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Mac was falling.
He couldn't feel the ground under his feet, but he could feel the wind in his ears, his hair pulled back, and gravity dragging him towards the street below at full speed, and all he could do was scream and scream—
Mac gasped, and his body jerked on the bed. His arms went to grab something— anything that could stop the fall—
"It's ok! Mac, it's ok."
Gasping for air, he looked to the side and found Jack sitting next to him, on the bed. He was holding Jack's arm so tight his knuckles were turning white.
"It's alright, you're at home," Jack reassured him, gently holding his shoulder.
"I was falling—"
"You're not falling right now. See?" Jack squeezed his arm a bit. "You're in your bed, in your house. You're fine."
Mac stared at him, almost expecting to see one of them start falling down, but nothing happened.
Trying to control his breathing, he then looked around his bedroom. Everything was in order in the dim light. Nothing was falling.
"Ok?" Jack asked with a little smile.
Mac nodded once, but didn't let go. "What time is it?"
"Almost 6 in the morning."
Mac swallowed down, then looked at Jack. "I thought you'd left?"
"I almost did. Just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"Did you get any sleep?"
"Your couch is very comfy," he nodded. "Don't worry about me. I'd be fine sleeping on the floor, too."
"Sorry, I… I don't know what happened…"
"You were thrown out of a window yesterday, that's what happened."
"It wasn't the first time…"
"We were on the tenth floor. That was a first."
Mac shivered at the memory… How that man easily grabbed and threw him out that window, piece of glass flying everywhere, and then Mac started falling.
Jack moved Mac's hand so that he could hold it in his. "Scared the shit out of me for real, this time."
Mac sighed. "Me too. I think."
"It's normal to be scared."
"I—" Mac wanted to say he wasn't scared, but, considering the situation, how could he even try to deny it?
"You're human too," Jack told him. "You don't have to pretend nothing happened. Not with me."
Mac took a deep breath, feeling more grounded. "I'll have to send that journalist and her team something… Their helicopter saved my life."
"Or it could have—" Jack stopped himself. "Nope. Let's not even go there."
"Please." Mac scoffed tiredly, sitting up. He stared at their hands tangled together. When he looked up, he saw Jack's expression had changed a bit, and he knew exactly what he was thinking. "I messed up. It wasn't your fault."
"It's everyone's fault when things go bad." Jack sighed, "Next time, just wait for me, ok?"
"I will." Mac said, but none of them let go, keeping their hands together like holding onto each other to avoid another fall.