A/N:Is it day 6 already? Time flies.
Today's story is about the 3x12 cold open. I know it was Bozer and Mac, but my heart desired for Jack to be included in the picture so I wrote a bit of plot around it (how they came to that situation) and how they got out of it post the hand grenade exploding. Post op plane check and some cuddles.
Thank you Sabby for supplying me with a little inspiration to kickstart this fic when I had no idea if I'll ever manage a 6th story.
Edit by me.
Title: possibly my most favorite The Who song.
They shouldn't have separated, Jack growled under his breath. Things always went sideways when he didn't have Mac in sight.
He can handle himself just fine, he was trained for this, another voice supplied.
That doesn't mean I don't care about him, Jack angrily replied to his consciousness.
Jack was aware he was antsy, and restless. They stopped walking ten minutes ago when Riley said that she could possibly recreate the signals from Mac's and Bozer's cell phones and try to get their comms back online.
He had a bad feeling about it, ever since they were sent to retrieve the thumb drive with valuable intel. Jack hated the run on the mill missions that seemed easy but turned dangerous in a blink. By the time they touched ground, the intel changed hands and they were faced with a terrorist group that worked for the highest bidder. Jack thought they were just some amateurs thinking they knew what they were doing, tangling themselves with people twice as powerful than them.
Apparently they weren't amateur enough.
Jack sighed and looked at his watch. Two hours. Two hours since they lost Mac and Bozer on comms. If they were taken, so many things could be happening to them. Jack closed his eyes at the onslaught of bad things his boys could be going through.
Riley typed on her keyboard, looking calm and collected, but Jack knew there was wrath and fury to burn down anyone to the ground that dared face her in that moment.
Fuck, I shouldn't have let Mac convince me to separate.
"We are gonna find them, Jack." Riley's voice sounded loud in the quiet neighborhood. Too quiet.
"I know we will."
"Your knee is bouncing and if you don't stop, I'll have to drag you to Medical on our way home."
Jack chuckled. His knee stopped bouncing, but he was still nervous and on edge. He was grateful for Riley and her distraction. But it made him wonder, was this how Mac felt when he couldn't solve a problem? Drive himself mad with all the thoughts circling in his head, but coming up with nothing.
It was well over a month since Griggs took them and closed them in that old fallout shelter. They both healed physically, but there was the occasional twinge and hurt pulling on skin when they moved too soon. And Mac had more restless nights than he ever had before which in turn had Jack stay at Mac's house almost every day. It beat having to wake up alone at his apartment yelling for Mac.
Jack didn't want to dwell on it, but he worried it was too soon for them to get back to work. And this being their first mission back.
"Yes! I got their cell phone signals back online. Let's get back to our vehicle, I think we can reach them via a shorter route."
Jack didn't need to be told twice.
…
While Jack followed Riley's instructions and drove like he was trying to escape the police, Riley managed to get Mac's and Bozer's comms alive. They couldn't hear anything but groaning, but it didn't matter because they arrived at the place fairly quick.
Jack had his gun out of the holster before he was even out of the door, Riley following close behind.
Somehow, there was a commotion that could be heard from inside. Just then, several men came out from the front door, running like the building was on fire. It felt like a reward, not having to bother to barge in and face those knuckleheads one by one. It was too good to be true, but Jack knew when he had to count his small miracles.
Jack had them all tied up and pliant in under two minutes. Which was when the loud boom was heard.
…
Mac vowed to himself to never ask Jack to separate during missions. Whenever that happened, things went south.
Mac's left cheek burned from where one of the men hit him to subdue him. It was hurting one moment and burning the next. Mac suspected it could be a hairline fracture. He already had suffered from one several years ago. Jack was gonna be pissed.
They brought him and Bozer to a secluded location. They didn't look like they were gonna hurt them too bad, but one never knew.
Mac winced when one of the men kicked Bozer and Bozer yelped in pain.
Mac tried to attract their attention and protect his friend from being hurt worse. And he almost laughed hysterically amidst all because that was what Jack always did. Attract the attention to himself so Mac wouldn't end up hurt. Mac had to admit that Jack rubbed off on him.
Which was why Mac was currently being hit and slapped and manhandled. He could take it, as long as Bozer was left out.
