"RILEY!" Bozer's panicked scream and the jolt of the car snapped Jack awake. He shook his head and blinked. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep. How long had he been out? Matty had said 20 minutes, but they weren't there yet. Jack blinked until everything wasn't blurry and glanced at his watch. His eyebrows crept up into his hairline. 45 minutes!

"What's going on?" Jack asked, putting a hand on Mac's shoulder. Mac laid limp across his legs. His body radiated heat. The car's windows in the back were clouded. Riley slapped the car in park then leaned shaking over the wheel. Jack leaned forward. Through the rain he could see a dark nothing in front of the car, only a few feet in front of the car. A huge sinkhole. Jack rubbed his face and sank back letting out a long breath. He put a hand on Riley's shoulder and felt her shaking.

"It's ok, Ri. You did good." Riley offered him a shaky smile and leaned back taking deep breaths. She released her white knuckled fists from the wheel and shook them.

"That's the last one." Riley's eyes filled.

"I'll let Matty know." Bozer said. Sitting sideways in the front seat he shot Jack a panicked look as he pulled out his cell.

"All of the overpasses or bridges out to Phoenix are gone." Riley explained. Jack frowned. He glanced down at Mac. The blonde's breathing was shallow, faster, and rougher. Jack tapped his face. Mac didn't move. Jack reached down. The kid's pulse was fast and faint. Jack swallowed.

"Sorry, I fell asleep, kiddo." Jack wasn't sure if he was apologizing to Mac or Riley.

"There wasn't much you could do." Riley answered. She bit her lip and shook her head. She turned near-panicked eyes to Jack, "I got nothing else, Jack. There's nothing-"

"Hey, Matty? Big problem-"

"I see that Bozer," Jack didn't like the worry he heard in Matty's voice. It was usually the tone she used when she told Jack he and Mac were on their own. Jack leaned forward. He couldn't see the other side of the sinkhole. He absently rubbed Mac's back. He couldn't think of anything either.

"What are we going to do?" Bozer asked, his voice going up an octave with panic.

"Hold on a sec…"

"Hold on!? Matty, I don't think you-" Jack began his frustration and anger at their situation bleeding out as anger.

"Shut it, Jack." Matty snapped. They could hear muffled talking over the phone.

"Shu-!" Jack was on the way to exploding, when a new voice came over the phone.

"You people can't do anything without almost dying can you?" The trio shared a relieved ground at the calm, droll tones of Desi's voice.

"We want you to feel like you're needed." Jack said.

"Sure, Jack. Desi is willing to head your way in a Blackhawk."

"How is Mac?" Desi asked. Her voice kept the crisp professionalism, but Jack could hear a note of affection. Jack nodded and glanced down at his partner. He figured if anyone could get past the girl's walls, it would be Mac. Jack frowned. Normally.

"Not good. His fever is uber-high, his pulse is fast and weak and I can't wake him up." Jack bit his lip, forcing the panic to stay out of his voice. There was a long silence.

"Ok, I'm coming your way. I'll have Frank and Gillian with me, get ready for transport." Desi's voice held stones of determination that brooked no argument. Desi vs. a typhoon? Jack's money was on Desi, everytime.

"Well get on it, girl. We don't have all day." Jack growled. This time he couldn't stop the panic from slipping out.

"I'm on my way, old man. Hang in there, Sarge." Jack nodded as if the younger woman could see him.

"We'll keep the lights on." Jack said. Phoenix signed off, "OK, Riley-"

"Lights on, got it." She turned on the high beams, the flashers and flicked on everything else she could think of. The car's motor let out a painful squeal.

"I hope it doesn't blow up." Bozer said nervously. Jack eased back from Mac and leaned him back with his head angled to open his airway.

"At least not for another ten minutes or so." Jack said absently. He didn't see the nasty look Bozer shot his way. Riley glanced at the dashboard.

"It's a contest between blown motor or running out of gas."

"Keep an eye out for the chopper, take the flashlights and whatever else we got to flag it down!" Jack's voice was harsher than he intended. He forced himself to take a deep breath, "Please."

"Sure, Jack."

"No problem, we got this." Jack nodded but didn't turn from Mac. His back was pelted with rain as the two others stepped from the car. Jack flinched. He wondered if he'd ever feel warm or dry again. He fought a yawn. Or rested. He clicked on the light on the roof of the car. Jack rubbed moisture from his face. He knew these weren't raindrops. Mac looked much worse. His pallor had taken on a greenish blue color. Hypoxia bad enough to offset the red-skinned hot fever. So not good. Jack eased Mac up and pulled the blankets away from his chest. Jack wanted to punch something-himself mostly. Mac's chest bulged over the bullet site, the stitches almost pulled apart. Puss and blood leaked out, running steadily down to the floor. How had he missed that?

