Chapter Text
There was a secret, unwritten rule around base. It was somewhat new, only coming into the light in the recent year. It started off as a joke, the whole idea being thrown around and laughed at whenever it was brought up, but as time moved on, it just sort of became a part of the standard of living.
Don’t mess with Mac.
Or more so, Jack will put a hit on whoever didn’t show Mac the respect he deserved.
It was funny how their relationship developed from their first meeting; a literal brawl to rarely being seen without one another. Every new recruit assumed they’d been partners for years with the extreme amount of trust they had in each other, and they were surprised to learn they’d only been paired together for a few months, even more so when talking to either of them and learning it was actually Jack that requested to stay.
Jack had one stipulation to reupping for another tour; he had to stay Mac’s overwatch. The thought of leaving Mac in the desert with someone else watching his back just left a bad taste in Jack’s mouth, because Mac was something else. Mac wasn’t just another EOD tech, not just another mindless drone looking for a fight. Mac didn’t want to hurt people, he wanted to help them. He signed up solely for the purpose of helping, knowing very well that it was the army— a faction that was associated with war and death. Yet, Mac was there to put a little bit of good into it, to save lives instead of taking them.
So yes, Jack stayed for him, to protect the strange innocence and naïvety he had.
That was the only condition, stay Mac’s watch, and yet, the word’s that just sounded in his ears seemed to be ignoring that completely.
“Sorry, I’m sure I musta misheard ya. Thought ya said that me and Mac were goin to different bases for a while.”
“You heard correct, Dalton. Your skills are needed at one and Macgyver’s are needed at another.”
“Nuh uh. No way. Y’all should be aware of my single condition of my reuppin. And if ya don’t, it was I stick to Mac and he sticks to me.”
“Believe me, we’re all aware. That’s why we were told to give you an ultimatum; you either comply with the request, or you’ll be discharged, sent home, and Macgyver will finish his tour without you.”
Mac watched the exchange. He half expected Jack to lash out, demand to speak to whoever ordered it. But Jack went silent, his posture ridged as though he was ready to run. And it honestly put Mac on edge. The only other time he’d seen Jack like that was when he triggered that pressure plate, accepting that that day would be when he died. That time was different though, because the subject matter wasn’t Jack moments away from a painful death.
It was Mac.
Mac in the care of another person. Mac with someone that definitely didn’t have Jack’s skill set. Mac with someone who he didn’t trust explicitly. Mac with someone who wasn’t Jack.
It was still a bit odd to him, Jack’s devotion and utter most loyalty, and his full blown nature of just how much he cared. No one in his life had been that loyal, not in the same way at least, because Jack was ready to kill Mac on their first meeting, and now he would die for him.
He could see Jack’s inner struggle.
“Sir—”
“If you think for one goddamn second that you’d be able to ship me home and leave him here—”
“Jack—”
“I understand your feelings on the matter Sergeant, but the fact is this is above all our heads. This is an order from the top of the top, not just someone a step or two. We already tried to reason, tried to get someone else to take on the task, but they wouldn’t budge. They want you two to handle it, and if there was any problem with your willingness to do it, then we’d ship you out.”
Jack’s face was set in a deep frown.
“How long will it be for, sir?” Mac asked.
“Only a week, ten days at most.”
“And what’s the mission exactly?”
“Transport detail for Dalton. Important documents and personnel need to be moved through enemy heavy territory. His record of perfection has made him the top candidate to be chosen as security detail. Macgyver, you’ll be dealing with more advanced IEDs that have been giving the fellas a difficult time. Nothing out of the ordinary for you, you just won’t have Dalton at your back.”
“And that’s the problem.” Jack said. “In my contract, specifically written to suit my demands, states that I’ll be the one watching his back.”
“Your contract states that your only EOD will be Macgyver. Macgyver’s contract states he’ll be assigned Overwatches as seen fit. Both your contracts are being abided by.”
“Wait just a goddamn minute—”
“Alright.” The single word from Mac quieted Jack in an instant. “We’ll be ready to move out on orders, sir.”
The CO nodded. “End of the week. You two are off rotation so make sure you get sleep. It’s gonna be a rough time for everybody involved.”
