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“Goddammit, I knew this op was gonna go bad,” Jack swore through gritted teeth as he kicked in the door to the safe house where Riley and Bozer had set up overwatch. Mac was hanging limp at his side, his arm pulled tight across Jack’s shoulder as he muscled the blond through the doorway.
“What the hell happened, Jack?” Riley asked, taking in the bedraggled pair literally covered in blood. She couldn’t tell where it was coming from but seemed to be centered somewhere in the vicinity of Mac.
“Mac’s shot,” was Jack’s simple answer but it was enough to send Bozer flying over to his best friend’s side. His hands hovered uselessly over Mac’s chest, eyes searching for the location of the wound.
“What?” Riley paled, frozen in place.
“Twice.” Jack was growing more frantic. He hoisted Mac a little higher when the younger man sagged against him. The three uninjured agents winced in sympathy at the wounded sound that escaped Mac at the jostling. “The bleeding won’t stop.”
Bozer took another step forward, clearly unsure of what to do or how to help but needing to get closer. “Mac?”
“Hey Boze,” Mac forced out through numb lips. The words slurred together, jumbled and clumsy. It didn’t sound anything like Mac who was always so confident and sure of everything.
“You okay,” Bozer asked automatically, wincing at how unnecessary the question was. “I mean, I know that’s a stupid question because you don’t look okay at all, but are you okay?”
“Noh’really, buddy” Mac slurred, blue eyes hazy from blood loss. It took everyone by surprise that he was willing to be so honest about how he felt. If he was admitting he wasn’t okay, it had to be really, really bad. “N-need’ta...lay down.”
“Okay, right, okay.” Bozer stuttered, his eyes jumping to Jack’s for any sign of what to do next. Jack grit his teeth, his jaw clenching together as fear ripped through him, but he forced himself to give Bozer some kind of reassurance. They were going to look to him as a guide for how to handle the situation. If he cracked, they would too, and Mac needed them all to be at their best.
“Don’t worry,” Jack forced a nervous smile as his partner's blood soaked into the side of his shirt. “He’s gonna be fine. We’ve got this.”
It might have been a lie, but it was just what they needed to jump into action.
As soon as Riley cleared the couch of the schematics for the building they had - unsuccessfully - infiltrated, Jack gently lowered Mac onto the hard cushions. His heart clenched at Mac’s stuttered gasp, his breathing strained as he fought against the pain ricocheting through his body. His shaky, pale hands automatically clutched at his wounds, the blood immediately trickling through his fingers.
“I’m sorry, Mac,” Jack said as he brushed the stray tears from Mac’s cheek. He wasn’t even sure his partner was aware of them. “I’m gonna make it better, okay. You’re gonna be fine.”
“Think it’s...th-think it’s bad this time, J-Jack” Mac groaned, Jack took the offered towels from Riley and pressed them to Mac’s belly.
“No, no it isn’t, pal.” Jack said, doing a poor job of convincing any of them. “It’s gonna be okay. I’m right here with you, you just have to keep your eyes open for me, okay? Keep ‘em open and stay right here with me.”
“Kay,” Mac tried to say but the word was cut off in a desperate cough. Every breath was a fight and Jack could see how tired the struggle was making him. Jack wished he could take it all away, even if that meant he would feel the pain instead. It would be so much easier than watching Mac struggle. Jack couldn't stand to see him so hurt, covered in blood, weakly writhing in agony.
“Riley, can you get a hold of Matty?” Jack tried to say quietly so as not to scare anyone with the severity of the situation, but it wasn’t fooling anyone. The evidence was right in front of them. “Tell her to get a medevac here ASAP, and I mean right now, or-”
“I get it, Jack.” Riley said, her voice wavered but stayed strong. “Don’t worry.”
“Do you...have the h-hard drive?” Mac asked, his eyes roaming around the room for the small device they had been sent in to retrieve. “Think I...think I dropped it when I...was hit.”
“I’ve got it right here, hoss, safe and sound, just like you.” It was a lie. He didn’t have the hard drive, and Mac wasn’t safe and sound, but he didn’t need Mac worrying about that. As soon as Mac went down from the first bullet to the gut, the mercs got the hard drive back and shot Mac the second time just to make sure he stayed down. After that, Jack didn’t care about the mission anymore. His new mission was made abundantly clear - save Mac, no matter what. “Don’t worry about anything right now.”
“Didn’t see the gun,” Mac groaned, eyes rolling shut. Jack nudged him until he saw slivers of blue again.
“Me neither, kid, I’m so sorry I missed this one.” Jack felt tears form in the corners of his own eyes. If he lost the kid now, after everything they’d been through together since they were paired up downrange, Jack didn’t know what he’d do. He didn’t want to go on missions and save the world if Mac wasn’t right there by his side. If his life had been split by the time before Mac, and his time with Mac, Jack didn’t want to see what time after Mac looked like.
“Not your f-fault.” Mac swallowed hard. He pressed his head back into the cushions as his leg kicked out. He was doing a damn good job of sitting still and fighting the pain. Jack knew how painful bullet wounds were, and with how bad Mac’s were, the kid had to be in agony.
“It sure feels like it is, bud.” Jack nearly choked on the words. Mac’s eyes found him again. They locked onto Jack’s and frown lines appeared between his brows. His hand twitched, pain and blood loss causing him to shiver.
It took a few seconds, but Mac finally shook his head. “Just b-bad luck, s’all.”