Jack was gonna find them. He was going to swoop in through the door, and get them to safety.
Mac really started to hate the easy missions. Those were the ones that turned bad pretty fast.
"Where is the map?"
"I don't know what you are talking about." Mac replied to the question that was being asked every two minutes.
"Your buddy gave me the information. Or so I thought. The USB was empty. So. Where is the map?"
"I don't know."
That earned Mac another hit to his already throbbing cheek. This mission officially sucked.
…
It was around two hours of asking them the same question and getting the same answer. Mac hoped Jack was closing in, because these guys looked like a joke, but their hits knew how to hurt. Mac could feel one of his ribs give in and suspected that he'd be sore and bruised for a while. If he didn't end up hurt worse by the time they got out.
Mac couldn't stop the groan that escaped his lips and as blood gathered on his tongue, he spit it out. He wondered how long this would last before he was going to aggravate his injury when Bozer grabbed the grenade.
It all happened too fast to grasp at what was actually happening, but Mac knew that no matter what they weren't going to get unscathed out of this.
Then the grenade exploded.
…
Jack's heart seized in his chest.
"Mac!"
He didn't wait to see if Riley was following him, he just ran like bat out of hell. He had to find Mac, he had to get to his partner.
"Mac! Can you hear me? Are you in here? Bozer!"
"Here, don't speak so loud."
"Sorry, Boze. Where's Mac?" Jack helped Bozer on his feet and kept him steady until he regained his balance.
"He was right… behind me." Bozer turned around to look, but there was no sign of Mac.
"Stay with Riley, I'll go and find him."
Jack moved in the direction where Bozer came from and found Mac sprawled on the ground. For a moment Jack's heart went to his throat. Then Mac moved and groaned. Jack didn't know he held his breath until he released it in relief.
"Good God, Mac. What happened here?"
"Hell if I know."
"Can you move?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute."
Jack helped Mac into a sitting position and propped him against the wall.
"Y'know, you should work on your signals, kid."
"Huh?"
"I appreciate you givin' me a way to find you, hoss, I really do, but you didn't have to go and nearly blow yourself up to do it."
"Wasn't me." Mac coughed with a chuckle.
"Excuse me, come again?"
"Wasn't me. It was Bozer."
Mac groaned as Jack helped him to his feet. Just then Riley and Bozer joined them.
"Matty sent the local law enforcement to collect the guys we saw leaving the building. They'll be booked and charged. We can clear it out of here as soon as Mac is feeling up to it."
It was like Mac waited for that and started walking when Jack's hand on his forearm stopped him.
"Where do you think you are going, Mister?"
Mac looked like a confused puppy. Which shouldn't be so adorable in a situation like the one they were in, but it was.
"Home?"
Jack crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave Mac a pointed look.
"Uh, Riley, I think we should leave. Wait for them outside." Bozer squeaked and already moved towards the hall.
"Definitely." Riley agreed and followed him when Jack's voice stopped them in their tracks.
"No one is going anywhere until I check you two for injuries."
Mac and Bozer both groaned, but they let Jack perform a cursory exam. After Jack was satisfied with them, and they complained about curious hands and not so trusty partners, they slowly made their way to the car.
"Hey, Boze, Mac told me the explosion was your doing." Jack grinned at the man in the backseat and that prompted Mac to snort-laugh.
"Well, it was either that or Mr. I'm-a-badass-with-a-gun keep on beating on Mac."
"Boze." Mac protested.
Jack gave Mac a pointed look that said "we'll talk about this later".
"You hang around this dude too much, Bozer."
"Nah, Jack. It's called being a spy. Double-Oh-Boz at your service."
Jack guffawed and soon enough everyone followed with a laugh on their own.
"So, what now?"
…
Once they were on their exfil flight, Mac headed to his usual spot on the plane, the couch. Jack was following close behind and Mac knew that Jack was worried. He wished Bozer didn't tell him about the beating.
Mac was going to tell Jack about it. Once they were safe and possibly when they touched ground in LA. He promised not to hide injuries from his partner. And technically he withheld information and wasn't hiding it.
Jack appeared next to him, carrying the med kit with him.
"I'm sorry." Mac mumbled. He looked down in his lap where his hands were resting.