***
“The hell do you think yer doin?”
“I’m doing my job, Jack, just like you should be doing yours.”
Mac and Jack were walking back to the bunks. Their CO explained that there would be two birds at the end of the week to take them to their respected camps, and the same ones would return them after Jack’s detail was finished. Mac was basically just going to be on loan until Jack’s job was complete, rather than have him work around their own base.
“My job is watchin yer scrawny behind, not transport detail.”
“It’s just for a week. It’ll be fine.”
“It ain’t fine!” Jack nearly shouted. “Why’d you just accept that it was gonna happen?”
“What did you want me to do? Let you say no and get discharged? Let them just ship you home and have me finish my tour with another random watch?” Mac crossed his arms, stopping in his tracks. “I’m sorry I keep preventing you from going home to your family.”
Jack frowned. “That ain’t what this is about.”
“No? Because from where I am, it looks like I’ve just been the biggest pain in your ass since we’ve met. Every problem that you seem to have is my fault somehow.”
“Hey now—”
“I’ll just stay out of your hair after this; put in a request so you can finally go home so you won’t have to deal with me anymore.”
Mac began to walk away. Jack grabbed his shoulder.
“What’s goin on with you?”
Mac slapped Jack’s hand away but didn’t answer, only continued walking.
Jack just stood there, stock and confused over what just happened. It wasn’t like Mac to get emotional over a job, especially one that didn’t directly involve him. Maybe there was something he knew that he didn’t want to tell, or maybe not, but whatever the reason, Jack couldn’t overlook it. Because emotions weren’t bad, no, not at all, but they did cause problems sometimes, and if Mac was acting like that on just the announcement of a new job, Jack could only imagine what would happen to him out in the field, all without him there to back him up.
So Jack marched right back to the CO in charge of the operation, determined to get any and all information.
“What the hell is goin on, Sam?”
Samual Hall was a decent guy. A hard ass but decent guy. He looked to Jack, then the other men in the tent before waving them away. “Dalton—”
“Don’t give me any of the it’s classified or above yer head bullshit. Why the hell are me and Mac getting split when the only clause, only important clause in my contract states that I am to be Macgyver’s overwatch for the remainder of his tour, and under no circumstances were we to be split or given new partners?”
“I understand your frustrations with it.”
“See, I don’t think ya do, because from what I’m understandin is from this point on, that contract’s null and void, and I ain’t technically part of the military anymore, so I ain’t gotta follow the stupid orders in the first place.”
“Jack, I give you my word that the other COs and myself did everything we could to avoid this because we knew the trouble it would cause.” He gestured for Jack to sit. “In truth, the original call was just for you. Macgyver would’ve played no part and been on camp duty until your return, going out only when absolutely necessary and with one of the other senior most watches.”
“The hell changed then?”
“We don’t know. We got a secondary order a few days after the initial that said Macgyver would be present at another camp, assisting with IEDs. We questioned it because the reports from the camp weren’t any different from our own, but were given no further explanation. We also pointed out what was stated in your contract, and it was returned, saying that this mission doesn’t technically violate it because you’re not being assigned a new tech. It all alines within the boundaries of Macgyver’s contract as well.
“We again pointed out the issues it would cause, and tried to make it so Macgyver would stay here during your time away, but were told to tell you that you either comply and finish the mission you’re being sent on, or you’ll be immediately discharged and given the first cargo plane back to the states, and Macgyver will complete his tour with someone else.”
Jack ran a hand through his hair. “This is utter bullshit. Who the hell’s orderin stupid shit like this? Ring him on the horn and lemme talk some fuckin sense into him.”
“You don’t have authorized clearance for that. None of the COs do either.” He held up some papers. “These are from the top of the top, probably even on top of that. I haven’t seen this much information redacted in quite some time, but whoever ordered this has the power to do whatever they want, and that unfortunately puts you in an annoying position.”
“I ain’t got no leeway in this at all?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
“Fuck.” Jack shook his head and gave a heavy sigh. “Okay. Who the hell’s gonna watch my boy’s back while I ain’t there?”
***
“I think that we, as a unit, should start charging whenever you two in particular are requested out somewhere. I mean really, it was funny at first but christ, you guys deserve something. Matt what number is this?”
