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It's late on a Saturday night, and Mac has just dozed off on the couch when the doorbell rings. He sits up, for a moment confused, but then it rings again. Frowning, he gets up and pads into the hall, grabbing a baseball bat as he goes. Jack would be proud.
The man Mac can see through the peephole is vaguely familiar, so he opens the door: “Yes?”
“Angus MacGyver? I'm Steve McGarrett. This is my partner, Danny Williams.”
Mac blinks, looking from Williams to McGarrett: “Jack's friend from the Navy SEALs?”
“Yeah. You got a minute?”
Wordlessly, Mac steps back to make way; both men are carrying duffel bags with airport tags. If they've just come all the way from Hawaii, Mac should at least invite them in.
“Sorry to ambush you like this,” Steve says once they're inside. “It was easier than explaining it on the phone.”
At that, Williams purses his lips as though he'd like to disagree, but he remains silent.
Mac leads the way to the kitchen and offers them something to drink; once they're all settled around the kitchen island, McGarrett clears his throat: “I understand that the Phoenix Foundation effectively shut down a terrorist cell within Interpol last month. Three weeks ago, to be precise.”
Mac feels a knot in his stomach. Has it only been three weeks? It feels like he's been missing Jack longer.
“Yes,” he says cautiously. “Thanks to Jack.” And there it is, the familiar pang that always makes itself known when he says his friend's name.
McGarrett nods, but instead of offering his condolences, he exchanges a glance with Williams: “We understand he was officially KIA.”
Something about the way he said it makes Mac sit up a little straighter: “Yes,” he replies slowly. “He was.”
McGarrett hesitates for a moment before he speaks: “We... have reason to believe otherwise.”
For a moment, it is dead silent. Mac's heart is hammering in his chest: “What?”
“We have a friend who's former MI6,” Williams now says. “He knows Dalton- Jack- too, and he thinks he was contacted by him recently.”
“He thinks?” Mac repeats. “He isn't sure?”
“The line wasn't secure, and the message was coded. According to Harry, the only possible person using that code could be Jack.”
“And when was this?”
“On the 21st.”
Mac's mind is reeling. “We buried him on the 19th,” he says with an effort, unaware how brittle his voice sounds, but then, Jack's funeral was one of the most difficult things he ever had to do, starting with getting up on that particular morning after a sleepless night and ending with a sense of bottomless dread and another sleepless night.
Coming to think of it, they never saw Jack's body though. Mac frowns.
“There's more,” McGarrett says gently after a moment. “It seems that Kovac's network was bigger than initially assumed. The terrorist cell your people shut down wasn't the only one.”
Mac narrows his eyes. “And you think Jack knew this and... what. Faked his death?”
McGarrett inclines his head: “Our friend Harry seems to think so. The message he received gave him names of people that are now under investigation. People who came out of their holes after “Kovac” himself, Agent Vitez and her associates, was out of the picture. The problem is that we don't know how widespread exactly that network is and who can still be trusted. Meaning your friend Jack, if he really is alive, needs help to get out of the country now that he's provided such valuable intel, and not only because he's officially dead.”
Breathing hard, Mac gets to his feet: “And this Harry person thinks he knows where he might be.”
“Well,” Williams says slowly, “not exactly. But he's confident he'll find him.”
“Why only now, if he got that message more than two weeks ago?”
“Harry's no longer active. It took a while to reach him.”
Mac looks from him to McGarrett: “And you've come all the way from Hawaii to save someone who might not even be alive after all?”
McGarrett shrugs: “Harry seems pretty sure, and he's a damn competent agent. He asked me to help out, and since Dalton's a good guy...” He says it as though it's about playing football in the park, not risking his life for another person.
“And I'm just here to keep an eye on him,” Williams supplies, smiling for the first time and nodding towards McGarrett, who rolls his eyes.
Mac thinks of Jack and what he'd done. He's trembling with the implications of Jack being alive against all odds, and of course, if there's even the slightest chance that this might be true, he wants to go and get him.
“So what's your plan?” he asks.
“We'll meet Harry in Vienna, he's got a plane and weapons. From there on out, we'll improvise.” McGarrett shrugs again.
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Mac considers this: “When would we leave?”
“In an hour.”
“Okay. I'll come with you, under one condition.”
“Which is?”
“We've got to take one other person with us.”
“I don't know if that's-” Steve begins, but Mac shakes his head: “Trust me. We might need her.”
