Mac had clawed his way out of unconsciousness enough times to know that there were several ways it could happen.

There was the slow crawl, fluttering eyes and trembling limbs, as the brain slowly rebooted and the world came back in unsteady, swirling colors until clarity finally returned.

Then, there was the jump scare, one minute out like a light and the next barreling back into awareness in an adrenaline fueled jolt of dizzying confusion.

Then there was the in-and-out, the ebb and flow of consciousness flickering and extinguishing between one breath and another.

The first usually happened when he was left to wake on his own or was gently pulled back to reality by someone trusted, usually Jack. The second was often the result of a captor slapping him awake or at the end of a mission when he still had to protect his team. The third only happened when he was far more injured or significantly drugged.

This time, it was a combination of all three. He remembered awareness returning slowly in a trunk.. Distant whistling that made him close his eyes and grit his teeth.

Not him again.

He could feel the solid, reassuring weight of Jack tucked in beside him and let his head roll against what felt like Jack's shoulder.

"Mac?" Mac sighed when he heard Jack's voice. It wasn't muffled and Mac realized that the plastic mask that had been shoved over his face was gone. Jack must have been able to remove them, that's why he had been able to wake up.

"Jack," Mac groaned as his ribs were jostled by a particularly jarring pothole.

"Yeah, bud, it's me." Jack whispered. "How you doing, man? You weren't waking up very fast."

"Where are we?" Mac simply asked. He wished he could get his arms free from the restraints securing them behind his back so he could wrap them protectively around his aching torso. His head hurt, too. The whole right side of his face felt raw and sore. There was something wet and warm running down his cheek into the hollow of his neck. He had had enough head wounds to know they bled a lot so he was simply grateful for the warmth. The rest of his body shivered against the chill.

"Trunk," Jack answered succinctly. "Murdoc got us, man. I'm sorry, I didn't even see him coming."

"We were on vacation, Jack." Mac told him. "We weren't at work. You don't have to be on all the time."

"With our luck I'd say I do." Jack said. sourly "Be honest while we can still talk freely. Where are you hurt? He hit your side pretty hard. And I can tell you ain't feelin' so hot so don't even try lyin' to me."

"I'm fine," Mac insisted. "Really."

His little charade was cut short when they hit another particularly nasty pothole and he couldn't stop the grunt of pain that was forced from his lungs when his abused ribs crashed back against the bottom of the trunk.

"Real fine," Jack gritted. The world shuddered around them as the gravel beneath the tires became looser before they finally slid to a jarring stop. The car shifted as someone got out and the muffled thud of the car door slamming shut was followed by crunching footsteps. The continued eerie whistling caused another shiver to rush through Mac's body. There was the sound of jingling keys and then the trunk popped open, light rushing in to temporarily blind the agents. Murdoc smiled down at them.

"You two aren't supposed to be awake yet." Murdoc tisked. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

When he got no response, Murdoc cocked his head to the side, his black eyes scanning Jack's appearance and then Mac's. His eyes lingered longer on Mac, taking in his paler than normal complexion and guarded posture.

"I should really learn to be more careful with my toys."

"Screw you," Jack seethed, trying to shield Mac from Murdoc as much as he could in the confined space. It wasn't much.

"Oh, don't worry Jack, I don't plan on hurting dear Angus, at least any more than I already have. No, his future pain depends on something else entirely."

"I ain't letting you or anyone else near him." Jack said

"Jack, I'm hurt." Murdoc said. "MacGyver is my nearest and dearest friend. I would never let anyone else harm a single blond hair on his head." Murdoc pressed a gloved hand to his own chest, his pressed-lipped smile seemed almost - honored. "That privilege is all mine, remember?"

"Go to hell." Jack said again.

"So hostile." Murdoc said. "But like I said, I'm going to put you both to sleep again but when you wake up you just have to do exactly as you're told and our favorite blond boy scout won't have to feel another ounce of pain." Murdoc held up a boy scout salute. "I give you my word."

Mac could only watch as Murdoc hummed happily to himself, a respite from the whistling if anything, and gathered up their discarded masks. He placed the first one over Mac's face again and the world dipped around him. He could hear Jack's voice but couldn't make out the words through the cotton that had taken up residence in his head. His vision faded just as Murdoc reached over him to place the second mask back on Jack's face.

He didn't see anything after that.

The second time he returned to consciousness, he swam back toward awareness for a moment before jolting the rest of the way. This time, they were in a dark room with only a solitary light in the center of the ceiling. It was cold in the room and smelled like deep Earth and dampness. There was water trickling down one of the walls, he could hear it splattering against the floor in the corner. The gas mask was still over his face and he pulled it off quickly, throwing it to the side for now. He was barefoot and his jacket was gone. When he tried to sit up it pulled on his ribs and he couldn't help the groan that escaped. He curled around them protectively, his arm guarding them. There was something heavy around his neck. He reached for it and felt a smooth, metal band securely clasped around his throat.

Where was he?

Where was Jack?

Forgetting his own pain, he jerked his head to the side to find Jack sprawled out beside him. He reached forward, wincing uncomfortably, and knocked the mask off Jack's face. His hand fell to Jack's shoulder and he tried to shake him awake.

"Ja-" As soon as he started to say the older man's name he heard the snap of electricity before he felt his muscles tense against the sharp jolt at his neck. He cried out and fell back to the ground as the collar shocked him again. His whole body tensed, back spasming painfully, and he couldn't breathe. He bit his lip until it bled to stop from making any more sounds.

"Mac? What the hell?" Jack's voice filtered through as the collar stopped shocking him and he was released from the muscle seizing pain. Mac simply lay there and breathed, his eyes closed and teeth gritted enough that he was marginally afraid it might cause damage. "Hey, say something, man, you're scaring the hell out of me."

Mac took a second to breathe before opening his eyes again. He sat up gingerly to find Jack hovering as close to him as he could manage. He simply pointed to the collar and shook his head.

"What the hell is that, dude?" Jack asked, squinting at the smooth metal as if trying to activate previously hidden x-ray vision to see inside it. Jack reached for his own neck and frowned when he didn't find the same device on him. Whatever it was the honor was reserved for Mac alone.

With a clenched jaw, Mac simply mimed getting shocked. Jack's mounting horror increased at the implications.

"You usually suck at charades but I got that one loud and clear." Jack told him. "You talk you get shocked, huh?"

Mac nodded with a shrug. He only tried it once but he's not itching to repeat the experience.

"Well," Jack said for the both of them. "I think our vacation is officially canceled."

Mac rolled his eyes a little, his head still pounding in time with the rest of his aching body.

You think?