“Hell if I know; stopped keeping track after the last time went belly up because I thought they’d send them home. Can’t believe they’re sending you two out again.”
“With other guys no doubt. Don’t they know that’s a bad idea?”
“Sometimes I don’t think command knows what they’re doin. Hey Mac, they even say what it was for exactly?”
Mac had been laying on his bunk fiddling with scrap wire, a bit concerned with how the guys already knew he and Jack were being split up and sent on a mission. “Jack’s going to be transport security for some high end info. I’m just being sent to another base to help out.”
“Really? I mean Dalton I understand with him being ex-delta and everythin, but why the hell they sendin you out too? I mean shit, I remember when Joe and Pat kidnapped ya for a consultation for a few hours and Dalton practically went nuclear.”
“How the hell did the big man get him to agree? Everyone knows he doesn’t have a problem arguing with authority and winning on some counts.”
The wire fell to Mac’s chest. “They uh, they said if he didn’t then he was going to get discharged and leave me to finish my tour with someone else.”
One of the guys whistled. “Damn, they sure got you two figured out. I mean shit, kinda hard to not find out that your both each other’s weakness.”
“And knowin how much Tex wants to see his family again. Damn bastards up top makin him choose.”
Mac had an immense feeling of guilt slowly eating away at him. He should’ve let Jack deny the mission so he’d get sent home. He wasn’t supposed to be out there anymore anyways. He should’ve been home with his family, months ago, but instead he stayed there to watch Mac’s back.
Mac wasn’t worth it; not someone worth throwing their life away for him. Mac was the person people ran away from. Mac was the person that somehow pushed people away.
But that time was different, because Jack was different.
Jack chose to stay. Jack fought Mac’s pushing. Jack forwent a happy life outside of the army to stay by Mac’s side. Jack stayed so Mac himself could have a chance at a happy life outside of the army.
That’s why that time it hurt so much more.
He assumed it would happen eventually, it always did. Everyone left in the end. When they got tired of him. It was only a matter of time for it to happen to Jack. The mission just seemed to be the perfect opportunity to actually act on it without being straight and to the point.
Mac knew it was selfish, to accept the mission so Jack would have to stay. He knew Jack wanted to go home, and the act of trying to state why he wouldn’t do the mission was just that, an act. He couldn’t help himself though. He wanted to be wanted; wanted to be cared about, wanted to be needed in more ways than just as a tool.
Mac knew it was selfish, but he wanted to be loved.
The hope of any of that went out the window when he accepted the mission, because Jack hated him. Jack was angry at him. Jack wanted nothing to do with him after the mission was done. Because Jack had a family he wanted to go home to, and Mac had ruined his chance.
So Mac would make the first move that time; he’d push before Jack had the opportunity to pull away. It would be easier that way, hurt less than it had other times.
After all, it wouldn’t be the first time someone left him.
***
All the guys could clearly see something was up. The first indication was Mac and Jack not being attached at the hip. Matter of fact it looked like they were avoiding each other. They didn’t speak to each other in the bunks either, which brought a heavy air in the area, making it awkward for anyone to try to speak.
After two relatively awkward days, someone finally confronted Jack.
“Dude what the fuck is going on with you two? The air thickens when you two are in the same vicinity and the guys have unfortunately elected me to figure out what the hell happened.”
“Me and Mac are goin to separate bases for a little while.”
“Yeah, we all know that, but we figured that you’d still be glued at the hip until the day came. Your avoidance of each other is weirdly out of character. I mean hell, this is worse than when you two first met. So spill, what’s going on?”
Jack sighed. “Honestly Joe, I ain’t too sure. Mac told me that I should just request a transfer once this mission is over with.”
“Because you accepted?”
“Probably because I didn’t.”
“You’re gonna have to walk me through this, Chief.”
“I mean ya heard right? If I didn’t take it then I woulda got shipped back home, leavin Mac for someone else. I’m over here, arguin that it’s bull and Mac takes it upon himself to give the okay. Next thing I know, we’re walking out and he said he’s sorry for keepin me here.”
