A/N: Sorry for any inaccuracies. It's been a while since I watched the last episode.

At first, Mac didn't register what had happened.

He was confused and dizzied. All he was thinking about was Gwen— and then his dad. His mind was everywhere except the present moment. Part of him thought he might just collapse before he made it out. He was so tired, emotionally and physically. The adrenaline was probably the only thing keeping him on his feet. His hands were shaking, and his vision was blurred. Mac didn't even know if it was because he was crying or because he was about to pass out. He just had to focus, focus on getting out. It's what Gwen wanted. Gwen…

It wasn't just his hands shaking anymore. It was the floor, the walls. Mac skidded to a halt, his brow wrinkling. His brain was so muddled with emotion he could barely process it. And then it hit him.

Gwen had set off the explosive. He had to get out.

Mac's adrenaline spiked again. His vision sharpened, and he began to sprint to the exit. He reached the end of the hallway and grabbed the wall, swinging around the corner. That's when another vibration racked the structure. Mac was thrown sideways. He thudded against the wall behind him and smacked his head off the concrete. The hallway blurred into a spiralling image of concrete and dust. Mac let himself slump to the floor. He almost stayed there. Almost.

But Gwen…

With that unfinished thought rattling in his brain, Mac grabbed the wall, searching for purchase. He dragged himself off the floor, biting his lip in determination. The stairs were right in front of him. He could literally see the daylight filtering through the dust and smoke. Squinting, he flattened his hand against the bumpy concrete, pulling himself forward, careful not to lose his balance again. He stumbled, grabbing the handrail for support. The stairs twisted, but he pulled himself up the first one.

That's when the structure lurched again. A slab of concrete fell from the ceiling, severing the handrail from the wall. Mac yelped as he was thrown backward, the railing still in his grasp. The whole thing came down with him as he thudded helplessly against the floor. More concrete fell, and Mac pulled his arms up to his face as a shield.

Eventually, the concrete stopped falling and the shaking stilled. Mac pulled his head up to inspect the damage. It wasn't good. The handrail was embedded in his stomach, a rich pool of blood blossoming around it. Mac might have screamed, but all he managed was a dull whimper, cut off by his clenched jaw. He let his head back, dragging his eyes to the ceiling to compose himself. He was so close.

Just for a moment, Mac stayed there. He wasn't sure he could muster the strength to move. But he had to. He had no choice.

The stairs. They were still there. He just had to get to the stairs.

Mac sucked in a deep breath, then, pulling his head back up, took hold of the railing. His hands were shaking terribly, barely able to wrap around the cool metal coated in blood. He knew what he was about to do wasn't even a good idea. He should be keeping the blood in him, not coaxing it out. But he had to do it. He couldn't hesitate or he wasn't going to get out of there at all. Mac clenched his jaw, squeezed his eyes shut, and pulled. It was a split second of pure pain and Mac screamed, falling back against the floor. The railing tilted up and away from him, then clanked against the floor when he dropped it. Mac took in another shuddering breath. He should stop the bleeding, but he didn't have time for that. He had to get out.

Mac rolled over and clawed his way forward. One step. Two steps. He managed to get up onto his feet, curling over his bleeding abdomen. Three steps. Four. His hands were shaking uncontrollably now, hardly doing anything for the bleeding. Five. Sweat was spilling from every pore in his body; his hair was slick against his dust covered face, all mixed together with a steady stream of blood from his head. Six, seven, eight.

He was out.

Desi, Russ, and Riley were strewn across the bridge, relief written across their faces. This relief quickly turned to alarm when they saw Mac's bloody hand curled around his abdomen. Mac stumbled forward, his knees bending awkwardly, barely able to support his weight anymore.

Riley was the first one to snap out of the daze. She abandoned her backpack and ran to Mac. Desi was close behind her. The second their arms were beneath him, Mac collapsed. He was shaking— even more than before, if that was possible— and he began to cry. Really cry.

It was the ugly, unchecked sobbing that finally penetrated Russ's haze of shock. Suddenly his broken leg didn't hurt so bad anymore. He grabbed his phone, and called Matty.

"Russ?"

"Yeah, Matty, we need a hospital. Now."

Desi and Riley carefully lowered Mac to the ground. Mac curled around himself, sobbing.

"Mac, Mac. C'mon babe, I have to look at that," Desi pleaded.

Riley tried not to flinch. This was not the time.

Mac batted her hand away, whimpering. He didn't mean to— it was just instinct.

Hesitantly, Riley placed a hand on Mac's shaking shoulder. His whole body was literally vibrating under her touch.

"Mac, please," Riley pleaded.

Miraculously, Mac listened to Riley. He pulled his hand away from his stomach, and Russ scooted forward, rolling Mac to his back. Despite the gentleness, Mac let out a muted yelp. He quickly clenched his jaw shut, not letting another sound escape. Riley's lip began to quiver. It was bad. Mac was bad. Everything had gone to hell and somehow Mac had been dragged along.

