So I'm leaving this fic open and from now on this is where I'll post all my, as the title would suggest, episode tags and missing scenes. I'm not really one for writing multi-chapter fics, but this seemed easier than posting a new story every time I wanted to do a followup to an ep. So if tags are your thing you may wanna follow this one.

Part One (The Reunion Scene We Were Robbed Of)

Mac took in an audible breath as his awareness came back, grateful for the fresh (at least by LA standards) air he could finally take in. His eyes snapped open and closed just as quickly upon seeing the small crowd of people surrounding him. It was all to much; to loud, to crowded, to bright. His hands scrambled on the hard sidewalk, searching for something to help him up. Someone ignored the voices advising him not to move, pulled one of the cafe chairs closer to him, and helped him up and into a sitting position. He closed his eyes again, fighting against the nausea and dizziness moving had caused.

"Just take it easy." A kind voice instructed. "An ambulance is on it's way."

A whirlwind of panic overtook Mac's mind, images of more needles, hospital beds with shiny metal restraints, doctors and nurses whose faces warped into Murdoc's in the blink of an eye. "No." He insisted, though he wasn't sure that the tone of his voice was very convincing. "Jack."

"Jack?" The kind voice asked. "Is that you're name?"

Mac's face furrowed, his mind wasn't working right, wasn't explaining. "No. Need Jack."

"Alright, calm down." She instructed, sensing his rising panic. "Who's Jack?"

"He's…" Mac frowned again. He didn't want to have to explain, he just wanted his partner. "He's Jack." He answered, to exhausted to explain the complexity of their relationship. "Need Jack."

"Okay, we can call Jack." The woman answered, her voice slow as if she were speaking to a frightened animal. "Do you know his number?" She asked, pulling a cell phone from her back pocket.

Mac shook his head, eyes squinting shut as the movement sent shockwaves through his skull. "Can't remember..." He took in a shuddering breath, trying to calm his racing heart. "Phone." He said suddenly, holding out a slightly shaking hand.

The woman handed over the device, a dubious look on her face. Mac's mind couldn't remember the numbers, but his fingers flew over the touchscreen as if on autopilot, quickly dialing correctly.

The line rang twice, the tone harsh and shrill in Mac's ear but he refused to pull the phone away. Before the third piercing ring could sound Mac heard the voice answer. "Jack Dalton." Came the loud, clear voice.

Mac was so relieved to hear the sound of the voice that he nearly dropped the borrowed cell phone from his trembling hand. Apparently the phone's owner had been prepared for that though, because she quickly removed the phone and had it placed against her own ear before Mac could turn to look at her. He heard her answering Jack's quick-fired questions as best she could and finally giving him their address before hanging up. She dropped a gentle hand to Mac's shoulder. "He's on his way."

Jack flew through the downtown LA traffic, his speedometer nearly doubling the numbers posted on every speed limit sign he passed. Maddy must have called and alerted the local cops,he thought, because there were no sirens trailing him. They couldn't have caught him even if they tried though, he was a man on a mission.

He slowed down slightly as he turned onto the street and saw the ambulance parked outside the cafe he had been called from. Pulling as close to the scene as he could, he quickly slammed the car into park and ran out, not wasting time to take the keys out of the ignition or shut the door.

His knees nearly buckled in relief as he caught the first glimpse of his partner, sitting on the back of the ambulance, a blood pressure cuff fastened around one arm, arguing with the paramedic. He was pale, but he looked fine all things considered. Jack took a few steadying breaths and moved closer, pushing his way through the small crowd that had gathered.

He finally made it close enough to overhear the paramedic say, as he removed the blood pressure cuff, something about the dangers of refusing medical treatment. Jack smiled, typical Mac. He was close enough now to see the dark splash of blood dried down one arm but no other physical injuries. Based on the glazed-over look in Mac's usually bright blue eyes and the fact that he was a mere four feet away and his partner hadn't noticed him yet, Jack was guessing Murdoc had gotten a little experimental with drugs.