“So you think he’s mad at you for trying to negotiate instead of just straight up saying yeah.”
“I think he thinks I mad at him for acceptin on my behalf, because he thinks he ruined my opportunity to go home. I mean geez, I didn’t leave when I was supposed to, I ain’t gonna leave when I ain’t supposed to either. Just wish I could get that through his head.”
“Jack, you know his story right?”
“That’s what I’m sayin. I ain’t gonna leave him like others did before.”
“I think he needs to hear you say it so it will start to sink in.”
He scoffed. “Been tryin but the kid won’t give me the time of day; always conveniently asleep or somewhere else.”
“Gimme two hours. Me and Pat can help with that.”
***
“—and then when Martinez inevitably comes over to check—”
“Nuh uh, this whole thing was your idea. No way am I taking blame for what happened.”
“You’re the one that made it happen! Of course you’re gonna take the blame!”
“Guys—”
“I wasn’t even holding it!”
“You touched it last!”
“Guys!” Mac pushed the two men apart. “If you can get me a few things, I can fix it, good as new, or whatever condition it was in.”
“We know you’re good at fixing things Mac, but the thing is real messed up.”
“Not the first time I’ve had to deal with something messed up. Probably not in the most amount of pieces either.”
Patrick huffed. “You know I don’t like to doubt any tech guys.”
“Then don’t.” Mac shrugged. “I promise you, I’ll fix your guys’ mess before Martinez even realizes anything happened.”
Joe clapped him on the shoulder. “Honestly man, you’re the best.”
Mac entered the empty bunks, looking for a supposed very important piece of broken equipment, but nothing stood out to him.
“You guys really don’t want Martinez to find it huh?” Silence for a moment. “Guys?” When Mac turned back towards the entry, Patrick and Joe were nowhere to be seen, and Jack had taken their place.
They stood, just staring at each other, awkward tension filling the silence.
“There wasn’t any broken equipment, was there?” Mac asked after a second.
“Not physically, no.” Jack said, an emotion Mac couldn’t exactly make out lining his words. Jack gestured between the two of them. “This though—”
Mac felt his heart rate pick up. Confrontation about splitting up was the last thing he wanted to deal with.
“Can you sit down and listen to what I have to say?” Jack’s words were calm and quiet.
And despite Mac’s urge to be anywhere but the bunks, he sat, mentally preparing himself for Jack’s wrath.
“Mac, I need ya to really listen to me, alright?” He took a deep breath. “I ain’t angry at you, in any way, and I’m sorry of it appeared like I was. I’m angry at whoever it was that called this mission for splittin us up. Don’t think I’ve ever even seen any others get it like we do. But the point of the matter is, yer stuck with me. After this mission is over, I ain’t goin anywhere.
“I understand why you thought I’d be angry, but fact is I stayed for ya, and I’m gonna keep my promise of gettin you home safe and sound. Not even Mama Dalton herself could call me back right now, and if I did end up leavin, you can bet yerself I’d come right back, drag ya home with me.”
Jack’s words hurt in a way Mac couldn’t comprehend. There was so much meaning behind them, but Mac couldn’t accept it, couldn’t accept that someone chose him. It didn’t make sense that Jack would throw away an opportunity to get out of the hellscape they were in, because people left Mac. No matter what he did or didn’t do, everyone always left in the end.
Jack was different though.
Jack was standing atop a mountain, clinging on to a rope that had gone over the end, being Mac’s very lifeline incase Mac was in danger of dropping. The first days were rough; Mac hooking into safety gear, trusting Jack not to let him fall upon decent. There were tugs on both ends in the first two months, but after Jack reupped, there were constant pulls and adjusting to make sure Mac was comfortable in the venture.
Since that day, Mac never made it to the top again, terrified that the rope would go slack right as he was at the peak, sending him crashing all the way back down. He’d just been hanging over the edge, waiting for a drop.
Jack never let it happen though. He would always shout over the side, or pull the rope to bring Mac back up to stand with him, but always stopped when Mac asked, because pulling too fast or hard would fray the line, making it all to easy for it to snap.
But little by little, Jack slowly pulled at it, determined to get Mac back to the top.
