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Mac didn’t like being sick. He could count on both hands how many times he’d been sick that warranted visits to the doctor, even though it probably should’ve been more. Once was when his mom was still alive and he just had a really bad fever; another being when he was walking home in the rain and Loretta Bozer had more or less dragged him into her car and brought him home, resulting in him getting mild pneumonia while he was staying with them. The majority of everything else was dealt with with over the counter medicines and home remedies.
So all in all, Mac knew when he needed to see a doctor for his ailment.
The army had also done extensive physicals and scheduled regular checkups for everyone, and just like everyone else there, Mac was fighting fit.
“Ya sure? Don’t ya think he needs to eat more, put some weight on? I could snap him with barely any effort at all.”
Mac knew Jack joked about his health all the time, but also know it held some sort of validity. Jack did actually care about Mac’s health and well being. That was still something he had to get used to. Ever since saving Jack from the IED, things had changed, and Mac didn’t really know what to do about it. There wasn’t anything wrong, just— it was a whole new concept for him. Going from coworkers to friends to— whatever they were at that moment, was odd. It was different from every other friendship he ever had; the transition of hating each other’s guts to making sure they got enough sleep had happened so much faster than any other. Not to mention Jack had a very similar personality to Bozer when it came to worrying about Mac, especially with the mother-henning.
Which is why Mac went out of his way to hide how he felt when he knew he was starting to get sick. More so, he tried to avoid Jack as much as he could without it being suspicious until he was feeling better.
It had started the previous night, just after eating. He figured it was just a bad batch of food and gave him an upset stomach, maybe a mild case of food poisoning at worst. He could deal with that, deal with Jack knowing about that because it would be gone in a day or two, and Jack would ultimately make fun of him.
“It’s the same shit we eat every day. Why’d this one decide to rebel against ya?”
Waking up the following day and not feeling any better reminded him of the one time Frankie dragged him to a party where he figured out his alcohol limit, and regretted it very early the next morning. The annoyance wasn’t as bad as the hangover, and honestly he thought that vomiting would probably make him feel better.
“Dude, you doin okay? Yer lookin more pale than normal.” Jack said as they walked to their Humvee. “And I mean like actually lookin pale. Yer not getting sick are ya? One of those weird summer colds or whatever.”
It had always been a sort of funny thing to Mac, how their relationship turned out. Apparently saving someone’s life meant he got an arm’s throw away from a servant, which he really didn’t care for. Jack didn’t owe him a life debt, no matter how many times he swore he did. Jack had saved Mac’s own life at least a dozen times prior to the bomb he stepped on. As far as Mac was concerned, they were both just doing their jobs, nothing more to it.
But then Jack had started doing things that reminded Mac of Bozer; making sure he was eating enough, general checking in, keeping the annoying guys away. Jack almost seemed like a completely different person from their initial meeting those few months ago.
Jack started caring in a sense more than just their relationship being a job.
“I’m okay, but I think someone might’ve poisoned my food last night.”
The immediate serious expression that took Jack’s face was laughable.
“What?”
“I’m kidding. Something just didn’t agree with me yesterday.”
“But it’s literally the same shit we eat every day.”
Mac snorted. “Yeah well, maybe all the extra salt and not actual nutrition finally caught up with me.”
“Well, you good? Need to sit today out?”
“I’ll be alright. I might need you to pull over to I can chuck, but it’ll be okay.”
“Ya know, this could be a sign of us not goin out and getting a free day.”
“You say that, but they’d probably find someone else for you to watch since we’ve been so busy lately.”
“Still, could be a day for you. Don’t feel bad if you get to relax and I have to go out.”
“I’ll be fine. Once, maybe twice and I’ll be good. We’ll just ask for extra water to replenish everything I’ll lose.”
Jack shook his head and shrugged. “Yer crazy, ya know that? Most guys would jump at the opportunity to stay here an extra day. And the fact that yer actually tellin me ya feel like shit is weird. Ya always try to hide it. Ya sure it just an upset stomach?”
Mac rolled his eyes. “I know what an upset stomach feels like. And I know that you’d’ve kept pestering me if I didn’t tell you. So to save us both some time and effort—”
“Yeah yeah, alright, but how bout we make is a regular thing? Ya know, actually tellin me when yer feelin off so it ain’t worse later on and yer bedbound, or worse?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
***
Jack was going to be mad at him, but in his defense, he did think it was just a stomach ache. By the third IED he found, hours away from base, he started to think it was something more. The actual pain that had started to form was something much different than the run-of-the-mill stomach ache.
