Work Text:
Did it count as being at work early if he never left? Mac took a large sip of his coffee, grimaced at the taste and after a moment of deliberating the question decided that it counted. After all, he was at work and it was early.
He took another sip. The coffee tasted weird.
He frowned down at it, but stopped when the movement ratcheted up his already raging headache. He didn’t like headaches. Migraines were worse, though.
He blinked at the staticky, fuzzy mug in his hand. Huh. Maybe that’s why the coffee tasted off. He took another sip from the fuzzy mug to test his theory. It still tasted awful and he grimaced. That hadn’t been the brightest idea. Why had he done that? And where did he get strange coffee in a weird mug?
He looked up and tried to take in his surroundings, but they blurred and wavered. “Stop it!” he grumbled, but the room didn’t listen. Clenching his eyes shut for a moment didn’t help either. The room was still fuzzy. Like his cup. He took another sip and grimaced.
Now, where was he? Work. Right. He was at work.
His head ached and there was a high-pitched ringing in his ears. He moved his hand up to his ear, but bonked against the mug. His coffee. Right. Setting the mug down, he tried again, but even with the ear held shut the ringing remained. It was annoying.
He looked around himself. The room around him was familiar. He frowned, but stopped as his headache got worse. The gym. He was at the gym. At work. And he was sitting on the floor for some reason.
He tried to take a closer look around, but almost face-planted. Something weird was going on here. He was at work, at the gym. His head hurt. Where was Jack?
“Jack?” The room felt empty. Where was his partner? Why wasn’t he here? Jack was always there when Mac needed him. Maybe he didn’t know?
If that was the case, then Mac should probably tell him.
Moving with the swaying motion of the room he struggled to his knees and noticed his phone lying on the ground. Next to a mug of… tea? Someone had left on the floor. How inconsiderate. Someone might kick it over and spill all over the gym floor.
He moved to pick up both phone and mug at the same time and ended up spilling the tea himself. Oops. Bad decision that. But at least he had his phone. What had he wanted with that again? He turned to ask Jack, but his partner wasn’t there.
He sat back on his heels and stared dumbfounded into the empty space next to him. The room wavered as if a heat wave had invaded the building. That was bad. He should fix that. Heat waves didn’t belong inside. Maybe if he turned up the air conditioning? Or was that a bad decision as well?
His phone was in his hand and his knees were damp. He wanted Jack here. Jack would help him make good decisions.
He carefully unlocked the screen and opened the text app. His knees were damp and the damn ringing was only adding to his annoyance. He huffed. Best to just let Jack know what he was doing. Then he’d take care of…. Of what? Something with heat? Fix the heating unit? That didn’t seem right. But his head was pounding, so he decided figuring everything out could wait.
Typing in his text for Jack took an eternity and he was squinting badly by the time he hit send. Stupid phone. Why was it so tiny? Phones should have bigger screens. He should work on that in the lab.
Dropping his phone into the puddle on the ground, he fought into a somewhat upright position and staggered from the room.
—---------------------------------
Jack had been a light sleeper for as long as he could remember and his career path had only added to that. Everyone from friends to family to coworkers knew to only text him at night when it was important, because the soft chirp of the phone was certain to wake him up.
As such, when the telltale sound rang out in the otherwise quiet bedroom, he skipped from disgruntled annoyance straight into concerned vigilance.
A quick sidelong glance at the bedside clock revealed the time to be somewhere around 3:30 a.m. News at this hour never were anything good and he quickly grabbed the phone with a fortifying breath. He seriously wondered what kind of trouble his kids had managed to stir up this time of night, especially considering the team was on leave with both Bozer and Leanna down with mono - to the merciless teasing from the rest of the family - and Riley had used the opportunity to spend a few days at Diane’s. Which left the worst of his trouble magnets as the most likely option and sure enough Mac’s name greeted him from the notification.
Jack seriously regretted having let his bomb nerd talk him into driving separately the day before, but Mac had insisted that he’d catch up on lab work in the evening and was fine to drive himself. Which translated to Mac wanting to spend the night nerding out in peace and crash on the couch in the war room for Jack to collect in the morning to drag off to breakfast and actual rest in his bed at home.
He opened the text while simultaneously reaching for his socks and jeans, but the message that greeted him stopped him short.
GoOdd moning. I Hve alredy made 1 ((OnE) bad deccison and i shovvv no siGNS of stopppin
“What?!”