Russ stripped off his shirt, mumbling a quick apology before pressing it against Mac's wound. It squelched when he did. The blond couldn't keep quiet at that. His body jackknifed forward, only to be caught by Riley.

"Shhh… I got you, Mac. I got you."

Mac let out a low gutteral hum in response. It was quiet, interrupted by shaky breaths and small whimpers. But Riley could hear it. Mac knew she was there.

Riley pulled Mac forward, replacing Russ's hand on the bandage with her own. She pressed her quivering lip to Mac's ear and hummed back.

"I got you. I got you."

"Guys. We gotta move him," Desi whispered.

"What?" Russ snapped. But pretty soon he saw it too. The concrete was shifting beneath them. It wasn't safe where they were. The whole thing could collapse any second.

Mac grunted in acknowledgment, but his eyes were already unfocussed and hazy. Riley gave him a quick rub on the neck, then pulled away, careful not to jostle the make-shift bandage. Mac still flinched, his hand temporarily clawing at Riley's wrist when a spike of pain shot through him.

Desi was on her feet, supporting Mac from behind. She glanced at Russ, then to Mac.

"Russ you can't—"

"I can't walk. I know. But neither can Mac."

"How are we going to do this?" Riley demanded, a determined look passing to Desi and Russ. Mac lolled between her and Desi. He was still conscious. But barely. His adrenaline was crashing quickly, and between that, the blood loss, and the emotional trauma, he was fading fast.

"Mac's gotta walk," Desi started.

"He can't—"

The structure shifted again.

Russ pursed his lips. "Get him out, then if it's safe come back—"

"It won't—" Mac cut in. Everyone quieted. Mac took in a shuddering breath and curled a bit tighter. Riley was careful to keep the bandage in place. "It won't be safe. I'll walk."

He clenched his jaw, exhaustion completely coating his features. Riley couldn't help but notice the way he said it. He would walk. Not could, would. Mac wasn't about to let Russ get left behind. If anything happened, he would feel responsible for it, even if it wasn't his fault. There was no time for an argument.

Riley swallowed. "Okay. Let's go."

Desi and Riley first focussed on getting Mac up. It wasn't easy. Mac was trying to help, but he had little strength left. His whole body was shaking as they man-handled him to his feet. He didn't cry out once though. His lip was bit and surely bleeding in determination not to scream.

Russ was next. Riley held Mac up while Desi helped Russ to his feet. Then, in a line of four, Mac supported between Desi and Riley and Russ holding Desi's shoulder for support, the team began to stumble away from the structure and to safe ground.

Riley had to twist awkwardly to hold the bandage against Mac's stomach. Mac's arm was draped around her neck, and his hand clenching her shirt in pain. Russ was doing his best to support as much of his own weight as he could, allowing Desi to focus more of her strength on Mac, although he knew Desi could handle them both need-be.

By the time they got to the edge of the concrete, Mac's feet were practically dragging behind him. His head was resting on his chest, and the only evidence he was still conscious was his feeble effort to move his feet forward in time with Riley and Desi. Russ was grunting with every step. But they had made it. The whole team collapsed to the ground.

The ambulance pulled up within seconds. Two paramedics brought out the gurney. Mac— who barely even flinched at their touch, now— was gently pulled from Desi and Riley, transferred to the gurney, and loaded into the back. Russ was next. Next thing Riley and Desi knew, the ambulance was off, sirens blaring.

Riley took a step forward. "He's going to be okay," Desi stated, grabbing Riley's arm and holding her back.

It felt wrong, sounded wrong, coming from Desi. Those were Jack's words. They both knew that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mac knew where he was before he even opened his eyes. It didn't smell like anything in particular; it just smelled too clean. On top of that, he'd been awake for a while. He just didn't want to open his eyes. It was too much work. He knew, the second he did, the nurses and doctor would come to check on him. People would be trying to talk to him, to make sure he was okay. He didn't need that right now. In fact, he couldn't handle that right now. Truth was, he wasn't okay. And he wasn't going to be for a while.

Instead, he just laid in silence. He listened to the heart monitor, and once that got boring, he focussed on the shuffling of people in the hallway. Eventually, he heard a noise that he hadn't been expecting: a squeak. The squeak of leather on leather. He knew that sound anywhere.

"You can't just pretend you're sleeping forever, y'know. At some point, you're gonna have to face reality. It sucks, but it's true."

Mac let out a huff of air, then, slowly, opened one eye. Jack slouched in the chair next to the bed, a weak smile on his face. His eyes were dark and hollow, from lack of sleep and a whole lot more. But he was there, same old Jack, knowing exactly what was going through Mac's head long before Mac even knew. He brought a hand up to his face and scrubbed the stubble on his jawline.

"I was wondering how long I'd have to sit here," Jack said. His voice was light, but still thick with exhaustion. He hadn't slept in a while.

"When— how'd you know I was awake?" Mac asked. Jack was the last person he was expecting. Just for a moment, things felt completely normal again. Jack was there, protecting him. Nothing bad had happened. No one was dead. Everything was okay.