He couldn't take it any longer. He strode forward, boots clacking against the sidewalk, until he was directly in Mac's line of sight. A soft "Hey, bud." fell from his lips and Mac's eyes finally met his The next thing he knew he had his arms full of a trembling blonde kid.

"It's alright, it's alright." He repeated quietly, callused hands rubbing the space between bony shoulder blades. "I gotcha now. You're okay. You're safe."

"Jack." Mac breathed out the word in a sigh of relief, hand coming up to twist in the back of Jack's shirt, his face buried in the older man's chest.

"Yeah, pal. I'm right here." He assured, passing a hand over his partner's hair, before pulling the young man out of the hug, keeping both hands on his shoulders. "Why don't we sit back down, huh?" He asked, nodding towards the ambulance and the annoyed paramedic. "You're not lookin' too stable at the moment."

"I'm fine." Mac insisted but he sat back down anyway. Jack made sure to keep a steady hand on his shoulder, not liking his color.

"What're we lookin' at here?" He asked, switching his attention over to the paramedic.

"I'm assuming you're Jack?" The man asked. "He's been asking for you since before I got here."

"Yeah, well I'm here now." Jack replied. "Again. What're we lookin' at?"

"From what I can tell, he was drugged." The man answered. "But he refuses to let me take any blood. Or even sit in the damned truck for that matter."

"Mac." Jack admonished, sending his partner an accusatory glance. "You gotta let him help ya, bud."

"No needles." Mac replied, and the fear that flashed through his eyes when they looked up and met Jack's made him wince in sympathy. "Home."

"We need to get him to the hospital." The paramedic interrupted looking at Jack, having given up reasoning with his patient.

"Jack. No." Mac insisted, reaching up with a shaking hand and pulling on Jack's shirt. "Home."

"What if I took him?" Jack asked. "He's a little freaked out right now. I don't think an ambulance ride is gonna be a good idea."

"Jack. No." Mac insisted again, the fearful whine in his voice was like a dagger to Jack's already guilt-ridden heart. He dropped to a knee, making himself eye level with the young man.

"We gotta get you checked out." He answered, not willing to risk Mac's health by giving in on that argument. "But I can take you, okay?"

Mac shook his head no as Jack tried to convey with his eyes, as to not disclose the location and secret purpose of the Phoenix Foundation, that he wasn't just planning on stopping at the closest emergency room, but rather getting his partner to Phoenix's infirmary.

"We'll go to that nice quiet one." He pressed on. "You know, the one real close to work?" Jack sighed in relief when he saw the realization dawn on Mac's face.

"Oh. Okay." He agreed quietly.

"Good." Jack patted him on the knee and stood up. ""Let's get goin'."

"Wait." The paramedic stood up and took a step closer to Jack. "I can't just let him go with you. It's my responsibility to make sure he gets the appropriate medical attention. Unless you're family I can't…"

"I am." Jack interrupted quickly. "I'm his…" His mind drifted back to the week before and the not-so-funny joke about him being the crazy uncle. "Dad." He decided quickly, knowing that those three letters would be the quickest way to get his partner to safety. And if he were being perfectly honest with himself, he felt he was deserving of a little higher title than crazy uncle. "I'm his dad." He carefully helped Mac to stand. "And we're leavin'. Thanks for your help."

"Thank you." Mac said once they were out of earshot of the ambulance.

"Hey, don't mention it." Jack said good naturedly. "That's what partners are for, right?"

"Yeah, but no." Mac sighed in frustration and stopped walking, hating how the drugs still coursing through his system prevented him from getting the words out right. "You really are. What you said back there." He shrugged. "You're here and he's not."

Jack smiled and slung an arm around Mac's shoulders as they finished the trek to the car. "I'll always be here, kid."

Part Two

Jack kept up a steady stream of pointless rambling for the first half of their ride back to Phoenix until the sound of his partner's voice and the familiar scent of his car began to lull Mac to sleep.