Jack smiled brokenly, taking Mac’s twitching hand in his own. He wrapped his fingers around the thin wrist and counted the weak beats. His heart was beating too fast, but it was struggling to circulate enough oxygen through his dwindling blood supply. They were losing him.
Bozer seemed to feel that he was losing his best friend, too, because he kneeled down next to Jack and placed a comforting hand on Mac’s shoulder. He squeezed gently, afraid to cause him any more pain.
“Hey man,” Bozer said, but it came out as more of a hoarse whisper, so he cleared his throat and tried again. The second time it was at least audible.
“B-Boze?” Mac shifted his head on the flat pillow that couldn’t have been very comfortable. Mac didn’t seem to notice, or care, but it made Bozer sad. He wanted to search every inch of the abandoned house for something better, even if it was just to be able to do something.
“I’m right here, Mac.” Bozer told him when Mac gently pulled his hand out of Jack’s grip and reached for his friend. As soon as Bozer pulled Mac’s hand into his own, some of the tension visibly left Mac’s body. At that moment, Bozer realized he was exactly where he needed to be. As hard as it was to see another brother bleeding, in pain, dying...he wouldn’t leave Mac’s side for anything.
“Neh-never wanted...you to know…’bout this.” The words caught in Mac’s throat. “‘Bout this life.”
“I know,” Bozer whispered, squeezing Mac’s hand in what he hoped was a reassuring way. “And I’m sorry I was mad at you at first. But none of that matters anymore. I’m glad I found out.”
Bozer meant it, too. He really wasn’t mad anymore, he just wished he could have known sooner.
“This part sucks, though.” He admitted.
“Yeah,” Mac actually managed to chuckle, choking on the sound. It ended in a hiss when the motion pulled on the bullet wounds. “It really d-does, right?”
“Oh yeah,” Bozer said and couldn’t stop the heartbreak making every single word heavy. He was losing a brother again, in the exact same way as the first time, and it wasn’t fair. None of it was fair. “But you know how I used to protect you when we were kids.”
“You nev-never let anything...bad happen to...me.” Mac stuttered, his face paling as the towels soaked through. Jack placed new ones on top and pressed down hard, causing Mac to jerk weakly under their hands.
“That’s right, man.” Bozer kept going, trying to distract Mac from what was happening to him, from all the wrong inside his body. “I protected you, and you protected me. That’s what we do, right?”
“Y-yeah.” Mac was holding onto every word now, his eyes glued to Bozer’s. Bozer felt frozen by the responsibility, overwhelmed, and not enough. But the look in Mac’s hazy blue eyes told him to keep going.
“So don’t feel bad about doing what we do best.” It was the simplest way Bozer knew how to say it. He tried to put so much behind the words. He knew Mac was only trying to protect him. He knew he would have done the same if the roles had been reversed. He knew Mac did everything he could to make the transition easier when Bozer did find out. And he didn’t want Mac to feel guilty about all the things they couldn’t change for even one second more.
“But I...lied.” The words were breathy, more air than sound, and Bozer had to strain to hear him.
“Hey, if you really want to make it up to him, when we get out of here you can cook him dinner for once.” Riley joined in, sitting on the couch by Mac’s feet.
“No way,” Bozer shook his head, glad for the distraction. “You know that scorch mark above the stove? That was from this guy making pancakes. He didn’t even have the pancake mix in the pan yet. I’m not letting him anywhere near that stove again.”
“Oh, that’s why you do all the cooking. I just thought he was lazy.” Riley joked lightly, and all eyes turned to Mac, but his breathing was catching in his chest. His face was paler than before, eyes hazy as he stared at the ceiling. His fingers pressed against the side of the towels being held over his wounds. He stared down at himself when he lifted his hand and blood immediately dripped from his fingers.
“Jah-Jack,” Mac gasped as if noticing the severity of his wounds for the first time, fear making his breathing even worse. Bozer backed away when Jack leaned forward, catching the stray hand and holding it tight.
“Don’t look at it, bud.” Jack said, waiting for Mac to meet his eyes. “Just look right here, right at me. Don’t look at anything else.”
“Hurts,” he said and it was becoming clearer that they were almost out of time. Mac had held on longer than most would have been able to, but he was fading.
“I know it does.” Jack’s voice broke. “Riley, where’s that medevac?”
“They’re ten minutes out.” She said, but they didn’t have ten minutes.
They had to have ten minutes.
“Good, okay, that’s good.” Jack said, forcing a reassuring smile so they wouldn’t realize just how close that timeline was going to cut it. “They’re almost here.”
“The hard drive?” Mac asked again, eyes rolling as he fought to remain conscious.
“I’ve got it right here, you just focus on breathing and staying awake.” Jack said again, hating himself for lying to his partner, but he knew the truth would only stress him out more. “You keep those eyes on me.”
And that’s how they stayed for exactly six minutes and fifty-seven seconds, as they did everything they could to keep Mac awake, until they finally heard Exfil pull into the driveway.
“You hear that, Mac?” Bozer asked when Riley ran out to meet their rescuers.
“Is that...help?” Mac asked, his head rolling as his eyes slowly slid shut. “We going h-home?”
“We’re going home, man.” Jack smiled gently, tucking his hand under Mac’s cheek and lifting his head up until blue eyes fluttered open.
Mac smiled, too, and leaned into Jack’s touch.
“Made it,” he whispered, and Jack finally let the tears he had been holding back since Mac had gone down fall.
“You made it, kiddo.” Jack said as hurried footsteps followed Riley back inside.
“You made it.”
The End.