Jack hadn’t really been commenting on it, only pushing water in hopes it would either lessen Mac’s pain or force him to vomit in hopes it would make him feel better. Mac had honestly wanted to stop, because if he was going to, he should’ve already, but that would indicate something different than a simple stomach ache, and he really didn’t want to be lectured in not knowing at the moment.
“It’s done.” Mac said, wiping his brow. He wouldn’t admit to Jack that he was feeling worse rather than better.
“Alright. You get packed up and I’ll be there in a sec.”
Mac was achy as he packed everything. He couldn’t pinpoint when it had started, most likely at the first IED, but it had just been growing as the day went on, as did the pain in his stomach. The IED he’s just finished was actually quite simplistic, but he forced himself to go slow so Jack wouldn’t see how shaky he was. He knew it was only a matter of minutes before Jack could tell there was something more going on.
Nevertheless, Mac packed his stuff and slowly started to meet Jack.
“I’ve been tryin to hold my words, cuz I know yer not having fun with this, but are you sure it’s just a stomach ache?”
Mac didn’t even know why he tried to hide anything. Jack always saw right through it.
“I mean, I know I tell ya this all the time but yer real pale, and don’t think I haven’t noticed ya takin longer and longer on each IED we stumble across. We’re a couple of hours from base too, so I think it might be best if we call and tell them we’re headin back because yer honestly goin down hill.”
A sigh left Mac’s lips. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”
Jack raised a brow. “Now I know it’s somethin bad. You not even arguin in the slightest is a major red flag.” A hand went to Mac’s brow. “Ya feel clammy, and yer shivering. If this his food poisonin, it’s doin a number on ya.”
“I felt fine all day yesterday and it only happened after I ate. I don’t know what else it could be besides food poisoning, but it’s also weird that you don’t feel bad at all, or anyone else for that matter.”
“I know you were jokin before, but ya sure ya weren’t actually poisoned?
“You were right there with me when we got food; got mine right after you and I didn’t leave it unattended at all. I honestly don’t know, Jack. I would tell you if I thought anything else.”
Jack gave him a worrying look, then took his pack and slung it over his shoulder. “Come on then. Let’s get ya in the ‘vee before ya fall flat.”
Mac’s feet barely lifted from the ground as they walked. He was exhausted and felt miserable. Looking back, he should have agreed with Jack to just stay on base until the whole thing passed, be it really didn’t feel like anything more than a stomach ache earlier.
He slumped into the seat of the Humvee as Jack loaded all the equipment. He thought back to the other times when he’d felt like that when he was sick, and nothing could really compare to it exactly. The closest thing that could compare would probably be when he had the flu and was bed bound for nearly a week. At the same time he’d stopped feeling sick and an ache and pain had just taken over.
“Okay, all packed up. I’ll give base a call and we’ll get goin.”
Jack’s voice startled him into a complete woken state, something he really didn’t want to be in at the moment.
“You really don’t look good, Mac. Like seriously, man. You think you maybe got bit or stung by somethin and just didn’t realize?”
Mac glanced at him and shook his head. “If I did then the spot would be radiating pain and show signs. I didn’t see anything while changing last night or this morning.”
“What else do ya think it could be then? Ya weren’t hurt or anythin when sparin with the guys right? No— internal injuries or anythin?”
“No, and even if I did there’d be bruising or some sort of mark.” He sighed and shut his eyes, head leaning back to rest. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”
Mac couldn’t see, but the face Jack pulled when his head pulled to the side wasn’t pretty. “Alright. You just— just try to hang tight and rest until we get back. We’re gonna go full speed so hopefully we’ll cut some time off.”
A slight nod. Mac would try, like he had on a handful of other occasions, to sleep at least a bit on the way back. The dulled roar of the engine and Jack’s stories about home usually did the trick to help him drift, but with how fast they were going and Jack keeping his stories to himself, not to mention the intense growing pain radiating from his stomach and into his side, Mac didn’t see himself falling into any sort of sleep.
Mac didn’t know how long they’d been going, but knew it hadn’t been very.
“Jack, pull over.”
Mac had taken a deep breath when Jack stopped and basically stumbled to the ground. He dry heaved a few times before vomiting into the sand.