“Okay.” McGarrett exchanges another glance with Williams, who shrugs. “Call her, then.”
Riley sounds as though she's already been asleep, but when Mac tells her, brief and without any details, that he needs her and that she should bring her rig and a go-bag, she's wide awake again.
“What's this about?” she asks.
And Mac, knowing to always be cautious, feels almost giddy as he answers: “Yippee-ki-yay.”
The plane they're flying to Europe in is also a private charter machine.
“These people really have got good connections,” Mac mutters, but Riley doesn't respond to that. She's frowning and worrying her lower lip: “You really think there's a chance Jack might still be alive?” she asks in an undertone, and her voice almost gives out at the end. This past month has been damn hard. If it turns out that this Harry person is wrong, it'll be just like losing Jack all over again.
“We never...” Mac pauses. “We never saw him.” His tone is apologetic. “And he's had some time in that building, if he managed to rescue all those people. Maybe he found a good hiding spot...” He breaks off. It sounds too unlikely. On the other hand: Jack's a damn good actor, considering how convincing he faked his death when Griggs made them choose who got to live. Granted, that one was with props, but maybe Jack had indeed had enough time to come up with a plan...
“Let's hope so,” Riley just says. “But... wouldn't he have tried to contact us first? I mean... he'd know what we're going through...”
Mac takes a deep breath. He's been pondering this as well.
“Maybe he tried and it didn't work.” Like that phone call, a week before he allegedly died.
“Three weeks.” Riley takes a deep breath. “That's a long time if you're on your own.”
Nodding, Mac briefly closes his eyes: “This is Jack we're talking about,” he then says with more confidence than he feels. “He can look after himself.”
Riley considers this, then she nods, glancing at Williams and McGarrett, who currently seem to be arguing. “These are the guys from Five-0, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, at least they're trained operatives as well.” She shakes her head: “I'm not sure about not taking our team with us, Mac.”
Mac regards her: he's thought about it, but somehow, this doesn't seem to be about the others. The possibility that they'll be proven wrong is still a very likely option as well, therefore this seems the safer choice.
“Last time we were in Croatia, Interpol knew about our arrival,” he just says softly, at which Riley nods. The last thing they want is anyone's attention, after all.
The flight is long, and just as on their way back home from Zagreb, time seems to be standing still. Too much opportunity to think, therefore Mac is almost glad when McGarrett sits down opposite him at one point: “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Mac shrugs. “Just...mulling things over.”
“You know, Kono and Chin were very impressed by your skills.”
It seems a lifetime ago.
Mac averts his gaze: “Thanks. We worked well together.”
“So they said.” McGarrett smiles. “Call me Steve, by the way.”
Mac inclines his head: “Mac.”
Riley, who has been dozing, sits up and stretches: “Riley, if we're on introductions,” she says drowsily, and Steve's smile deepens: “You're Jack's daughter, right?”
Riley pauses, then her expression softens: “Kinda,” she says softly. “Yeah.”
“He talked about you a lot.”
For a moment, Riley looks almost pained: “I miss him,” she then says unexpectedly. “I really hope we're not gonna be disappointed.”
Now Williams joins them as well, nudging Steve's legs aside to sit down: “Danny. And if it's any consolation, this isn't the craziest thing we've ever done. Not by a long shot.”
He directs a very pointed look at Steve, who manages to look supremely innocent: “You got home every time, didn't you?”
Danny grumbles something unintelligible under his breath.
“Still,” Riley now mutters. “Losing him was hard.”
Everyone falls silent.
“Sorry,” Riley looks at the others. “I didn't mean to dampen the mood.”
Danny shrugs: “No need to explain,” he says carefully. “We've actually been there, both of us.” He takes a deep breath: “We once flew to Colombia to bail out my brother from a drug lord. Only... we were too late.” He pauses. “We took him home in an oil drum.”
Riley gasps: “That's awful,” she mutters.
Danny nods, looking at Steve, and there's some kind of non-verbal communication going on between them. In fact, Steve is surprised that Danny's talking about the matter so candidly; he hasn't mentioned his brother in years. Then again, they've been through a lot in the meantime, and these kids obviously have too. They all seem to be on the same page.
Steve could tell them about his mom, how she faked her death all those years ago, and how he has lost her for real in the meantime. But that's not something he'll ever be ready to share so easily.
