plan—”
“I didn’t want you to get hurt!” Mac shouted. “You’re in this whole mess because of me and if I let you get hurt then I’d never forgive myself.”
“So you thought it was a good idea for you to just get tortured every day?”
“Yes!”
“That’s bullshit Mac! Absolute bullshit!”
“No it’s not! I’ve been trained on what to do if I’m ever captured and tortured, and I’ve served! I know what I can take!”
“You don’t know what I can take!”
Whatever anger that had slowly ventured into Mac was gone in an instant when Bozer’s voice broke with a near sob.
“You don’t know what I can take, Mac. I can take pain, maybe not as well as you because I haven’t been trained for it, but I can take it. What I can’t take is watching you get beaten just to keep me safe. I can’t take watching you come back more broken than how you left, and I couldn’t take seeing you unmoving for so long. I— I thought you were dead Mac.”
Mac quickly closed the distance between them, pulling Bozer into a hug.
“You don’t— I mean you probably do, but seeing you like that… those guys just tied you back up. I was shouting and trying to get free but you weren’t moving. You didn’t move or nothing for hours. I couldn’t even see if you were breathing. And it scared me Mac. I thought— I thought…”
“I’m so sorry Boze. I’m sorry you had to be there and witness that.” Mac’s own voice breaking slightly. “You’re right though. I do know what it feels like to be in your position, and I know how difficult it must have been for you. But I also don’t, because I’m not you. I’m trained, I know how to keep myself from panicking in those situations, but you’re not. You’re not even supposed to be wrapped up in this horrible life, and I can’t apologize enough for bringing you into it. If I could go back and stop you finding out I would.”
“I wouldn’t want you to.” Bozer sniffed. “I’m not gonna say I was happy about all the lies, but I’m happier knowing what’s really happening, even if it’s so much worse. I mean hell, I would prefer if the lies were reality and you were just extremely accident prone, but knowing that you’re doing so much more than working at a think tank— I’m gonna worry about you, more than ever, and I’m not gonna ask you to change anything.”
“Boze—”
“Except—” He pulled away from the hug. “Don’t you dare do anything like that for me again. I want you to promise me.”
Mac shook his head. “I can’t promise you that. If there’s a choice between one of us surviving, I’m going to pick you. Not because you wouldn’t be able to handle it, because you’re family. And I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
That made Bozer huff with a smile, shaking his head. “That makes two of us. I don’t wanna see you get hurt either. If you can’t promise me that, at least promise you’ll always have some sort of plan so you won’t have to be in that situation again.”
Mac smiled. “I think I can promise you that one.”
***
Jack had let himself in. It was just past noon, and neither Mac or Bozer had answered his texts or picked up his calls. He’d already gone through that situation once that week, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle it again in such a short timeframe.
The house was bright with the afternoon sun, even with the blinds still drawn. It made Jack’s skin crawl, all the possibilities of what could’ve happened going through his head. He kept his hand on his holster, ready if anything or anyone was going to jump out at him.
But the sight he was met with calmed him immediately.
Mac and Bozer were both asleep on the couch in the living room, each on an end with their legs tangled up and hanging off the middle. It was cute, honestly. It made Jack think about what they must have been like as kids, how often they fell asleep near or with each other.
He took out his phone, snapping a quick picture to send to Riley, then got a blanket from the closet and dropped it over them. Jack wasn’t needed there, not anymore. Not when his boys had each other to lean on.