"Shit! Damn it, Mac. You aren't supposed to start bleeding again." Jack growled. He pulled the blanket to him and held a ball to Mac's side. He pressed hard. For a long time, Mac didn't react. Jack closed his eyes silently asking every spirit in the world- good, bad or ugly- to help them.

"Jack." The word was barely a breath of air. Jack grinned and leaned closer to his partner.

"Hey, kiddo." Mac's eyes fluttered and aimed in his general direction. Jack could tell Mac was barely aware of anything. He didn't dare take his hands away from applying pressure to Mac's side.

" 'mry." Mac breathed. Jack frowned.

"Sorry? For what?" Mac mumbled something Jack didn't understand. Mac's eyelids fluttered.

"Mac? Hey, hey...all is forgiven if you just stay with me, Ok?" Mac was so pale Jack could see the veins on his eyelids. Mac managed to crack his eyes open a tiny sliver.

" Mmk." He mouthed, his lips pursed as he worked harder to take in air. Jack looked around the car cussing. They didn't have any O2, they didn't have anything.

" 'ntr." Mac breathed. Jack frowned. That one he didn't get.

"What?" Jack watched Mac's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. Mac cried out and arched onto his side when the move caused a long run of coughing. Jack let go of Mac's side and gently lifted the kid. He slid in between Mac's back and the door. He then reached around and pressed against Mac's side. Mac gasped, his eyes opening more. Jack could feel the kid's wet grip dig into his arm.

"Easy, brother. Just keep breathing. The calvary is on the way. We just gotta wait for them."

" 'tntor." Mac gasped. Jack frowned. He winced at the deafening grinding. He smiled.

"Alternator? Is that what you're saying?" Mac leaned back with a long exhale. He managed a weak nod.

"It's ok, kiddo. We just need power for-" There was a loud pop. Black electrical smoke began to pour into the car.

"Shit!" Jack growled. He opened the door behind them and pulled Mac closer to him. They were both soaked in seconds, but free of the black cloud filling the car.

"What's going on?" Bozer came over. Jack thought that if he looked up the definition of a drowned rat, Bozer's face might just be there in the dictionary.

"I think we just toasted your alternator, sorry bud." Bozer shrugged.

"Not much we can do about it. We should have battery for another few minutes. I hope Desi has the pedal to the metal."

"Yeah, me too." Jack said shaking water away from his face, "Boze, help me pull him outside."

"Jack-"

"Yes! He'll choke on the smoke from that alternator." Bozer leaned in and lifted Mac's legs. They gently set Mac down on the wet concrete. Jack blinked stars out of his eyes as they adjusted to the blackness around them. Mac choked on water that went down his nose and throat. Jack lifted him to high sitting.

"Hold his side-" Jack said coughing. He used his body to block the water flowing down from above, but he couldn't do a damned thing about the sideways or splashing sheets of rain, "DAMMIT TO HELL!" Jack raged at the storm. Mac shook. If he could have set his brother down without drowning him, Jack would have taken his own jacket off and covered Mac with it. Jack shivered.

"Here, I got it." Riley said. Jack looked up in time to see a blanket flying at him. Jack closed his eyes and spit out the wool. He had too much water in his eyes to glare at the girl, "Sorry." Riley yelled over the loud storm. The blanket almost flew away. She grabbed one side; Bozer grabbed the other. Jack sighed in relief. Some of the rain was kept from flowing off his back. Jack grunted at pain in his back as he leaned further over Mac making a flimsy tent over the kid. Bozer tucked his side under Mac's thigh; Riley followed suit. Mac's head fell forward. His lips moved, but no one could hear him over the torrential rain. Jack grimaced as he moved to his knees. He pulled Mac closer trying to use his soggy body heat to warm the kid. Mac leaned his head back on Jack's shoulder.

"Well isn't this fun." Jack grumbled in his partner's ear.

"No kidding." Bozer mumbled. He and Riley leaned in close using their bodies to block more of the rain and sharing their body heat. Bozer pushed harder on Mac's side. Riley rubbed Mac's arms and put his hands against her stomach under her coat. She gasped at the chill.

