A/N: I know, I know, I always end up having these two talk in my fics, but what can I say? I love to hear their voices talk in my head and sometimes I have to let those voices loose.

(That sounded a bit weird, ooops 😬).

The thing is, I started on my 4th cold open challenge story last night and after some 1k words I stopped. Then I picked a random episode for rewatch. 3x10. And when I saw Mac hit the bad guy and shake his hand, my brain went "what if...?" and here we have a post op patch on the plane. I swear this one was supposed to be short.

Hope you enjoy.

Mac's hand was hurting. They were on the plane, heading back home. Riley, Bozer and Leanna were huddled in one corner, covered with blankets and dozing off. They had a tiring few days and Mac couldn't say he blamed them for it. Matty stayed in Cyprus, telling them that she had to smooth out the mess the S-Company made. Mac offered to stay with her, Jack as well, but she told them she was okay by herself.

Mac usually slept on their ride back home, but for some reason he couldn't do it now. He was too wired to try and his hand was hurting like hell. It was easier to turn it off when he had to fight the bad guys, but once they were on their way home and the adrenaline wore off, it started hurting and hadn't stopped since.

Jack was quietly observing him in the seat across. Awfully quiet for someone that rambled his way through every tough situation. Mac didn't know if that was a sign Jack was hurt worse than just a few bruises or if he was getting ready for a rant. Or maybe he was just worried.

No matter how many times Mac told him not to, Jack always worried about him. It was a bit hypocritical since Mac was worrying about Jack as well. No matter what, they were always each other's first priority.

Mac sighed and looked up. He was met with Jack's warm brown eyes and the little frown he had whenever Mac was injured.

"You good?"

And that's how Mac knew that if he downplayed the injury or told Jack he was fine, there would be indeed a rant happening. Instead he looked down in his lap where he had carefully tugged his hand and hadn't moved it for a while.

It was embarrassing, really. He had been hurt worse than this countless times, but he really felt this one. Tears of frustration pricked at his eyes as he carefully maneuvered his hand and placed it on the small table for Jack to see.

Mac was still looking down when he felt Jack's gentle touch inspect his hand.

Jack whistled as he got his first look and Mac looked up. Mac could see an array of emotions passing on Jack's face. Mac hated to see Jack beat himself up for something he had no control over. But if it made Jack feel better, he could let Jack do something for him.

"You know where the med kit is."

"I don't want to hurt you further, hoss."

"You won't."

"You sound confident."

"I know you'd never hurt me deliberately, Jack. It's just some bruises and scraped knuckles."

"That somehow hurt you enough that you yield and let me patch you up."

"I always let you do it. You know how much I hate going to Medical if it's something we can fix."

"Somehow I think you should do it now, too. I'll patch you up, no problem. Nothing I haven't done before, but still. Just to err on the safe side."

Mac groaned. He knew a rant was coming, but he hoped it wouldn't involve Medical.

"Don't look at me like that. Pouting and puppy eyes won't get you out of this."

Mac spluttered.

"Just get it done, Jack. I'll go to Medical if that makes you happy."

Jack moved reluctantly to get their well stocked medical kit. He opened it and got the supplies he needed out.

"It's for your own good, hoss. These hands have saved me more times than I can count. I just want them to heal properly."

Mac could feel his cheeks heat up. He had to admit Jack was right. And Mac himself knew he wouldn't take it well if one of his hands ended up hurt beyond repair.

Some things you don't think about in the heat of the moment.

Jack's touch was so gentle Mac barely felt it as Jack worked on cleaning the area around the knuckles. Or maybe that was because his hand was swollen and bruised, and the pain prevented the comfort to seep through.

Mac hissed as Jack ran the alcohol wipe over a particular bad tear of skin. Jack kept a steady stream of soothing words as he finally cleaned the cuts and gently rubbed betadine in the wounds. The iodine was making Mac's eyes fill with tears, the sting almost unbearable; but Mac knew he would thank Jack later for going for the betadine than the regular cream they usually used on scrapes.

Jack once told him a story about how Mama Dalton cured all the scrapes her kids got with cleaning the wounds with hydrogen, and then pouring betadine and after she left it air dry a bit, she'd wrap them with bandaids or bandages and they moved on with things like the scrape never happened.