“Hey, I’ll say it as many times as ya need me to if the walls in yer head ain’t lettin sound through at the moment.” Jack’s face held sorrow, and patience. “Can ya let me know if ya hear me?”
Mac wanted to believe him, wanted to believe someone was putting him first instead of throwing him aside. After all, Jack was sitting on the boulder holding his rope in place, and that was more than anyone else had done.
It took a moment for Mac to answer. “Yeah… yeah I hear you.” His voice ever quiet.
“One more time for good measure then.” Jack took a seat next to him. “I ain’t goin nowhere.”
***
“I will see you in one week. One week, ya hear?”
“It could go on for twelve days. I know you heard Hall tell us the first time.”
“One. Week. I’ll make sure of it.”
Things had gotten better once Patrick and Joe had tricked Mac into talking to Jack.
“I cannot believe all it took was us lying about some sort of science project. If I’d’ve known that then I would’ve asked you to help make a baking soda volcano first day you two were on outs.”
It still surprised Mac how invested a lot of the other guys were in how he and Jack worked together, how if there was something off about them then something about the whole of their squad was off. It made him wonder if it happened to other guys as well when he and Jack weren’t paired.
“I eagerly await our reunion.”
“I mean it. If the missions done or not, hell, even if I gotta get a chopper myself, I’m comin back.”
A few of the other guys had been hanging around with them, giving their goodbyes and see you laters, even giving complaints on Mac and Jack’s behave about how much they were worked. The two of them had been awaiting their transport, listening for the sound of helicopter blades on the air.
“I know you will.”
They weren’t given too much more information about what they’d be doing exactly, more so Jack didn’t get anything, seeing as Mac was just going to be disarming away from base. Jack did try one last time to get Mac to be able to stay, at the very least to get one of their own guys to go with him, but it fell on deaf ears.
“Looks like the choppers are here. Guess it’s time for us to go.”
“Thing’ll be over before ya know it, and we’ll come right back to our little rat hole.” Jack clapped Mac on the shoulder, and pulled him into a hug. “See ya soon, alright?”
Jack did indeed get to know who was going to be watching Mac’s back while he was gone. It was something he wouldn’t back down on when he ultimately agreed. He only wished he could’ve met the guy in person to assess him.
“I’ll be waiting.”
The whole thing made Mac a bit sick. He watched as Jack boarded his chopper before boarding his own, wishing the whole thing to be over already. He trusted Jack, more than he ever trusted anyone, but it didn’t make the whole thing any easier.
***
The journey to the other base had been quiet for the most part. The pilot gave him updates and made small talk every once in a while, but otherwise it was quiet.
When they touched down, Mac was greeted by a CO, and shown where he’d be staying while he was there. He was introduced to an Albert Beck, the most talented overwatch with the best stats that they had.
“So I hear your regular watch is ex delta. Gonna be kinda hard to fill those shoes so bear with me on everything.” Albert seemed like a nice guy; not overly friendly, not cold and stoic, just another guy trying to make it day to day. He’d been an overwatch for a couple years, one of the best in his base. His stats were one of the reasons Jack ultimately backed down from the fight to stay with Mac. “I mean I thought my stats were impressive but they’re nothing compared to your guy.”
“Yeah, Jack— Jack’s something else.”
“You’re something else too dude. I mean I’m pretty sure you’re like an idol to some of the guys here, what with your disarming record and everything, and how you actually tend to disarm them.” Mac raised a brow. “If I’m going to be your watch for the next week and a half, I think I get the option to read some of your reports to know you a bit better.”
“Fair enough, but if you have questions, you can go ahead and ask. Better than trying to find out through not exactly accurate reports.”
“Ooh, smart guy and a bad guy. I bet you’d make a great Bond villain.”
Each day was just like the one before; get up, go out, get back, sleep. Nearly zero difference from what Mac did normally. He met some of the other guys on base, a lot of younger techs seeking him out during meals or at bunks just to say they’d met him, or to actually speak about his past defuses. It was a bit overwhelming in all honesty, because Mac wasn’t used to the spotlight. He was always in the shadows or hiding backstage.