Jack was there in moments, hand on his back in a comforting manner. “Let it all out man. Nothin good will come from holdin it in.”
He sputtered and coughed on to the sand, the acid stinging his throat. If anything, vomiting was having the opposite effects of what he hoped. After a few minutes, his stomach settled, but the pain didn’t reside at all.
“Let’s rinse yer mouth.” Jack was there, helping him put the canteen to his lips. “There ya go. Rinse and spit, then take a few little sips. Ya feel any better?”
Mac took one sip before pushing it away and shaking his head. “Not really.”
“Yer stomach still buggin ya?”
“No.”
“What’s hurtin ya?”
“It’s lower— on the right.”
Mac saw him tense ever slightly.
“Okay, I’m gonna do somethin to figure out what’s goin on. If I’m right, I’m real sorry bout how much this is gonna hurt.”
Jack had positioned himself on Mac’s right, his hands where the pain was, and pushed. Mac wanted to cry with relief and simultaneously laugh in Jack’s face. There was no pain, only the steady pressure from Jack’s hands.
And it was all gone in an instant.
The second Jack’s hands pulled away, pain was there. Immense, stabbing, so much worse than moments prior. He would’ve doubled over if Jack wasn’t right there to hold him.
“I’m sorry Mac. I know it hurts like a bitch, but we ain’t got time to sit here. We need to get ya back to base, now.”
Mac was heaving. He couldn’t think, barely even register Jack speaking to him or picking him up to put in the car.
“I know. You wanna yell or scream or whatever, you do it. Don’t hold nothin in. I’m gonna push her to the max so it ain’t gonna be the smoothest ride. I just need ya to try to stay away for me, alright?”
“What’s— what’s wrong?”
A humorless snort. “I know you know what’s wrong and it’s just the pain cloudin yer head. Sounds like ya got appendicitis, bud.”
A deep breath out and a moment of thinking. “That— that sounds right.”
“It’s already been hours since ya started to feel like shit, so we can’t afford to dilly dally at all. So that means no stoppin until we get back. You feel like pukin again you do it right on the floor. Upchuck on the upholstery is the least worryin thing at the moment. You just do yer best to try and relax through the whole thing, even though it’s much easier said than done. I’ll get you back.”
***
Jack wanted to punch something, or someone.
They’d been driving for a little over an hour, Jack pushing the Humvee as fast as it would go without anything messing up or overheating.
At least, he thought.
He scoffed as the check engine light flashed on the dash. It reminded him of his old pickup at the ranch, that no matter what he did or how he worked on it, it would never turn off. He’s had it happen a few times before, prior to meeting Mac, all the issues being something simple, mainly the fuse just being jostled with the rough terrain causing the light to kick on. On the off chance that it was actually something that needed looking at, after trying the fuse, it was usually the cause of new guys working on them, and if time and place permitted, Jack was usually able to diagnose and fix it, and then tell the guys back on base.
Jack didn’t have time to stop and check, and merely assumed it was the fuse popping out with how fast he was going. But after going a little while more and seeing smoke starting to come out of the engine, he wished he had a handful of minutes to spare.
The Humvee slowed to a stop, and got a groan out of Mac.
“Are we back?”
For all the times Jack joked about Mac inventing teleportation, he wished it was real because of the pain lacing Mac’s tone.
“Not yet bud. Got into a little car trouble. I just need a sec to see what’s wrong. You just hold tight.” He popped the hood and got out, huffing as he shut the door.
They didn’t have time for that. Mac didn’t have time for that. It only took a few hours for an appendix to burst, and Mac had been feeling it for more than a few hours. He didn’t have time to be dealing with a car that shouldn’t have had any problems in the first place.
He naïvely hoped it had just overheated, blindly choosing to see steam instead of smoke since that would be the easiest thing to deal with. Smoke meant a more delicate problem, something that actually needed to be looked and dealt with and not just wait for it to solve itself. And in all honesty, Jack didn’t know what the problem was without actually looking for it and he didn’t have time to look for it.
He opened the back and got one of the water jugs, dousing the engine a bit and topping off the water just for the hell of it before closing everything up and climbing back it.
“What was wrong?” Mac asked, eyes still shut and head leaning on the window.
“Gonna be honest, I dunno.” Jack huffed. “There’s numerous things that could cause it, but we ain’t got time to stop and analyze it; topped off the water just to be safe, but could be coolant, head gasket, cylinder head— it ain’t caught fire though, so there’s that at least.”