“Well,” Steve therefore says softly, breaking the silence. “None of us got a second chance like this. So we both hope Harry's right, not only for Jack's sake.”
Riley and Mac exchange a look: “Thanks,” Riley then replies. “We really appreciate this.”
Harry Langford exudes the exact air of elegant understatement that wouldn't be amiss in a British spy movie. He actually reminds Mac and Riley of Russ a little, not only because of his accent. After they've introduced themselves and boarded the plane, which Langford flies himself, he tells them all he knows via the board comm.
Riley is already trying to find the source of the message Harry received, but that burner phone is a dead end.
“So basically, we don't have any leads,” Danny says.
“We might have one,” Harry says over the comm. “The compound in which Kovac allegedly blew himself up served as a weapons depot. We assumed all the goods were destroyed in the blast, and once the authorities were done processing the site, the place was abandoned. For some reason, there's been renewed activity in the area recently.”
“What kind of activity?”
“Armed mercenaries are guarding the property. They're purportedly working for another one of those low-lifes, we're still not clear on who's behind it. Whoever it is though seems to want whatever they still assume to be in that building.”
“But it's been destroyed.”
“Yes, and we don't have any blueprints of the floor plan. Maybe there's a basement or something else that's been overlooked.”
Riley and Mac regard one another, both thinking the same: it's the same compound in which Jack allegedly died. What if he is hiding in there?
“Would that even be possible?” Riley asks. Both of them think of rubble and dust, burst pipes and power lines, darkness, unstable ceilings and thirst, and not even Mac's got an answer for this.
“I don't know,” he eventually says, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “If I was him though... I'd probably choose that place as a hiding place if I didn't have any other options.”
“Does he have any other options though?” Riley asks doubtfully. “He can't go back to that safe house, as that's been made.”
“Probably holds true for pretty much all of the safe locations he'd otherwise go to,” Mac says. “Zagreb wouldn't be safe at all, with Interpol being compromised.”
“Maybe he made it over the border somehow. Maybe he's not even in the country any more.” Riley bites her lip.
Mac shakes his head: “No. He'd stick with the op until it's finished. He's got to be in Croatia.”
“So... the compound then?”
“Yeah. You know why?” The corners of Mac's mouth quirk up.
Riley sighs: “Cairo?”
“Exactly.”
“What's Cairo?” Danny asks.
Shaking her head, Riley almost smiles: “A mirage,” she says softly.
Danny blinks: “I still don't get it.”
“It's a long story,” Mac says, still looking at Riley. “There was this mission in Cairo which went wrong. Jack and I almost didn't make it out, and we only did because we hid in a sarcophagus for six hours. Almost suffocated. Anyway- that sarcophagus used to be hidden behind a fake wall in a pyramid.”
“So you're saying...?”
“He's hiding in the ruins,” Mac says slowly. “Because it looks as though they're empty.”
“Yeah well, since they apparently aren't,” Steve now says, “we better get a move on. How long till we land, Harry?”
“About two hours.”
Riley's frown mirrors Mac's own concern: hopefully, they won't be too late. It'd be just too cruel if Jack was alive all this time and then... Mac forbids himself to think this thought to its end. Jack'll be fine. He has to be.
Mac's spine is tingling because they're referring to Jack in the present tense again; he doesn't dare to imagine having to revert to the past tense once more.
It takes them another three hours to get there, and it's already getting dark. The compound is in the middle of a densely wooded area; the destroyed industrial building apparently used to belong to a wood processing company, and it looks like nothing but a heap of rubble now. On closer inspection, a few solitary walls are still standing, and on the far side, there is what appears to be a basement; a set of concrete stairs leads down into the darkness.
Riley is using thermal scanners to search for heat signatures.
“I'm counting six people,” she says. “Take a look.”
The others gather around her rig.
“Okay.” McGarrett, Harry and Danny have put on TAC vests and armed themselves in the meantime.
“Harry, Danny, you approach from the South. I'll secure the far side. Mac, Riley, you wait here. I'll let you know when we're done.”
Everyone nods.
“Careful,” Steve says as they spread out. “There may be landmines.”
“Thank you kindly for pointing that out,” Danny grumbles.
Riley and Mac watch on the thermal scanner as the three take out the guards, one by one. They don't hear anything, which is impressive. It's also quick. No five minutes later, Steve signals them that it's safe.
Mac is the first one to move. It's so dark now that they need to use flashlights.