"Any time, Desi." Growled Jack. They looked up at a change in light. No helicopter, but the lights were dimming on the car. Jack closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Of course." Riley hissed.

"I'm beginning to think this is Big Mac haunting us." Bozer said trying to lighten things. The others glared at him. Before Bozer could reply, he looked down. Jack followed his panicked look.

"Shit! More pressure, Boze." Jack cried. Blood soaked through the blanket and ran in watery rivulets over Bozer's hand.

"Son of a bitch, I'm gonna get me a fucking Ouija board, bring the mother fucker back, kill him again, then-" Jack ranted. The others stared at him. He trailed off smiling.

"Jack, you 'k?" Bozer asked shaking water out of his eyes. Jack shifted and looked up.

"Yes!" Riley said as she pointed. A minute later they could hear the thwap-thwap of the helicopter. Riley started waving, even though she doubted they could see her through the black night. She could see the helicopter's search light come closer.

The car let out a loud pop and the lights went out.

"Oh hell no." Riley growled. She pulled out her phone and turned on the flash.

"Riley, mine's in the front seat!" Bozer yelled. Riley ducked in and came out with both. She clambored to the roof of the car and waved the two phones madly. Jack closed his eyes. They burned with the cold rain. Please, please, please…

"It's coming!" Riley yelled. Bozer let out a whoop that made Jack jump. Mac mumbled in pain and broke off coughing.

"Uh, oops, sorry."

Jack didn't notice. The rain excoriated a layer of flesh as the helicopter came in for a swaying ragged landing. Jack turned away and held onto Mac tighter covering the kid's eyes with his hand. Bozer leaned over Mac's front.

Jack looked up in time to see the helicopter bounce then screech across the cement. The rotors bent under the wind.

"Let's move!" Jack sputtered. He grabbed Mac's top and Bozer eased down to get his legs. Riley led the way to the aircraft. Jack couldn't see through the wet air that beat down from the rotor wash. It almost knocked them over. Hands grabbed him and Mac and muscled them into the chopper. Jack's ears popped as the storm was abruptly cut off. Hands pulled at Mac. Jack automatically tightened his grip. His hands were so cold he wasn't sure he could let go anyway.

"Easy, Jack. We got it." Jack blinked and forced his fingers to release his partner.

"Hold on." Desi said loudly over the intercom. Jack coughed shaking. He fell to his knees. He should go and help the girl-

Another set of hands tugged off his jacket and pushed him back onto his ass. A stack of warmed blankets were twisted around him. Jack sank back exhausted. He had a glimpse of Bozer and Riley similarly wrapped up. Gillian, the red-headed medic, shot him a reassuring smile then went to help her partner Frank tend to Mac. Jack could only see a little of Mac's face past the oxygen mask. What he saw didn't look good. Jack told his body to get up and go to his kid, to comfort his brother. His body told him to fuck off. Jack closed his eyes and slumped back, out cold.

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Mac's eyes fluttered. They were too heavy, he thought. He decided to leave them shut. He was warm, but not on fire. Comfortable. Mac sighed. His body relaxed and stretched like a cat. He grimaced when he felt a sharp pain in his side. He frowned. He couldn't remember why he hurt. He wrinkled his nose. Nasal cannula. He hated it, but he didn't have the energy to do more than try to dislodge it by scrunching his nose up and twitching his upper lip.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mac smiled at the familiar voice.

"Ox'n." He murmured. He frowned at the pain that blossomed in his throat. His voice was a weak scratch at the back of his mouth. Jack laughed. Mac felt his warm, callused hand brushed his forehead. He didn't think he had a fever. Now. Didn't he have a fever? Not too long ago?

Mac turned his head and groaned as shards of memories came back through his skull howling like ghosts.

"Mac? You ok?" Mac raised his hand to his forehead. It got intercepted. Mac forced his eyes open and moaned at the pain that shot across his head.

"Headache." Mac said. He was pleased he could finally manage to make language.

"I bet." Mac blinked his partner's face into focus. He frowned. Jack looked pale, drawn. His nose and eyes were reddened.

"You 'k?" Mac asked. Jack smiled, and opened his mouth. He turned aside and sneezed. Jack grunted as he wiped his nose with a tissue. Mac raised an eyebrow, "You're sick?" Jack was never sick.

Jack rolled his eyes at the surprise and worry.