“You don’t think we’ll make it back in time, do you?”
Jack didn’t answer, only pulled out their map to cross reference where they were. There was a town not too far from them before there wasn’t anything. He didn’t trust the car to make it back, and they couldn’t just sit there, not with the pain Mac was experiencing.
“We’re gonna make a little detour; stop at the town we stopped at earlier. They’re cooperative, and it would be better to get there and wait for pickup than risk the ‘vee stoppin completely in the middle of nowhere.”
“Better than nothing.” Mac let out a deep breath. “You’re not supposed to eat or drink anything.”
“Well that’s in regular circumstances. We ain’t goin to let ya go without water in this heat. I’m gonna call base; have them meet us and get ya lifted somewhere with a good surgeon that’ll take care of ya. And when we get back on base, we’ll make Nolan wait on ya hand and foot for everythin ya need.”
“I don’t have beef with him. Really— really don’t understand your need with him either.”
“All fairness, I can’t remember it exactly, but it’d be weird if we stopped now.”
The journey to the town was longer than Jack wanted, but for safety of the Humvee, Jack drove slower, keeping an eye on any gages on the dash and the still protruding smoke coming from the engine. Whoever he spoke to on the radio had said they’d meet them at the town in less than an hour, and all they needed to do was wait.
That was the one thing Jack didn’t want to do. That was the one thing Mac shouldn’t have to do.
He parked on the side of a building, making sure to get Mac in the shade. He didn’t plan on interacting with any of the residents there. He didn’t want any sort of trouble and only needed to use it as an easy reference point.
“Okay. All we gotta do is wait a little bit. You wanna move to the back? Lay down maybe to make it feel a little better?”
“Yeah.”
“Gimme a sec to move some stuff; make it as comfortable as possible.” Jack shifted and moved things to the back, leaving a pack and water in the footwell. “Alright, let’s get ya back there.”
He moved to Mac’s side, helping him from the front and into the back. He noticed town’s folk watching from his peripheral, but none seemed to be making any movement towards them. That specific town wasn’t exactly friendly, but they were cooperative with every team that had passed through; answering questions and giving information, but always trying to rush them away. Jack figured since he hadn’t initiated contact that they’d be left alone until they could be gone.
Apparently that wasn’t the case.
They’d been sitting for a few minutes when the assumed town chief had approached, inspecting the car before waiting outside Jack’s window.
“I’m gonna step out for a sec. Ain’t goin nowhere, just gotta talk with the locals.”
Mac didn’t reply, and Jack hoped that meant he had fallen asleep.
There were people watching from a distance, most likely ready to jump in at any given signal.
Jack merely nodded at the man as he exited the vehicle, trying to look both non threatening but also that he would be able to deal with a situation if one arose.
The man nodded back. “You need assistance.”
In all honesty, Jack hadn’t been expecting English, nor a statement rather than a question. “We’re fine. Just waitin on a pickup.”
He gestured to the back. “Your friend is unwell. He needs medical attention.”
“He does.”
“Why do you wait here instead of going to your base?”
He didn’t want to answer. No matter how friendly or cooperative they seemed, everywhere was still considered hostile. Readily telling him that the Humvee was nearly out of commission wasn’t a good idea.
The man watched Jack. “We have a doctor.”
“No thanks. We should be out of yer hair in less than an hour. I apologize for disturbin yer way of life.”
He stood for a second before nodding, sparing a glance at the back of the Humvee again before leaving.
Jack sighed. Easy enough to deal with.
He got back in the car, Mac still silent. Jack had read about appendicitis before and the pain that came along with it. Some people had it constantly and violently, other had it come and go with generalized pain and discomfort. He hoped for Mac’s sake that it was the ladder. Being able to sleep through it would be the best thing until it got taken care of. On the other hand, if it was the former, Mac was just more badass than he thought.
“Did you know— they don’t— don’t really know what the appendix does?”
Jack glanced back. Mac’s eyes were slits and unfocused, his words slightly slurred. “No?”
“It’s— something to do with gut bacteria, but it— it has such little significance than scientist say future generations will have no need of it.”
“No kiddin. Think people will start bein born without them?”
“Maybe. There’s been studies bout humans evolving. People are already being born without their PLM. It’s— it’s a tendon in your wrist that helps with pinch—” Mac quickly sucked in a breath, no doubt trying to ease a wave of pain. “—pinch and grip strength. Our ancestors needed it to— to climb. Since we don’t do that anymore, it’s being evolved out of future generations.”