While Harry and Danny are still busy securing the men they just knocked out, Steve, Mac and Riley are searching what's left of the building and take a closer look at that stairwell, but it's filled with rubble. Riley didn't get any other heat signatures either, which isn't boding well.
Once they've made the rounds twice, Steve shakes his head: “I don't know... maybe we were wrong about that mirage thing.”
Mac shakes his head: “No. These are tons of concrete, maybe that's why we're not getting anything.”
“Maybe you could try and boost my scanner,” Riley says. Mac however is already moving, taking up a piece of steel bar: “Or we'll do it the old-fashioned way.” He starts to bang the bar against the mangled remains of a vent pipe, using morse code, repeating one thing over and over again: 7652 Longhorn.
After five minutes or so, Riley shakes her head, eyes brimming, but Mac doesn't stop.
He's still at it when Danny and Harry join them; they have searched the parameters by now, but they didn't find any other underground storage facilities or something similar.
“That brings on some unwelcome memories,” Danny says, motioning towards Mac.
Steve opens his mouth to answer, but then he stops himself, because he thought he's heard something just now.
Mac's heard it too. A faint sound, and then there it is again. An answer in morse code, and it says Basement. Door blocked up.
“Oh God.” Riley's hand flies to her mouth. “Has he been down there all this time?”
Mac doesn't heed her as he answers: We are getting you out. Hang in there.
“What now?” Harry asks. “How do we get down there?”
Mac frowns: “Since we can't get through the ceiling, the only chance we have is that door. I could set off a controlled blast to blow up the rubble and clear the stairway. I hope.”
“Isn't that too risky? What if it causes the ceiling to cave in?”
“Only chance we got,” Mac says tersely, which is betraying his own concern; he can't stop to think now, can't tell himself that if this goes wrong, he's the one who in the end killed Jack. He needs to function, so he just focuses on the task ahead. Without further comment, he sets off towards the mercenaries' ATVs; he needs the batteries of those vehicles.
“Where are you going?” Danny calls out after him.
“Improvising,” Mac shouts back.
Half an hour later, Mac takes up that pipe again: Get as far away from the door as you can. Cover your ears.
The answer comes promptly: Roger that.
It works. The blast pulverises the rubble and creates an opening that's big enough for a person to crawl through.
“Stop,” Steve says as Mac makes to move. “I'm going in first. We still don't know what to expect.”
Mac wants to argue, but that'd only mean wasting time, so he nods.
“I'm coming too,” Riley says.
“No, Riles,” Mac turns around to her. “The whole thing might be coming down on us-”
“And you think I wanna be left behind?” she asks, angry tears glistening in her eyes.
For a moment, they just stare at one another, then Mac sags: “No. Course not.”
It requires a bit of climbing to get down to the opening, and the air is full of dust. Once they're in the basement and past the rubble and most of the debris, Steve takes the lead, gun at the ready. Mac and Riley follow closely. It's dark, the air is stale and clammy. There are puddles of water on the floor and a lot of dirt.
They haven't gotten very far when they can hear a sound like the safety of a gun being released, and then there's a voice coming out of the darkness, hoarse but firm: “Stop right there and drop your weapons!”
Before Steve can reply anything, Mac whispers: “Jack?” He meant to shout, but he can't seem to get his voice under control.
He clears his throat, then he tries again, stronger this time: “Jack!”
Steve glances at him, then he points his light further into the room, and there, almost hidden behind a pillar, someone is standing.
Someone who now squints into the sudden brightness: “Mac?” they ask, voice brittle all of a sudden, and then Mac shouts again and runs, throwing all caution to the wind, and the figure emerges from behind the pillar and takes a hesitant step towards him, as though they don't trust their own eyes.
It's really Jack, and he looks terrible but very much alive.
“Mac?” he asks again, his voice small, and he's shaking, his eyes full of tears. Mac is crying even before he reaches him, and then he's hugging him, and Jack hugs him back, crying as well, and all of the horrible, painful last weeks disappear for a moment. There's another shout, and then Riley's there, and they just hold on to one another for a long time, unwilling to let go again so soon.
It's Steve who eventually urges them to get a move on, so they do let go and make their way out, helping each other to climb up the rubble, all three of them shaking. Afterwards, it's all a blur, and Mac later doesn't even remember how they got into the car. Meanwhile, Harry's associates have arrived to take care of the mercenaries and the weapons, so they don't have to stay and wait any longer but can return to the airfield at once.