"What for?" Jack inquired softly.
"About the beating. I didn't mention it. It was more of timed kicks and they weren't that hard. I've had worse…"
"But they hurt like hell, right? I get it. Don't worry. I know you were going to 'fess up sooner or later."
Mac snorted.
"What? I have my own interrogation techniques, buddy. And they change every time. But they work miracles."
"How do you know me so well, Jack?"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear this question."
"Okay."
Mac smiled and felt Jack's hand on his neck. He moved towards the touch and that in turn made Jack smile.
"I'll take a look at your face first, and then I'll check your other injuries. Okay?"
"'Kay."
Mac let Jack's gentle touch ground him. Jack was thorough and after he cleaned the little cuts where the skin was split, he rubbed in some of the cream they kept in the kit, slathering it deliberately.
"I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt so I can see what's the damage."
Mac hesitated. It wasn't like Jack hadn't seen him shirtless before. But something about this made him feel strangely vulnerable.
"I'm not gonna hurt ya', you know what. Just to make sure it's not something we should worry about."
Mac slowly unbuttoned his shirt. He groaned when he let the fabric slip down his arms. Jack hissed when he spotted the array of bruises on Mac's torso. Some were darker and others were just starting to bruise.
"They knew where they had to hit. Bastards."
"It's okay Jack. Like I said, I've had worse."
"I know that. But that doesn't make them hurt less."
"True."
Jack probed around the middle and when he got to where Mac suspected he got a busted rib, Mac hissed.
"Shit. Sorry hoss, didn't mean to hurt you more."
"It's nothing. Pretty sure it was the guy that kept jamming the butt of his rifle in me."
"A what now? And you failed to mention this before how?"
"I was gonna tell you."
"Mhm."
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to hide it. I guess it didn't come up until now."
Jack looked at him disbelievingly.
"I'll let it slide this time. But next time you fail to mention it? Don't matter where we are, you get checked out immediately, you hear me?"
Mac sighed, but nodded his accent. It wouldn't do him any good to disagree. Besides, Jack was right.
"Guess this warrants a trip to Medical." Jack announced.
Mac groaned.
"Nuh-huh, Sir. I can't risk you having something seriously wrong with you. You'd brush it off… and I-"
Jack cut himself off before getting up.
"Stay here, I'll get you some ice."
Mac wanted to joke about where he'd go since they were on the plane, but refrained from doing so.
"Here, take this and put it on first."
It was a well worn button down shirt from Jack that Mac had stolen on more than one occasion. It looked like Jack noticed that.
"Thanks man."
"Don't mention it."
"Hey Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry. I really don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could wait until we were home to tell you. I should know better than that. In fact, I know better. But there was something… I didn't want you to worry."
Mac knew Jack worried. This was the first mission since they were kidnapped by Griggs and Jack was overly protective of everyone. Almost like he knew something would happen. Mac started to think Jack's spidey senses weren't just a figure of speech.
"I know you are. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't get so worked up. But whenever you end up hurt, I feel like I should know how to prevent that. And it sends my brain in overdrive. I feel guilty that you are hurting."
"You know it's statistically impossible to know when I'm going to end up hurt, right?"
"Yes, I do. But sometimes I forget. Like today. Sorry, bud."
"Don't sweat it. And I'm fine. Well, maybe not fine, but I'm okay. If I wasn't, believe me you'd know."
"Okay. Now how about you get comfy and I'll put the ice on you."
Before Jack could get up again, Mac stopped him.
"Stay, please?"
"Of course. Scoot."
Once Jack was settled in, he helped Mac get comfortable and placed the ice packs where the damage was the worst.
After a while, Mac relaxed in Jack's embrace. Jack ran one of his hands through Mac's hair and that was adding to the feeling of safety.
A fleeting thought passed through Mac's mind that if he was a cat, he'd be purring by now.
Mac chuckled and burrowed deeper in Jack's warmth.
"Hey, Jack?"
"Hm?"
"I knew you'd come. You always do."
"Always will, hoss."
Jack tightened the grip he had on Mac. Mac relaxed further. Between Jack's steady breathing and his hand in Mac's hair, Mac closed his eyes and let himself rest, knowing he was safe.
A/N: Thoughts?