"It's what happens when you are stuck out in a friggin' typhoon, man. RIley and Boze are worse." Mac moved to sit up. He cried out and laid back down. Damn. Mac closed his eyes and took slow breaths waiting for the waves of pain to fade. He could hear Jack's congested voice but it seemed to drift far out into a black sea. Mac closed his eyes and sank back into sleep.

The next time Mac woke up, he jerked awake huffing in coarse breaths. His entire chest burned. He groaned. A hand gently brushed his hair back. It took a minute for Mac to realize it wasn't Jack's familiar touch. Alarm slammed into him. He gasped and looked around the room frantically.

"It's ok, Mac." Sally. Mac sank back. He tried to catch his breath. Had it all been a dream? Was Jack gone? Had he been here?

"Mac, slow down. You're ok. Jack is sleeping. The whole team is. Shhh. They didn't have a choice. They refused to leave so Matty and Doc Carl-"

"You drugged them." Mac whispered his eyes narrowed. Sally looked down guiltily.

"Well it wasn't just me...but yes, we did. They were exhausted and about to drop." Mac smiled weakly at the defensiveness in the head nurse's tone. She huffed and reached over to take his vitals.

"It's just as well. You needed rest too. You've been dreaming." Mac frowned and turned away. Shadows, feelings of abandonment, fear, anger-and images of...warped memories, and other...things drifted through his memory. He licked his lips. He could feel Sally watching him. Mac busied himself with raising the head of his bed.

"Can I get some water?" He asked his voice barely a whisper. Sally nodded and handed him a cup with a straw. Mac winced as the cold water filled his aching throat and mouth. He sucked the cup dry. The cold woke him up. He took in his surroundings. He was in a private room at Phoenix. A tree of empty IV bags hung beside him, the pump purring. He could make out several antibiotics, antifungal, and nutrient drips. Looking up at the monitor his vitals were good, his heart regular. Mac ran his hand along his apparent wound. His side had a thick dressing and an elastic bandage covered it and criss-crossed his chest. He looked down, surprised to see his leg in a walking cast. He vaguely remembered slipping along the side of a road, but he wasn't sure if that was a dream or not. He sank back and closed his eyes. Even that small movement exhausted him. He turned and took in a breath to ask-

"You've been here two weeks, and you aren't leaving for another two. Non-negotiable." Mac's teeth clicked and his eyes sparked with annoyance.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask." He didn't even convince himself.

"Ok, then what pray tell were you going to ask?"

"Water! Can I have more? Pleease?" Mac gave Sally the best puppy dog's he could manage. She laughed and brushed his hair back.

"You know I see right through you, right?" Mac amped up the puppy power. Sally poured another cup and pushed the bedside table closer. Mac unwound his hand from a tangle of wires and tubes and gratefully sipped from the straw. His hand shook no matter how much he tried to hide it. He slid it back when he again slurped out all of the water. He laid his hand across his abdomen and let out a sigh. He was tired. He opened his eyes when he felt Sally's breath on his face. He jumped startled to find her Mediterranean blue eyes an inch from his.

"Do not get out of that bed, got it!" Mac offered her a "who-me" look that was spoiled by the corners of his mouth quirking into a mischievous smile. Sally narrowed her eyes.

"Don't even think it, young man. Both of my eyes are staying on you until Jack is up and about again, got it?"

"Absolutely." Mac managed with a serious nod. Sally frowned suspiciously as she backed away. Mac kept his face open and innocent. Slowly she turned away.

"Hey Sally?" Sally turned back, her face calmer and concerned.

"Are they ok? Really?" Sally eased into a smile.

"Yes, I promise, kiddo." Mac nodded and yawned. He snuggled into his pillow. Sally dimmed the lights. She paused at the door.

"Remember, both eyes!" Mac chuckled as he drifted off.

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Mac actually slept until it was dark out. He opened his eyes, feeling a whole lot better. The floor was quiet with the slight murmur of the night routine. Mac smiled. Time for a walk-about, as Cage would have said. He held his side as he slid out of bed and wobbled to his feet. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply until the world stopped sloshing around him. He turned off the alarms and disconnected everything. He paused and decided to leave the IV and pulse ox attached. Mac was enough of a realist to know that when he finally got back to bed, he'd be hooked up to both again. He really didn't want to get poked again. Mac found his go bag in the closet. He sat on the toilet needing to pause often to catch his breath as he changed into clean sweats, an MIT shirt and hoodie. He slid a non skid socks over his left foot. He wiggled his toes. He'd forgotten to ask how bad his foot was, but from the stabbing pain Mac guessed a bone fracture. He frowned. That would limit his distance and speed.