While Steve drives, Harry wants to know all about the remaining terrorists there is and whichever else information Jack can give him. He answers everything to his best ability, sitting between Riley and Mac who each hold one of his hands, which apparently all three of them need right now, Mac's jacket around him for warmth, and looking a bit dazed.
“I didn't think anyone'd come,” he eventually mutters, coughing a little.
“We thought you were dead,” Riley says quietly, her eyes flashing. “We thought we had lost you forever!”
“I know,” Jack's expression is pained. “And I'm so, so sorry, honey. I hated doing that to you, but it was the only thing I could think of... I'm so sorry.”
“It's okay,” she says quickly, because Jack's voice is thin and hoarse and sounds as exhausted as he appears, and he's been through a lot. “Now that we got you back.”
Mac doesn't say anything, he can't. He'd just cry again if he tried, so he just holds on to Jack and tries to comprehend that this is real, that they've got him back. Now all they've got to do is get him on the plane unnoticed and out of the country.
They'll talk later. But if there's one thing Mac does understand it's that Jack sounded genuinely contrite, and of course no one would fake their own death and take it lightly.
“Uh oh,” Danny says as they're approaching the airfield.
“Bugger,” Harry mutters between gritted teeth, because their plane is surrounded by a small fleet of black SUVs.
Steve stops and Harry turns to the Phoenix agents : “All of you, out. We'll deal with this.”
Not wasting any time, they get out of the car, trying to keep out of the spotlights that illuminate the plane's stand and the runway, ducking into the shadows of other parked planes' wings whenever possible as they follow the Landrover.
Someone gets out of one of the black SUVs and approaches the agents' car; a moment later, Steve, Danny and Harry all get out and the Landrover is being searched. Harry hands over some paper work and gets it back a moment later; then, the men get back into the SUV, and all four of them drive off.
Once they're out of sight, Mac, Jack and Riley run towards the plane.
“What was that?” Riley asks as they climb aboard.
“Sheer dumb luck,” Harry replies with a smirk and disappears in the cockpit.
On the plane, they can take their first good look at Jack since they left the compound. Even in the somewhat dim light, he looks haggard and exhausted, his skin's got an unhealthy colour and he moves as though something's hurting, limping slightly at that. He's dirty as well, and a lot thinner than before, and he squints into the light after having been in the dark for so long; his eyes are red-rimmed.
While Steve and Danny try to find something edible, Mac hands Jack his own go-bag: “Here. It's not exactly your size, but it's clean.”
“Thanks, hoss. Can I also use your toothbrush?”
“Go ahead.”
“Oooh, it's like Christmas!” Jack takes it and disappears in the small bathroom.
Riley and Mac look at each other, then they move simultaneously, hugging each other, both of them shaking with relief.
“We got water, some chips, nuts, biscuits and dried fruit,” Danny says, dropping a few bags on the table as they sit down. Steve puts a few bottles on the table and also takes a seat.
“This is a first,” he says, looking at Danny with an amused expression.
“Yeah,” Danny grins. “Didn't fire a single bullet. Are you very disappointed, babe?”
Steve looks at him: “You always make me sound like such a maniac!”
“Well, you are,” Danny says airily. “Throwing people into shark cages, hanging them from the roof by their ankles-”
“I did that once, Danno. Oh no, wait- twice. A really long time ago.”
“Still counts.”
“You're still gonna throw that in my face when we're old and grey, aren't you?”
“Probably. I reckon you'll still be a maniac even when you're old and grey...”
Mac and Riley both look up when Jack comes out of the bathroom; he's wearing one of Mac's sweaters, and it's a testimony of how much weight he lost that it's fitting him, and a pair of Mac's pants, which he had to roll up twice. He's cleaned himself up a bit and even shaved; somehow though, he still looks battered and rather tired.
With a relieved sigh, he sinks onto the couch.
“I don't know how you came to be here, but thank you so much, guys,” he says to Steve and Danny.
Steve smiles: “Harry knew that we knew each other, and Danny just wanted to make sure that I weren't gonna throw anyone into a shark cage.”
Danny purses his lips and folds his arms in front of his chest: “Trust me, that's a reasonable doubt.”
Steve grimaces at him, at which Danny grimaces back.
“Anyway,” Danny now says a little more sober. “We're just glad you're okay.”
Steve nods: “And the next time you come to Hawaii, drop by my place, okay?”
“I will, thanks, man.”