“And that could happen with our appendix if it don’t actually start provin useful.” Jack nodded and smirked. “Thought you said ya failed biology.”
“Just because I didn’t get an A doesn’t mean I failed.”
“Hey, failin a few classes won’t take away yer genius title. You know you can tell me and I’ll keep my mouth shut, despite it bein open most of the time.”
“Hardly— hardly a genius. I don’t even have a degree.”
“Ah that’s just a piece of paper. Ain’t got nothin on yer smarts. Look at me; I got one and we’re in the same boat.”
“Give yourself more credit. You know seriously complex geometry and trigonometry equations that help you hit your target every time; even more than that because you don’t have a spotter. You can calculate stuff in an instant where I normally need to write them down or just need silence to concentrate on them. You can be telling me about— about your childhood and picking off guys at the same time. That’s seriously impressive.”
“There ya go, inflatin my ego when yer in the worst pain of yer life.” A short snort. “Why don’t ya try and sack out? I’ll make sure everythin’s alright and get ya when the other guys get here.”
“Wish I could. Pain’s coming in intense waves, besides the throbbing. I don’t think I’ll be able to pass out until I’m at the hospital. And just so you know, I don’t actually know if this is the worst pain I’ve felt before.”
“Okay, ya can’t just say that and not expect me to hound ya bout tellin me. Unless it’s somethin bad, then ya just tell me to mind my own.”
“It’s nothing bad, just stupid.” Mac took a deep breath, blowing out slowly through the intermittent pain. “I had a dog when I was living with my grandfather, more so a stray that I just started taking care of. He kept getting out of the yard and my grandfather wanted to use a shock collar to— to keep him from running off and getting hurt, but I didn’t want to hurt him at all. Harry insisted it would be fine and would only be a low voltage shock but I didn’t want to use it at all, and to prove how low it wasn’t, I— I put it on and shocked myself.”
Jack raised a brow, and couldn’t help laughing a moment later. “Now I know what ya were tryin to do and the undoubtable science behind it, but that’s somethin me and the guys would do in high school for the fun of it.”
“Bozer had the same reaction when I told him.”
“Bet the guys will be sorry they missed that one. Hey, why don’t ya try and shut yer eyes? Waitin is horrible enough regularly. I know it’ll be a long shot but go ahead and try to knock out.”
“I feel like that’s a dig at me with how I disarm.”
“Nah. Jack Dalton would never hit a man when he’s down.”
***
Waiting for pickup was less than pleasant, and literally agonizing for Mac.
Jack had kept his head on a slow swivel, paying attention to all the town’s people he saw; mainly the people that had taken a few steps in their direction, only to be yelled at by someone he couldn’t see, and have them go back the way they came. He appreciated that, assuming the leader had told everyone to leave them alone.
Every minute there was a slight gasp, groan, a hitch a pain from the backseat, followed by an apology.
Telling Mac there was no need for an apology fell on deaf ears, just like it was every other time there was something he didn’t need to apologize for.
Hearing the approaching whirl of helicopter blades let him sag his shoulders a bit. Mac would finally be in the care of people that could make his pain stop. He watched as the chopper got closer and touched down a little ways away, someone hopping out and quickly making their way towards them.
“Calvary’s finally here, Mac. Just gotta wait a little longer til it’s all over.”
Jack exited the car, meeting the guy a little less than half way.
“Sergeant Dalton. We’re equipped to take your specialist to the nearest hospital. A ‘vee is on its way and should be here shortly to assess and take your vehicle back to base. What was the situation one more time?”
“Confident it’s appendicitis; started as a stomach ache last night and just been gettin worse since then. Did the press test and that solidified it in my head.”
They both went back to the car, Jack opening the back and coaxing Mac out.
“Come on. Almost done. Just a little further then yer home free. Let’s get out, nice and easy.”
Mac hadn’t spoken during the whole time, and had tried to get himself out of the car, but Jack had to basically pull him from the car as gently as possible and slinging an arm around his shoulders to take his weight. Mac only made it half a dozen sets before folding. Jack had him go down carefully before maneuvering and picking him up bridal.
“Almost bud. Almost.”
Mac was breathing hard out of him nose, his teeth clenched.
“Jack…”
“I know. I know. We’ll get ya settled. Everythin will be over before ya know it.”