Mac smiled at the memory as Jack's callused hand was gently rubbing at his palm while they waited for the betadine to do its thing.

"You know, you should not blame yourself for what happened back there."

Mac looked at Jack questioningly, wondering what Jack was talking about.

"About what?"

"You saved an innocent woman's life by choosing her instead of Ethan. And I know for a fact Matty meant to say this to you, she just has a lot on her plate right now."

Mac stayed quiet, mulling over what Jack said.

"I could have-"

"Let me stop you right there. You were under pressure, I get it. And initially, you completed your assignment. You got Ethan out. Him saving you by revealing himself after you told him to go? That's on him. Don't blame yourself for it."

"It just feels like I didn't do enough."

"If anything, I'm grateful for him saving your skinny ass. I should have been there, protecting my partner."

"I'm a grown man, Jack. I can do my job with you backing me up without actually being in the same room."

"That doesn't change the fact you almost ended up being Swiss cheese."

Mac had no way how to refute that. Jack was right. He almost got shot. But he saved that woman. And Ethan made a decision, so it wasn't on Mac to blame himself. Still, Mac felt like he failed Matty somehow.

The ripping sound of Jack tearing through the band-aid wrap brought Mac back out of his musings. He put it over the worst of the torn skin and then proceeded to wrap it with the bandage roll. Once he was done with wrapping Mac's hand, Jack took it in both of his and it felt like he was gearing up for something.

"What's really bothering you, hoss?"

Mac snorted. Leave it to Jack to figure it out.

"I was wondering. About Matty and Ethan. I mean it's not like our situations are similar… I just, I can't help but think that she was… How did she handle it? Him being gone for so long."

Mac couldn't stop the sorrow from his words, and he was sure Jack heard it, too.

"We are human after all, Mac. And everyone processes things differently. I know that your old man not being around has left you wondering, and even after he's come back, you have more questions than answers."

"Putting it out mildly."

"But Matty is tough. I'm sure that she'll find a way to adjust. I'm not saying she should let it go, but whatever her next steps are, we'll be there to help her. She is not alone."

"Agreed. She is not."

"Both James and Ethan made a choice. Nothing we can do about it now, bud. But working on it, coming to terms, that we can do.

"I'm not saying you should let it go. But you have me to help you deal with it. It's okay if you don't have all the variables to find a dilution.

"You are strong, too, Mac. And about what happened earlier. You are important. You should not think about anything else. You are worth saving."

"Jack."

"No. I know that you know that. But it seems to me like you forget about that sometimes. And I'm here to remind you. You are important."

Mac smiled. Jack always knew what to say to bring him out of his head.

Just like that Jack cleared his throat and let go of Mac's hand. Mac almost whined at the loss of comfort Jack's hands offered, but refrained himself from doing so. He was a grown man. It wasn't like he needed it. He could live without it.

Mac growled under his breath. Who was he kidding? Jack and his touch made everything better.

"Now, you should rest up a bit. I'll get you a blanket."

"I am perfectly capable of getting one myself."

"I know you are. I wanna do it."

Mac rolled his eyes playfully, but let Jack do his thing, recognizing the need to occupy himself with something in Jack. His need to fix things, make them better.

Few minutes later Jack brought the blanket and proceeded to tuck it around Mac. Mac gave up on feeling like he didn't need the comfort. He found he was too tired to argue as well, so he let Jack fuss over him.

One of Jack's hands sneaked through Mac's hair and Mac would have squeaked if the hand wasn't offering comfort. Mac moved towards the soothing touch, his eyes getting heavier by the minute.

"Go to sleep, don't fight it."

"Mmm. Stay?"

"Of course, kid."

Mac let Jack's fingers run through his hair to lull him into sleep. Jack was always there when Mac needed him. He would be too when Mac woke up.

Always.

A/N: Main ingredient in betadine is iodine. It's been used for scrapes and cuts in my family ever since I know about myself. It stings a lot, but it's effective. And hydrogen solution is used to irrigate the scrape/cut. And of course, clean hands when you deal with the wound. In case you were wondering where that came from.

Thoughts?