Mac leaned forward and held his side as he coughed. He paused. Nobody came in. He could hear voices down at the nurse's station. It was the new orderly Hank, and a newer orderly Mac hadn't met yet. He had a vague impression of a tall thin woman with a Pakistani accent. Mac smiled. That made things easier. He mentally planned his trip to the stairs. He frowned. He was in the 5th lower level. He knew he didn't have the energy to go up the stairs, even to the 4th level to catch the elevator. That was his normal path. Mac chewed on his lip and sighed. He knew where he wanted- no needed to go. Bonus, it was down a level.

Mac gathered himself and limped from his room. He kept to the shadows and made it to the stairs without drawing attention. He paused holding onto the railing. The stairs below him seemed to wobble like a hanging bridge. He closed his eyes and slowly edged one step at a time down the split stairs. He paused to catch his breath.

Mac stiffened his back and pushed himself forward before he chickened out. The administrative floor had thick red carpeting. It muffled the slight noise his boot made, but made it more tiring to walk down the long dimly hit hall. He paused outside the office. Oversight was all the gold letters said. How many times had he walked past the simple door without suspecting his father worked behind it?

Instead of the familiar bitterness, he felt a canyon of sadness open inside. Mac was surprised to find the door open. He was relieved. It saved him a trip back to the secretary's desk for a paperclip. He slid into the office and clicked on the light. He shut the door gently behind him. Mac leaned against the door and breathed in the silence. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but the silence was companionable. Mac snorted. Figures it would feel homey after his father was dead.

Mac walked slowly across the office his hand absently brushing the shelves of half-made projects and stacks of papers. It looked like a bomb exploded, but Mac knew it was his father's way of sorting things following a logic only he understood. Mac was an interloper. He almost turned to leave when he spotted two small boxes on James' otherwise empty desk. After the general mess of the room, the bare desk was jarring. Mac swallowed. His eyes burned. He limped to the desk and sat down. He smiled as he opened the small box on top of the other larger box. His dad's wood toned swiss army knife. Mac ran his fingers over it. It felt warm, smooth under his fingers. Mac swallowed a knot in his throat. He set it aside and studied the box. It was the size of a fat coffee table book. He carefully unwrapped it. It had the same brown and spotted paper as the gift Matty had put under his tree the Christmas he was looking for his dad. The Christmas Cage had been attacked. Mac frowned at the bad memory.

He absently folded the paper into a sunflower as he stared at the plain brown box. He wasn't sure he wanted to open it. What the hell could his father ever give him to make up for- Mac shook his head. It didn't matter much anymore did it? Mac let the familiar pain and tension go. His hands shook as he slowly opened the box. A book? Mac pulled it out and stared at it his gut churning.

Mac hadn't seen it since his mother died. He licked his lips and opened the cover. Pictures of his parents as children, their wedding. Mac sniffed as tears ran down his face. He slowly flipped through the pages. He recognized his mother's notes beside each picture. Baby pictures, an award he got in kindergarten for "citizenship." Suck up. His dad would later tease him when they sat beside each other flipping through the photo album/ scrapbook. Mac's long fingers ran across the smooth plastic page cover. Do you have happy memories of your childhood? I don't. Mac rubbed his damp nose. He remembered telling Cage that in Nigeria. As he studied each tiny window into the past, he realized that wasn't true-not anymore.

Between the trip home, and this...this treasure, Mac felt some gaping emptiness inside his core fill. Riley said he'd be free if he faced his ghosts. Damn if his big sis wasn't right. Mac smiled. He wondered if he could get a photo of the family he has now. If there was room...Mac flipped to the back of the book. There were quite a few empty pages. When you grow up, you'll have your own family to add. He remembered his mother's voice as he sat curled up in her lap. She pointed out everyone in each picture, explained the background to the tiny moment held frozen at their fingertips. He heard the whispers in the silent room as he slowly flipped through the pages. He laughed at the sillier pictures of his mom and dad.

A sad pang filled his gut. The pages blurred with his tears. God he missed her. He never forgot her, but she had faded into the background of his life. Mac had forgotten how pretty she was, how much she smiled, how much alike they looked. An anvil sank in Mac's heart. You reminded me so much of her and I was so full of anger! So this is my fault. Mac still didn't understand why his dad left. Mac sighed. He probably never would. It still hurt. It always would, but Mac felt like he could finally breathe around the pain.