"Hey, now. Keep those eyes open for me." He ordered, his hand moving from the wheel to Mac's shoulder to emphasize his point.

"Sorry." Mac passed a hand over his face, trying to wake himself up. "Just tired."

"Yeah, I know." Jack sighed. "We're almost there."

"No we're not." Mac argued, taking note of the mile marker as they passed it. "Still pretty far away."

"Alright fine. Since my heroic tales are puttin' you to sleep, you're turn. Talk." He shot a glance at the young man riding shotgun. His color was a little better, not quite as pale, and he was saying more than two words at a time now so that was progress, but he was far from okay.

"What do you want me to talk about?" Mac asked with a sigh, knowing that Jack hadn't been simply suggesting he take a turn filling in the silence.

"Well I'm ready to listen whenever you need to talk about what all went down back there." Jack promised. "But somehow I get the feelin' that you're not gonna be ready to do that for a while." He continued, seeing Mac slowly shaking his head. "And that's fine. Take your time, no rush. Whenever you're ready. But let's start small, huh? Your arm. What happened there?"

Mac glanced down at the dried blood covering the torn puncture mark. "Where he put the needle." He answered quietly.

"Well damn, he did a pretty bad job didn't he?" Jack exclaimed. "No wonder you were so leery of lettin' that medic back there help ya."

Mac's lips turned upwards in a wry grin. "Nah, I did most of the damage." He admitted, focusing on keeping his body from visibly shuddering at the memory. "Pulled it out with my teeth."

"With your teeth." Jack repeated slowly, the pieces of the puzzle beginning to fall into place.

Mac glanced down at the slight bruises that were beginning to form around his wrists from the cuffs. "Had to get it out somehow." He shrugged. "And I needed a lockpick."

"You picked your cuffs with a needle?" Jack asked, never failing to be impressed by his partner's ability to think on the fly.

"Had to." Mac answered. "They took my knife after they…" He slowly trailed off, realizing his mistake a second too late.

"After they what?" Jack asked, his voice cold.

"They had a taser." Mac replied quietly. "That's how they got the drop on me."

Jack nodded, knowing that now was not the time to get upset that Mac had 'forgotten' to mention being tased. "I wondered. So what, you just let 'em in the front door?"

The "I thought it was gonna be you," that followed was barely spoken above a whisper but Jack heard it loud and clear.

He sighed, reaching over and laying a hand on Mac's knee. "It should have been, bud. It should have been. But that's an apology for another day."

"I have a couple of those adding up too." Mac reminded him.

"Later. That's the least of my worries right now." Jack assured, "And hey, why would you think it was me at your door? Since when do I knock?"

"That should have been my first clue." Mac admitted.

"Family don't knock." Jack reminded him with a smile. "But hey, circling back to the beginning of this touching little story," He began as he took his hand from Mac's knee and started digging around in his pocket. "Seems like you're missin' this." He handed over the red knife.

"Thanks." Mac said gratefully, turning the worn metal over in his hands.

"Just don't tell Maddy I took that from the crime scene." Jack advised.

"Deal." Mac promised, lifting his hips of the seat and putting the knife back in his pocket.

Jack smiled looking over at the young man in the passenger seat. "Back where it belongs."

Mac grinned back, both of them knowing that Jack wasn't just talking about the knife.

Part Three

Mac struggled against the metal holding him in place, though he knew it was pointless. There was no way he was getting out of the mess of mangled automobile parts by himself. He took a breath, forcing himself to take stock of the situation. Murdoc had Fletcher, there was nothing he could do about that until he got out of this damned van. "Jack?" He asked, turning his head, carefully, towards the driver's side.

He sighed when he saw his partner next to him. There was a gash on the older man's forehead and he was out cold, but it didn't look serious. "Jack." Mac tried again, reaching out with a slow arm and nudging his partner's shoulder. "Wake up, big guy. Need your help."