Jack could always tell when he was uncomfortable in being the center of attention. He would always shift the subject to something or someone else, letting Mac settle back into the background. He also knew when to push Mac into the spotlight, like whenever there was a subject the guys were talking about and Jack could see him wanting to say something but not being given the chance, or when no one would listen to him, Jack would hold the spotlight on him until he said what he needed to.
It got him thinking on the final day, how much Jack passively did for him, and how he couldn’t think of serving with anyone other than him, even though he currently was at that moment.
Because while Jack would say he didn’t do much, or anyone else would’ve done the same, he didn’t know actually how much good he was doing for Mac, no matter how small the gesture.
“You good down there Macgyver? Haven’t moved in about thirty seconds and that’s normally not good when dealing with explosives.” Albert’s voice startled him slightly.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just got lost in my head for a second.”
“Excited to get back to your base? I think Lopez said they were finishing up Dalton’s everything a few hours ago. He’s probably heading back to your base as we speak.”
Jack’s job was finished. He was already on his way back to their base.
“This is our last one today too. So as soon as your done and get back, your probably gonna head out as well.”
Mac’s job was nearly done. He was almost ready to head back to their base.
“I’m not gonna tell you to hurry up, but I know you’re dying to go back. So do what you have to do so we can get you going.”
Thinking about it made Mac fidgety. Knowing Jack was actually going to be back at base was still something that took a bit of getting used to, because when people left Mac, they normally didn’t come back. But then Jack was different, because he came back the first time, and he was coming back the second time.
All in all, Mac was excited, but he pushed the excitement down so he could concentrate on the bomb in front of him, because the last thing he wanted to do was trigger something in some stupid manner and have to delay actually seeing that Jack had come back.
But like nearly all things in his life, nothing turned out quite as simple or easy as he planned.
After a few short minutes, the bomb had been disabled.
And before Mac knew it, he was on the ground, someone on top of him and sending punch after punch into his face.
It took a moment for him to get his bearings before he started fighting back. He grabbed his assaulter’s wrists and tried to maneuver his legs to try to get him off, but ultimately ended up just rolling so their positions were switched. He threw his own punches before the guy was eventually knocked out.
Mac stood up, an attempt to catch his breath and try to listen if Albert was saying anything in their comms, but was only able to stand for a second before another body went ramming into his. He went down hard, the full weight of the second attacker being channeled into his knee that went straight into Mac’s stomach, forcing all the air from his chest. It took longer to get his bearings and even attempt to fight back. His head must have smacked on the ground.
It seemed like forever before the weight was lifted from Mac’s stomach before it was there once again, only in the form of the whole body as he slumped down; an echo of a shot ringing in Mac’s ears.
He laid on the ground for a second, unmoving for a chance to actually catch his breath, before shoving the body off himself. Another moment before he was able to open his eyes and see Albert running towards him. Mac merely gave him a thumbs up to signal he was okay.
“Fuck dude, I swear we cleared this place before I let you get set up.” Albert knelt to the side. “You okay? You good?”
Mac waved him off. “Got in a few good hits and winded me, but I’m okay.”
“Shit, your nose isn’t broken is it?”
Mac wiped his nose, a worrying amount of blood coming from it. “Can’t tell. Whole face just kinda hurts.” He wiped his hand on his uniform.
“Fuck dude, let’s get you back so Mendez can take a look.” He carefully helped Mac into a sitting position before pulling him up, throwing an arm around his shoulder to help him walk. “I’m so fucking sorry man.”
“Shit happens.”
“Letting this happen to you pretty much signed my death certificate, and I can think of a better way I want to go than be beaten to death.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dude, once your watch finds out I let this happen, I’m dead. Like full on dead. I know how protective he is and this—” he gestured to Mac, “this is basically saying I’m ready to die in his language.”
It was a little strange, knowing how other people saw their relationship; how everyone knew how very protective Jack was over Mac, especially with people who weren’t associated with either of them. The only way word got out was either from reports or word of mouth, and Mac wanted to know who, in the metaphorical ladder, was talking about them.
“It’s the last day too, so I don’t even have any time to catch a ride far enough away where I can even try to have a head start. Think he’ll let me pick how he kills me at least?”
“I won’t let Jack kill you. Promise.”