Mac now hands Jack a bottle of water and gives him a blanket; he's brimming with questions, but he can see that Jack is flagging, and his voice is terribly hoarse, probably from all the dust.
“You okay?” he therefore just asks quietly. “Anything we need to look at? Or do you want any pain killers?”
“No thanks, nothing urgent,” Jack says, giving him a small, grateful smile, his eyes roaming over Mac's face.
His smile is still the same, as is the warmth in his eyes. Mac reaches out to take his hand, squeezing it: “Okay. You get some rest, okay?”
“Sure will, hoss." He holds Mac back by his arm: "How did you find me at all?"
"We thought you might be hiding in the ruins of that compound. You know... like another mirage."
"Nah, that'd just have been stupid."
Jack covers himself with the blanket and is asleep only seconds later, unaware that Mac is smiling down on him.
Matty and Russ give Riley and Mac an earful, to say the least.
“... lucky that it didn't go wrong, otherwise we'd have some explaining to do!” Matty says, but there's less heat behind it than intended, because she too is of course over the moon about Jack's resurrection.
“Technically, Harry Langford-” Mac begins, but one look from the boss makes him shut up.
“Harry Langford,” Russ says disparagingly, muttering something about James Bond wannabes. Mac and Riley pointedly don't look at each other right then.
Once they're dismissed, Bozer and Desi descend upon them, wanting to know all the details. They're also a little miffed because they have been left out, but after Mac explained why, they are somewhat appeased.
"At least you had another spy with you," Bozer says, grinning broadly. "One with a license to kill."
Mac and Riley just roll their eyes.
Jack is meanwhile being treated in Medical, and as soon as they're allowed in, they go and visit him. It's a very sentimental reunion; in the end, everyone's got tears in their eyes, even Matty, who followed them some time later.
Jack has got to stay a few days while the aftermath of dehydration and malnutrition is being dealt with; other than that, he's got a few scrapes and minor injuries, the worst of it being a banged up knee that requires treatment and rest. Apart from that, his eyes are being very sensitive to any light right now; Doctor Sinderby is confident that this will resolve itself after a few days. Jack also sustained a few slight burns in the explosion, but those have healed in the meantime.
“I'm really, really sorry for letting you think I was dead,” Jack says, once they've all regained their composure. “I didn't know what else to do. People were suddenly turning left, right and center, I couldn't trust anyone.”
“I'm sorry I missed your calls,” Mac says softly. What he can't bring himself to ask is But why didn't you let us know afterwards? Why did you text Harry instead of us?
Jack however answers these unspoken questions of his own volition: “I meant to call you again, some time later, but then things kinda took a header, and I had to make a decision right there during that raid. Changed everything.” His eyes are hooded now; evidently, those aren't good memories.
“What happened?” Mac wants to know.
“I realized I was being set up, so I got the hostages out, then took a few precautions and ran down to the basement. I had seen that there was a storage room for liquid fuels, and that one had reinforced walls. So I thought, if one can survive a blast inside a sarcophagus, one can survive in such a room too.” He pauses. “I realize that a basement isn't the ideal place for getting buried by tons of rubble, but I really didn't have an alternative.”
Riley reaches for his hand and squeezes it.
Encouraged, Jack continues: “Luckily for me, the basement didn't cave in as I had expected, and since they used it for storage, there was some food. I also collected as much water from the burst pipes as I could, and there was some air coming in from somewhere.”
He shakes his head: “I thought I was being clever when I warned you about the double agents, I had no idea that there were so much more who were gonna pop up. I thought I'd just wait until Vitez and her cronies had been arrested and then would be able to return home. Just before that raid however, she unintentionally gave away a few other names though, not even noticing it, so I knew that the matter wouldn't be solved just because Kovac was out of the way. Feel kinda stupid I didn't see that earlier.”
“You were focused on your objective,” Desi says gently.
Jack regards her, then he nods: “Yeah. Still. Never hurts to be lookin' left and right. Anyway, after the blast, when I realized I was trapped, I didn't have many options and my phone was about to give out, so...I knew that Harry had at one point been working on the Kovac case too, so I contacted him. I didn't want to unnecessarily put you all in danger.”
This elicits a round of amused snorts: “We're spies, remember?” Matty says.
“Yes, and you didn't know either what scale you were up against. Harry had a much better idea because he'd already been investigating the Croatian crime scene. So he knew what those additional names meant.”