But then, they both knew that wasn't true.

"Flew in as soon as I got the news. Figured someone had to be here to tell your scrawny butt to stay in bed."

Mac let out a huff of air and gave as much as a grin as he could manage— which really was more of a tight grimace. He did have a bad habit of discharging himself sooner than he should.

Jack motioned to the bed. "But then, I guess that wasn't needed this time. You're sitting here all by yourself."

Those words held a lot more weight than either of them wanted to admit. If Mac was staying in bed, that meant things were bad.

Jack leaned forward, the familiar smell of gun oil and leather wafting to Mac when he did. He gave Mac a sad, prompting smile.

"I guess you also heard things haven't been so great around here, huh?" The blond asked.

He pulled his eyes away from Jack, staring at the thin hospital bedding. His stomach felt twisted and raw—and it wasn't because of the railing that had stabbed through his gut. Although, Mac was sure the dull throbbing in his abdomen wasn't helping the situation.

"Yeah. I've heard a few things through the grapevine. But, y'know, I'm sure there's a hell of a lot more that the grapevine didn't tell me."

Mac leaned back, running a hand through his hair. The movement pulled at the stiching, and he winced, then let his hand flop back down on the bed. Jack scooted forward and grabbed it. That got Mac's attention.

"Hey, hoss. You know you can tell me anything. I ain't judging. I didn't fly thousands of miles just to be pushed away. This is me. Good ol' Jack. You know that."

Mac squeezed his eyes shut and gave a stiff nod. Jack squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"It's okay," Jack whispered as the first tear snaked down Mac's cheek. Mac took in a shuddering breath. It hurt. Everything hurt, and still, he couldn't bring himself to admit it.

Jack rubbed Mac's hand with his thumb, inching closer to the blond. Dipping his chin down, he locked eyes with Mac. "Hey. Mac. It's okay."

"Jack.. I…" Mac couldn't even speak. The tears began to flow, and soon, Jack became a blur in front of him. "I… I just can't…"

Mac reached up to wipe the tears, but he couldn't keep up. His body began to shake in the bed, his shoulders jumping up and down with each sob.

"I know, hoss. I know. You've had to be strong for way too long on your own."

Jack pushed the bedrail down, coming up right beside the bed. Mac didn't need any prompting this time. He fell against Jack, his fingers clutching Jack's jacket and his tears soaking into his shirt. Jack pulled him tight, arms wrapping around the kid's shaking shoulders in an attempt to calm the storm inside of him, or at least lessen it.

But Jack knew that was going to take time. A long time. At least he was here now to help.

The two didn't move for a long time. Eventually, the tears began to slow. Mac was still hiccuping, barely able to breath normally. But that was okay. He'd get there.

"Hey… hey Jack?" Mac breathed.

Jack ran his hands through Mac's hair.

"What is it hoss?"

"Who… who was...the grapevine?"

Jack chuckled. The kid was smart; even after everything that had happened, his brain was still ticking, still analyzing everything around him.

"Always one step ahead of me, hoss. It was your girl Riley. She's been feeding me bits and pieces of information ever since I left. She knew I had to know."

Mac rubbed his eyes. Of course it was Riles.

"She knew… she knew you needed it. But she also knew I did."

Jack pursed his lips. That was a complicated situation. But Mac was right. Riley had been the one looking out for him, almost more than Desi had. They both knew it. Hell, Desi probably knew it, too, even if she wasn't willing to admit it.

As if on cue, a small knock came at the door. It was Riley, shirt stained with blood, and mascara streaked across her face. Her lips were drawn in a tight line.

"Hey. Just thought I'd check in."

Slowly, a smile spread across her face. Desi's words echoed in her head: "he's going to be okay." She knew it. She knew it all along, and she'd known it the second she sent the S.O.S to Jack on the way to the hospital.

"Hey Riles. Good to… good to see you."

Mac's smiled back at Riley, still hiccuping. Jack gave Mac's shoulder a rub.

He was going to be okay. Not now; not for a while. But one day, it would all be good again.

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you liked this little ramble. I'm not entirely happy with the writing, but it was a great way to break through some writer's block I've been having with my regular writing project. So, it is what it is: unedited, but hopefully satisfying someone's need for Mac whump :P. I absolutely love my Mac whump + Jack comfort (I MISS JACK SOO BAD!). On top of that, I felt like a lot of things weren't addressed in the last episode… as in, Mac's emotional state. There was no way he was going to be okay after everything that happened. I hate it when shows fast-track the recovery period (like I understand why they do it, but it still makes me mad lol). Anyways, I just wanted to throw that in here. On top of that, I really do ship Mac and Riley together (if you couldn't tell already). I love Desi as well, but her and Mac in a relationship is just not my jam. Despite this, I don't want Mac and Desi's relationship to end on a bad note as she really is a great character; it'd be awkward if there was a lot of tension between her and Mac after their relationship ended. I'd love to know everyone else's opinion on it! Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed it!