“You’re a good man, Mac.”
“Maiming on the other hand is something I have little control over.”
“I take it back. You’re just as sadistic as the rest of the guys.”
***
“Heard you got into a bit of trouble out there Nicky. Nothing you couldn’t handle right?”
“Course not. Damn guys jumped Mac right when he was done. There wasn’t any sign of them prior on our checking; don’t know where they came from.”
The voices around Mac sounded like they were underwater, which was strange because he knew he was in the desert. No water in sight no matter how much he wished for it.
“Hope you can make that sound a lot better in your report. Doubt Dalton’s gonna be happy about reading his tech got the hell beat outta him.”
It was silly, Mac thought, that Jack added one clause to them being separated; he got sent a copy of Albert’s reports just so he could keep a tab on Mac whenever he’d gone out.
“Don’t remind me. You think I can add a page of just an apology so he won’t pound me into dust?”
“I think that as long as you get Macgyver checked out with Mendez then you should be fine. Macgyver, don’t you go letting your watch kill ours okay?”
The jolt of the vehicle moving sent a wave of pain through Mac. Maybe he was a little more beat up than he thought. There was still a dark patch of red on his shirt. His nose had bled a decent amount but had stopped just about half way back to the base. The problem was, the blood was still wet and sticky.
“Mendez rivals no one.” The Humvee stopped, again sending pain through Mac’s person. “Good guy; doesn’t take shit from anyone, most of all any higher ups. It’s really funny to watch him argue for any of the guys. He’ll be able to fix you up in no time.”
Mac merely groaned in response.
“Hopefully you just got some bruised ribs at worst.” Albert exited the Humvee and walked around to Mac’s door, opening it. “Best case is you’re gonna be a walking bruise for a while, and Dalton will only break like a finger or something.”
“Jack?”
“Hey, I heard what he did to that CO that was an asshole to you. I’m allowed to be scared for my own safety. Come on then, or do you want to actually see what he’ll do to me if he sees you in this state?”
“He’s— not here, is he?”
“No, he’s not.” He pulled one of Mac’s eyes open. “Pupils look normal but you probably have a concussion. You went down hard man.”
“Wish he was here. He knows what to do in these situations.”
“What situations?” Albert let a frown drop on his face. “Talk to me Mac. Is there something wrong?”
Mac didn’t say anything, only moved his hand from where it had been resting on the left side of his chest, revealing a much larger bloodstain than what was there when they first started driving.
There was a yell, and then hands were on him, pealing away the little layers of clothes he had. It made him think of Jack; how much he cared and worried and overall just looked out for him. And the fact that he tried to push him away hurt more than the wound to his torso.
“Hey.”
“Stay awake for me Macgyver. Mendez is on his way.”
“Hey—”
“I gotcha man.”
“Jack…”
“We’ll get him here man. Just keep fighting.”
Mac didn’t hear anything after that.
***
Mac was hanging over a cliff, a single rope holding the entirety of his weight. He’d been there for a while, a slight breeze making him sway every once in a while. There were noises around him, echos from the wind, or a bird chirping, but there was no speaking.
Not since Jack had to leave.
There’s been no shouts, no tugs, no reassuring comments. It was just Mac hanging over the cliff.
The guy that took Jack’s place was fine. He’d sat on the boulder holding Mac’s rope in place, but he didn’t know the reason for it, and hopped off a lot of times. It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. So Mac didn’t say anything when the rope started to give, started sliding further down with himself as an anchor. He was just on his way to the bottom again, just like he’d been so many times before.
He didn’t blame Jack for leaving. He literally didn’t have a choice in the matter. Everyone left in the end anyways.
The only thing that was different any time was Mac’s rope suddenly went taut. His slow decent was stopped, and someone began to pull him back up.
Then there was the shouts.
“Mac.”
The voice that Mac had heard every day for the past few months.
“Come on bud.”
The voice that pulled with every word.
“You still got alotta fight left in ya.”
The voice that told him he was going to come back.
“Don’t do this to me.”
The voice that originally put the boulder there to keep Mac in place.