He looks at Mac: “I only managed to get the message to Harry out because I built a signal booster, like the one you made in Lima, remember?” He seems proud. “Really wouldn't have worked without that. Thanks, kiddo. I learned from the best.”
Mac smiles: “I always knew you had it in you.”
This elicits a round of laughter, but Riley's gaze is still serious.
“What did you mean in the car when you said you didn't think anyone was coming?” she asks softly.
Jack is silent for some time. “Well, the phone was dead... I was trapped in there... and nothing was happening. I kept count of the days, and when nothing had happened after two weeks, I figured the message probably hadn't gotten through, after all.”
“You thought you were gonna die down there.” Riley's voice is barely audible.
Jack's gaze is apologetic, but he doesn't deny it.
Wordlessly, Riley leans forward and hugs him, as tightly as she dares. Jack wraps his own arms around her and closes his eyes: “I'm so sorry, honey,” he mutters.
Riley wipes her eyes when she eventually lets go and sits up again: “Never do that again,” she says chokedly. “I can't lose you, Jack. None of us can.”
Jack's got eyes; he can see how drawn Riley and Mac in particular are looking right now; it's evident that the last weeks have left their marks on all of them though.
He looks from Riley to the others: “Are you very mad at me?”
“Jack,” Mac says quietly. “We're not mad at you. We were, at first. At least I was. Losing you was...” He can't say it, not even now. “But now we know why you did it and what happened, and that's understandable.”
“Really?” Jack sounds relieved.
The others nod.
Riley still has got tears in her eyes as she takes his hand again: “I was ready to murder that Vitez bitch,” she says. “If Mac hadn't held me back, I'd probably have strangled her.”
Jack looks touched, his own eyes brimming as well. “My darlin',” he whispers.
Riley smiles, wiping at her eyes: "So," she says in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Tell us more about Cairo."
Groaning, Jack exchanges a look with Mac: "Is that a thing now? We're really talking about it?"
Mac shrugs: "Cat's out of the bag, I'm afraid."
"Or should you say 'out of the sarcophagus'?" Bozer grins. "In any case, it's only half out of the bag. Like Schrödinger's cat."
"That's not what-" Mac begins, but Bozer shushes him: "We all know what I mean. Anyway, Jack- you were sayin'?"
They all stay with Jack that first day and night. Russ comes by to introduce himself and express his relief about this unexpected outcome, but he excuses himself again at one point, feeling as though he's intruding on something. It's alright though; someone's got to bring coffee and fresh pastries in the morning, after all.
Doctor Sinderby, who was going to say something about Dalton needing some rest in a stern tone, just looks at the five very determined agents and sighs: “Fine. If you don't keep him awake all night and don't get in the staff's way, you may stay.”
“As if that was debatable,” Bozer grumbles.
Jack doesn't rest easily. On the plane, he slept like a log, knocked out by his bone-deep exhaustion that had been further fuelled by adrenaline. Now however he jolts out of his sleep a few times, momentarily confused whenever he does, and Mac, who wouldn't dream of sleeping right now, calms him down every time just by gently pressing him back down and talking to him, just as Jack has done for him countless times.
“This real?” Jack asks at one point, trembling and not entirely awake, and it breaks Mac's heart.
“Yeah,” he replies, taking Jack's hand. “You're home, big guy. And we're not letting you go anywhere on your own ever again.”
“That's right,” Riley sleepily chimes in. “We'll even sit on you if we have to.”
Jack seems calmer now, and he soon dozes off again.
As Mac regards him, it's slowly starting to sink in. That Jack's back, and what he's been through. The past weeks were awful, but maybe even more so for Jack. He knew everyone thought he was dead, and he was actually expecting to die as well, alone in that cold, damp, dirty and dark hole, injured and helpless. Mac doesn't know how he did it, how he didn't give in to despair. He had his gun and access to other weapons, he could have ended it. He didn't though.
Lionheart, Mac thinks, gripping Jack's hand tighter without noticing it, grateful for his strength. He looks vulnerable in his sleep, and he is. He's got such a soft core, this guy. Good thing that he's tougher than one might expect if one knows him as well as Mac does.
Harry Langford gets in touch with Matty two days later: “We apprehended the remaining terrorists and their associates,” he says. “Interpol is being investigated right now. It means that Jack is safe.”
Upon hearing the news, Jack has tears in his eyes.