"Mac?" Another voice called from the back of the van. He had honestly forgotten that she was there.

"Cage? You alright?" He asked, not able to turn around to see for himself.

"My leg." She said. "I think it's…" There was a slight groan from the twisted metal surrounding them as she, he assumed, tried to move, hissing in pain at the result. "Yeah, definitely broken."

"Alright, just stay still." He called behind him, trying to sound reassuring as the panic of their situation began setting in. "We're gonna be alright, just gotta get out of here."

"How's Jack?" She asked, her voice tight with pain.

"Fan-freakin-tastic" Came a quiet groan from the driver's seat. "Mac, you hurt?" He asked, his first priority as always.

Mac sighed in relief upon seeing his partner awake. "I don't… I don't think so." Mac replied. "Not bad at least. Just can't move. You?"

"I'm good." Jack assured as he pulled his tactical knife from his belt and began slicing through the seat belt restraints. "Cage? You good?" He yelled, trying to catch a glimpse of the woman through the mangled car.

"Been better." She called back.

"Fletcher?" Jack asked suddenly as he remembered the reason they were in the transport van in the first place.

"Murdoc got him." Mac answered. "They're long gone."

"They're gonna wish they were when I get my hands on 'em." Jack promised as he finally broke free and kicked open what was left of his door. "Alright, bud. Let's get you outta here, huh?"

"Cage." Mac insisted. "She's hurt. Get her first."

Jack shot him a glare that showed just how much he disliked that idea but he was going to do it anyway. "Here." He pulled his phone from his pocket. "You move your hands?" He smiled a comforting grin as Mac nodded and he pressed the device into Mac's closest hand. "Call Riley. Maddy. Bozer. Hell, I don't care at this point. Call someone and have 'em send help." Mac nodded as Jack exited the vehicle and moved on to helping Cage.

By the time Jack had pulled Cage and her broken leg out of the still smoldering van, Maddy and a team of agents were on their way, Riley and Bozer were tracking traffic cams searching for any sign of Murdoc and Fletcher, and a fleet of police, firetrucks, and ambulances, were en route. Mac was staying as still as he could, eyes tightly closed, silently telling himself that the tight space he was trapped in was not getting smaller, it was just all the stress of the day catching up with him. He jumped when the van's frame shifted as Jack crawled back in.

"Alright brother. Your turn." He announced. He recognized the look on his partner's face. It was one that meant the young man was moments away from losing grip on the panic he was pushing down. "Hey. Take a breath. You're fine. I'm right here, okay? I didn't leave."

Mac nodded as he handed Jack back his phone. "I didn't even tear it up this time."

Jack grinned. "This time. There'll be plenty time for you to break this one later. Gotta get you out of here first though, right?" Jack started carefully tugging on the metal that was trapping Mac in his seat, the blonde man hissing as the movements caused the piece pinning his legs down to cut further into his ankles.

"Sorry. I'm sorry bud." Jack mumbled automatically. "Alright, this piece first." He declared, not wanting to cause the younger man any more pain. "I'm gonna lift it up and you move your legs out of the way. Can you do that for me?" Mac nodded and on Jack's count, his legs were free.

"Half way there." Jack said with a smile. "Legs feel okay? I don't have two of y'all with busted up legs do I?"

"Feel fine." Mac assured. "Cage…"

"Is a grown woman who can handle a broken leg." Jack interrupted. "We're worryin' about you at the moment. Let's get you outta here."

"Kay." Mac nodded, the appeal of no longer being confined in the tiny space outweighed his worry about the newest member of their team.

"You sure your arms are good? I'm gonna need you to pull yourself out of the way while I lift this." Jack asked.

"I'm good." Mac answered. "Get me out of this thing."

Jack met his partner's eyes, ensuring that he was ready, before taking a breath and heaving the heavy metal bar upward. Mac rolled sideways, ignoring the pain and the clang of metal as Jack dropped the piece down once he was out of the way. Mac quickly crawled out of the van, his partner right behind him.