But it was sad; a tone Mac wasn’t used to hearing from it. It was always happy, or upbeat; singing offkey, telling dumb jokes, or stories about family. Mac didn’t like to hear it sad. It was probably because Mac himself was sad. That tended to happen a lot. So Mac would take on his sadness himself, because he didn’t like hearing the voice that brought so much happiness to his life, sound so sorrowful.
First came the ambient noises; the thuds and whistles of things further away, the shuffling and footsteps, then beeping that echoed in his ears. Eyelids that were impossibly heavy tried their best top open, ultimately falling closed several times before staying opened just a crack, long enough to get used to the weird lights that were there.
There were vague blurs and shapes around him, all dark in comparison to the white surrounding him. It took a moment for him to piece it together, but Mac had been in hospitals enough times to know when he was currently housed in one. The reason why eluded him though.
His head slumped to the left, eyes closing with exhaustion threatening to set in. They popped open one more time, and Mac saw there was a rather large lump just to his side.
A person, sat in a chair, head bowed down, resting on clasped hands.
His eyes opened wider, gears in his head turning until he realized who it was.
“Jack?” His voice was hardly a whisper, and scratchy with dehydration, but the sound seemed to reach the intended ears.
His head flew up immediately, eyes hardset on Mac, almost not believing what he was seeing. “Mac?”
Jack’s voice sounded wrong; cracked and drained, like he also hadn’t spoken for an innate amount of time.
“You okay?”
That made him give a humorless snort. “Boy asks me if I’m okay, like I’ve been the one out cold for four days.”
Mac’s brow furrowed. He tried to push himself into a better position and an immediate spike of pain coursed through his left side.
“Easy now. You ain’t even supposed to be thinkin bout movin.” Jack placed a hand gently on Mac’s upper arm. “Another round of pain killers should be comin by any time. You just go back to sleep.”
“Didn’t answer.”
“Answer what?”
“Okay?”
“Yeah bud, I’m doin just fine.”
Despite being less than coherent, Mac could see he wasn’t. “Liar.”
That got a twinge of a smile. “Nah, ain’t got a scratch on me.”
“Sitting at arm’s length. You don’t— unless you’re hurt.”
“Leave it to you to worry bout others when yer in this situation.” That nearly got out an actual laugh. Of course Mac would pick up on a habit, subconscious or not. “I ain’t hurt bud, I promise. Just—” a sigh, “you were— so still. When I got the notice bout what happened— I got back to base before you did, just waitin until yer bird showed up. Bout an hour after, we got a call, sayin there was a situation and you’d been taken to a hospital.
“That scared me Mac; hearin you got hurt and I wasn’t there for ya. I hopped on a bird and hightailed it here. I couldn’t see ya though, you’d been rushed into surgery, on account of the stab ya got; went and nicked yer spleen and you were internally bleedin out.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Met the guy watchin yer back when it happened; guy looked terrified. Couldn’t stop apologizin to me bout what happened.”
Mac’s cheeks twinged up. “Told him I wouldn’t let you murder him if something happened. So— don’t do anything.”
Jack smiled slightly. “He told me what happened, bout the two that came outta nowhere, and that ya didn’t tell him you’d been stabbed.”
“Thought it was just bruised ribs.”
“The growin blood patch didn’t tell ya nothin huh?”
“Didn’t see it.”
“Nonetheless, I reamed his ass for not givin ya a look over. Bastards in the desert are unpredictable, but givin a tech a check after should be regular knowledge.” He sat back. “But yer okay. That’s the only thing that matters. Doc said everythin looks good and yer healin nicely, but yer gonna be laid up in bed for a while.”
Mac let himself get comfortable. “That’s okay. You’re here.”
Jack’s face softened. “Course I am. I’ll always come back to ya. You know that.”
“Yeah, but it’s nice when it happens.”
“Hey.” He leaned forward. “I will always come back to ya, ya hear? Always. Even if I gotta break the law to do it.”
Mac snorted. “Did you end up taking a bird to get yourself here?”
“Not this time; dude flyin might’ve broken a few to get me here faster though.”
His eyes close. “Jack?”
“Yeah bud?”
“Thank you, for coming back.”
A sad smile appear on Jack’s face.
“I’ll always come back for ya Mac. I promise.”