“It's really over,” he murmurs, reaching for Mac and pulling him down into a hug. He immediately wants to call his sister next, but Mac stops him: “You'll give her a heart attack,” he says. “Let me talk to her first.”
And really, that's the best option. When Jack subsequently takes the phone with a shaking hand, Mac tactfully leaves the room, wanting to give him some space.
In the hall, he runs into Riley, who's just come back: “I went to get some his favourite bagels,” she says, holding up the box. “Since the doctor said he's not allowed any greasy pizza for the foreseeable future.”
Mac smiles: “He's on the phone with his sister,” he says.
“Oh.” Riley understands. “Can you believe all this?” she then asks gleefully, and Mac hasn't seen her this happy in a long time. So he nods: “Starting to.”
He's already told Jack that he's going to move in with him, seeing as he doesn't have an apartment anymore anyway, and because anything else is unfeasible.
“During the past few years, I've realized one thing,” he said softly when they talked about it. “There is a lot of stuff I can live without. People I've had to let go.” He paused, and Jack nodded. Mac told him what happened during his absence, and he couldn't believe that his boy went through all of that without him.
Mac looked around the room, then he met Jack's gaze: “With you though, it's different. I couldn't let you go these past weeks, and I'm... so glad to have you back.” He cleared his throat. “Fact is I need you in my life. You're just gonna have to live with that.”
Jack regarded him, a soft, fond smile spreading on his face: “Aw, hoss,” he said in a low voice. “Course I'll move in with you. It's where all my DVDs are.”
When Jack is discharged a few days later, they're having a small Welcome Home party for him. With Riley's help, Mac has made up Bozer's old room and put Jack's stuff in it, at least whatever is still there. Riley even found a Telly Savalas poster online- not the same as the painting Jack had, but they put it up on the wall and think Jack'll like it.
During the party, Mac thinks of the last gathering in Jack's honor they had in this house, only a few weeks ago, and once more realizes how lucky they've been, all of them.
Once the others have left that night, Jack goes to unpack what little he's brought home from the hospital and Mac clears away bottles and snack bowls, then he goes to get something from his room and knocks on Jack's door, which is ajar. Jack is sitting on the bed and looking around the room, a pensive expression on his face and his eyes brimming a little.
“You okay?” Mac asks softly, at which Jack nods hurriedly: “Yeah, yeah.” He wipes his eyes. “I'm just real glad... I didn't think I'd make it out of there, you know? And I didn't realize... how much it'd affect y'all.”
Mac sits down next to him: “We're your family,” he says. “Of course it'd affect us all.”
Jack smiles, eyes still wet: “It's what kept me sane, you know?” he mutters. “All this time, away from you. The thought of you guys... made me miss you, but it also made me think positive. Gave me a goal, something I wanted to get back to.”
Mac takes a shuddering breath: “Yeah well... we missed you too. Do you have any idea how often I had to go play skee-ball with Riley?”
Jack laughs softly, wiping his eyes once more. “Lemme guess. She wiped the floor with you?”
“At first. I got better with time.”
For a moment, they are silent, then Mac hands Jack the box he's holding: “I thought you'd want this back.”
It's the box with the dog tags.
Jack slowly lets out a breath as he takes it: “Thank you,” he whispers, opening it and looking at its contents.
“So...,” Mac says, because he's been wanting to ask this for days now. “Who's actually lying next to your dad?”
Jack sighs: “Some henchman of Kovac's I killed when I freed those hostages. I put my TAC gear on him and some other stuff I had on my person-”
“Like that note you wrote to me?” Mac asks with a small smile.
“Yeah.” Jack smiles a little painedly. “Like that note. And then I put him in a strategic position so he'd be hit full force. See, I learned a thing or two from you. And I figured he wouldn't mind because he's already dead.” He shrugs: “I needed them to think it was me, after all.”
Mac nods. “We'll take care of that, then,” he says.
“Yeah.” Jack yawns. “Not today though. I think I'mma turn in.”
Mac gets to his feet: “You got everything you need?”
Nodding, Jack smiles, then he gets up too, reaching for Mac, and when the latter takes his hand, he pulls him close and wraps his arms around him, and Mac closes his eyes and returns the gesture, and just like in that basement in Croatia, they hold on to one another for a long time, needing the reassurance and just enjoying the other's closeness.
“I love you, hoss,” Jack mutters when they eventually let go.
Mac can't but smile at his best friend: “I love you too, Jack.”
#JackDaltonLives