Mac expected the album to end with his mother's obituary and an article about the Halloween car crash, but it didn't. Mac was surprised to see pictures of him, Bozer, school graduation, him moving into the dorms at MIT. Mac snorted. Surveillance photos, of course. Mac wondered if his dad took them, or if he had someone at Phoenix-or DXS or whatever it was called before that-do it. Mac had an image of Matty watching them, filming him. The idea of Matty watching him grow up was oddly comforting, and a little creepy. Mac sniffed at pictures of him at EOD school. Mac closed his eyes and turned away from official reports of Peña's death. Jack's service record. Mac raised his eyebrows. Even with more than half of it redacted, his partner had been through the wars long before they met.

Mac ducked his head into his palm. God. Jack. Mac had a lot of apologies he had to give to his brother. He'd been so cold to him. Mac's lip trembled at the echo of the broken terrors and horrors that he'd floated through the past-weeks? Always Jack stayed with him. For the billionth to the billionth power time, Mac realized how lucky he was to have Jack-and Bozer, and Riley, and Matty. Mac squinted his eyes, but the tears leaked past. He stifled a sob. He didn't deserve any of them. Especially after being such a complete assho-

The door burst open. Mac jumped back his pounding heart blurring the room a shade. Jack skidded to a stop and let out a loud theatrical huff.

"There you are! Jeez! You scared the hell out of me, bud!" Jack caught his breath and lifted a radio he held in his hand.

"Alpha one here, I found our lost puppy." Mac snorted with pretend sourness. Jack studied him, "No, he's ok. I'll bring him up in a little bit...Yes, Sally! YES, Sally, I heard you. SALLY! Fine, I am getting off now. You can yell at him yourself." Jack clicked off the radio and tugged the ear bud out of his ear.

"She is seriously pissed at you right now, dude." Mac nodded. What else is new? Jack came closer and sat in the chair across the desk. He leaned back and put his boot up on the desk. He yawned.

"I thought you were sleeping." Mac said with a raised eyebrow. Jack narrowed his eyes.

"All night long." Mac's eyes widened.

"What? What time is it?" Jack gave him an odd look. He slid his foot to the ground and leaned on the desk.

"Past breakfast, how long have you been down here?" Mac rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm not sure. Hank and the new girl was on-"

"Mac! That was over 9 hours ago!"

"Really?" Mac stretched his back and fought a yawn. Jack waved a hand at the photo album.

"What's all this?" Mac felt a fresh dribble of tears down his face. He explained about the photo album.

"Really? That's awesome, let me see." Jack slid his chair around the desk and sat beside Mac as Mac leaned forward and flipped back to the beginning. Both men lost track of time as Mac told his partner all of the stories his mother had told him. By the time they flipped the back lid shut, Mac was barely awake. He leaned his head on Jack's shoulder.

"Jack...I'm sorry for how I've been since you got back...I am so glad you're home." Jack grinned and pulled Mac into a side hug.

"Me too, brother. Now how about we get you upstairs before a certain red-headed nurse hits the roof and comes after our blood." Mac smiled and nodded. His eyes were heavy.

" 'kay." He managed. Jack cupped his cheek.

"Mac, I'm glad you're finally home too." Mac hummed, but was already asleep. Jack leaned over and carefully put the photo album back into the box. Well, it wasn't exactly the memorial service he'd planned, but it worked. Jack rolled his eyes and called for transport to bring Mac back to medical. He could hear Matty and the others ranting in the background.

"I'd stay asleep, if I were you, brother. The fams a bit peeved." Mac hummed. Jack chuckled. He put his forehead against Mac's.

"I love ya, buddy." Mac hummed agreement. Jack felt a load of stress fall off his shoulders. Everything was right in the world, at least for now. He closed his eyes and yawned. If they didn't get down there soon, they'd be bringing two sleeping agents back to the floor. Jack fell asleep before he could think of why that would be a bad thing.

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Ok, everybody at once AWWWWW! Lol. It's finally done, yay. I have to tell you, if you hadn't asked for it, I would have killed this one about halfway through. I think it came out pretty good so well done, people. I should know you guys are always right by now. I expect to finish Color of Blood soon. Then I'm thinking it's Bits 'n bobs season three time, and I have a story set in the AU time after this story called Red House in mind. Thanks to all of you that read and commented, you guys keep me going. I am horrible insecure. When I don't hear from you, I figure the story has taken a way wrong direction, so please keep leaving comments. Anyway, thank you all. You are the best! Let's keep Mac alive!-Pox.