For the second time that day, Mac found himself collapsing onto the hard pavement.

Jack let out a half-crazed laugh as he sat down on the ground beside the younger man. "You hear that?" He asked, pointing out the sirens blaring in the distance. "Of course they show up once I do all the hard work."

Part Four

"I still think we should go check on Cage." Mac said, not for the first time since leaving the Phoenix headquarters.

"She's fine." Jack reminded his partner, fighting back an eye roll. "Maddy's gonna call us when she's released."

"You'd be there if it was Riley or Bozer." Mac mumbled under his breath.

"Not true." Jack argued, an accusatory finger coming up and pointing at the young man in the passenger seat. "Not if it came down to bein' there or making sure you get home safe and sound. You come first in my book. Every damn time. And besides," Jack broke the heartfelt speech with a chuckle. "I'm beat. This," Jack said as stopped at the last red light before turning onto Mac's street. "Has been the longest day of my life."

"And you weren't running off jet lag and captured by a murderous psychopath." Mac pointed out.

"No," Jack agreed. "You were. And that made it a million times worse."

Mac smiled but said nothing, knowing that if the roles were reversed he would feel the same way. They rode in silence the rest of the way home.

When Jack finally pulled into the driveway, for the second time that day, and shut the car off, Mac made no move to go into the house.

"You know you're more than welcome to crash at my place." Jack pointed out, not for the first time since Maddy had ordered them to go home and get some rest, leaving her, Riley, and Bozer to work on tracking Murdoc. "For as long as you need."

Mac shook his head. "I'm fine. You don't even have to stay."

"I'm not lettin' you out of my sight." Jack reminded him.

"Okay." Mac took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. "Let's go."

They made their way slowly up the drive, the aches and pains from all of the day's ordeals finally catching up with them. Mac was fine until Jack took out his spare key and opened the door. He stood staring at the spot on the floor where Jack assumed he had fallen when Murdoc's goons had attacked him.

"Hey. Mac. Look at me." Jack ordered. It took him saying his partner's name two more times and a hand placed on his shoulder before he broke through Mac's trance. "You're safe." He promised.

"Twice." Mac answered, voice hoarse. "Twice now he's been here, in my house."

"You said it. Right there." Jack said, desperate to stop Mac's downward spiral in it's tracks. "YOUR house. This is your home, Mac."

"Doesn't feel like it at the moment." Mac admitted

"Don't do that. Don't let him take this from you." Jack put both his hands on Mac's shoulders and turned the young man to look him in the eye. "Don't give him the power to do that."

Mac nodded, letting Jack's words sink in as he turned away from his partner and gave his home a slow look. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "You're right."

"Course I am." Jack answered with a smirk. "I'm always right."

"You're not." Mac said as he headed towards the kitchen, noticing the puddle of water still on the floor from the defrosted fridge. It felt as though weeks had passed since he first promised Jack a warm beer from that very fridge rather than a few hours. "But you're right when it really matters."

"You know, if you don't wanna be in here we can head out on the deck." Jack offered. "Light a fire, drink some of those warm beers. Even bust out the sleepin' bags, try to find some stars through all this smog and city lights."

"Sure." Mac agreed. "But we don't have to sleep out there. I've gotta deal with this sooner or later. Might as well face it now."

"While I'm here." Jack added.

"Right." Mac said with a smile. "Cause I'm not getting rid of you for a while am I?"

"Nope." Jack promised as he pulled a six pack from the dripping fridge. "Not now, not ever."

Alright y'all. This ended up being WAY longer than I planned on it being. It kinda got away from me. But I had the day off and it was raining and I had the house to myself (well, me and Cairo, but dogs make pretty great writing partners) and apparently that's the perfect setting to write in. And now that this is done I can go read all the other tags to this ep that have been posted! I don't read any if I have plans of writing my own so I I have been waiting to read all of them! So excited!

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!