Actually getting Mac settled into the helicopter was the easiest and hardest thing for him, because he noticed the crew had been the bare minimum; pilot, two medics, and escort, and the fact that Jack knew he wasn’t going with seeing there would be nowhere for him to sit for the journey.
Someone had to wait for the Humvee, because as much as Jack really didn’t care about a piece of machinery, he knew they wouldn’t let it just sit there where people could easily get to it, not with all the equipment in it.
“They should be ten minutes behind us at most, Dalton. They’ll get your truck hitched and tow you back to base while we get your specialist to the hospital to get fixed up. We’ll send you an update when we get there.”
Mac’s eyes were slits, looking to Jack.
“Okay bud, you gotta play nice with these guys while they get ya to the hospital, alright? I’ll catch up with ya as soon as I can.”
It didn’t take long for the other Humvee to make contact, or for them to hook them together and begin the journey back.
“Whaddya think the problem is? I mean you’re a truck guy so I figured it woulda been an easy fix for you, not to mention your boy being a guy that could probably build a car outta all the scrap we got.”
“Dunno honestly. Was a bit preoccupied with Mac feelin like he was dyin.”
After the approximate hour drive back and explained what he thought was wrong to the mechanics, he headed to command to ask when he would hop in another Humvee to meet Mac at the hospital.
“I understand your loyalty to him Jack, but as of right now, there’s no reason for you to go sit by his bedside. We already have one of the medics sitting in to give us any and all updates.”
“What’s the update then? He alright?”
“We only got that they arrived at the hospital and he was wheeled into surgery. That was just a little bit before you got here and appendectomies aren’t a long procedure. It’s probably close to being done already, and then depending on his condition if everything went well, he’ll probably be back tomorrow evening and doc will put him on rest until he deems fit.”
It made perfect sense, but it didn’t mean Jack liked it. And the fact that they told him to go out the following day. He knows that was the original idea, but that was when he knew Mac would figuratively be in arm’s reach. Jack couldn’t walk into med to see how he was doing, or send out a call on his condition. Being out and working was probably the best thing for Jack at that moment though, because his mind was focused on the task in front of him; watching yet another bomb nerd for the day.
When the day was finally done and Jack was finally permitted to relax the rest of the day, the first thing he did when he returned to base was head to comms to ask if there’s been any incoming message.
“Go to your bunk Dalton. We have enough going on here without you looking and phishing for information.”
And rather than say or do something that would get him thrown in the guardhouse, he did go to the bunks, and had been pretty peeved among seeing someone laying on his. After a second though, he saw he recognized that too-long-for-army-standards blonde hair.
“Mac?”
He’d been laying on his back, the arm over his eyes moving off to reveal squinting blue underneath. “Hey. When’d you get back?”
“Just now.” He sat on the edge of the bunk. “I see yer still in the land of the livin; got yer normal level of pale back, well, almost.”
“Not too far from the other side in all honesty.” He propped himself up and lifted his shirt, revealing a white bandage. “Surgeon said if I arrived any later then it would’ve burst and made everything a lot more complicated. I’m not supposed to aggravate the stitches at all and trying to climb six feet—”
“Hey, you can stay in my bunk as long as ya need.”
“Two weeks, max, probably less if I can convince doc I’m okay andthe stitches don’t hurt.”
“They give you anythin for it or gonna make ya act like a big tough soldier man and tell ya to rub some dirt in it?”
“They gave me a week supply of pain meds and three days worth of antibiotics just in case any outer stimulus manage to get in. And yes, Doc Roe has a copy of everything in case anything goes downhill.”
Jack snorted. “Alright then. That means yer as good as ya can get right now, huh?”
“Pretty much.” Mac laid back. “Before you say anything, don’t feel bad that you weren’t there when I was done. It was a routine procedure that was over fast and I was asleep for most of the time after. It wouldn’t have been a good use of resources.”
“You sound just like the brass.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure you did a lot more good here than you would’ve in an uncomfortable chair at my bedside.”
“Yeah, yeah, I worry too much, very one knows.” Jack playfully rolled his eyes. “You go ahead and conk out again. Need the best to be at his best. Don’t want any of the guys to try and take over yer record do ya?”
“Oh, no, wouldn’t want that to happen.” Mac snorted and put his arm back over his eyes. “Hey, Jack?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s definitely the most painful things I’ve experienced so far.”