Screw socks, he hopped into the jeans and hit call at the same time. The dial tone rang as he marched out into the living room, grabbing his keys and slipping into shoes.
“C’mon, hoss. Pick up.”
Voicemail clicked on just as he was leaving the apartment. Swearing loudly, he switched contacts and hit the call symbol again.
The fact it rang three times before she picked up told Jack clearly that he’d woken their boss as well. He spared a second to feel bad about it, but worry for his partner topped any inconvenience in his books. Matty to her credit didn’t grumble or complain, knowing just as well that calls at this hour were serious.
“Jack, what happened?”
With little information himself, he decided to stick with what he knew.
“Mac texted me. Something barely comprehensible about bad decisions. I tried calling him, he’s not answering. I’m on my way to the Foundation.”
Sounds of movement came through the line as he started the car and peeled out into the street.
“I’ll meet you there. Computer log puts him still inside the building. His phone is still there as well.”
At least they had a place to start. And the Foundation building was a fort security-wise, the team had made sure of that after the breach by the Organization that had resulted in Bozer getting stabbed. There were still too many things that could go wrong, though.
“Matty, do you know what he was working on?”
He vaguely remembered Mac talking about electrical charges and energy conversion, but couldn’t recall what project it was for.
“A signal disrupter using high energy frequencies. Blondie was planning on fixing a problem with the energy conversion. Something to do with a fluctuation in the output.”
The kid had written about making a bad decision. Jack really didn’t like where this was going.
“Is that thing dangerous?”
Matty took a second to reply and her voice was carefully controlled when she did.
“Not on its own, no.”
“I’m hearing a but . Matty, why am I hearing a but ?”
“But. The new hire we got from CalTech suggested that the same technology could be easily used to build an energy weapon.”
Jack’s hands gripped the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grasp.
“We’re weapon manufacturers now, Matilda?”
His old friend’s voice was sharp as she replied.
“No, Jack. Which is why I refused the suggestion and strictly forbid any experiments in that direction. We are an ordinary think tank, it wouldn’t do to be connected to that kind of research.”
Jack clenched his teeth, no less worried, but suitably chastised.
“Sorry, Matty. It’s just…”
“I know.”
They shared a few breaths of silent understanding, before Matty went back to strategizing.
“You will get to the building before me. Mac’s phone is still on and pinging in the gym.”
“The gym?!”
What had led Mac to the gym of all places. At 3 a.m.?!
“That’s what the system shows. Check out the gym when you get there. If Blondie’s not there, meet me in the war room and we’ll check the footage.”
It sounded like a reasonable plan and Jack agreed before ending the call and focusing on getting there as quickly as possible.
Once at the Foundation, the only detour he allowed himself was a quick pit stop in the armory to grab a tac vest and another gun. Just in case. Then he carefully headed towards the gym.
At first everything seemed to be in place. No hostiles hiding in the shadows, no signs of a fight. Unfortunately no blond genius either. Then he entered one of the hallways connecting the break room with its small kitchen to the gym. He stopped in confusion.
A small plant was set on the ground in the middle of the hallway, plant soil spread out around it, no pot in sight. Carefully stepping around the strange sight Jack made sure to watch closely for trip wires or other signs of a trap about to close in on him. Nothing.
Following his gut, he backtracked a few steps to take a look into the break room.
The coffee machine was partially disassembled, parts and wires were strewn everywhere. The microwave was missing its cable, but had gained wheels for some reason and something was attached to the fridge like a cancerous growth.
“Hoo, boy.”
Whatever was going on with Mac, he appeared mobile at least. And likely not coerced by outside forces, considering he found it hard to believe that someone would take the kid hostage inside the Phoenix only to have him rearrange the kitchen appliances.
“Hold up.” Kitchen appliances rang a bell. Early on in their partnership Mac had gotten really sick. Confused by the high fever, but fit enough to move under medication, he’d started to take apart and tinker with everything he could reach before getting distracted and starting something else. Luckily Bozer and Jack had been there and intervened quickly. It had set the precedent for several more incidents over the years.
“Makes no sense, though.” He’d seen Mac before heading out just a few hours earlier. Even ruffled the kid’s hair. There had been no sign of a fever or illness. And he knew what to watch out for. Mac had been fine. Actually fine, fed and mostly well-rested even. It was the only reason Jack hadn’t nagged his partner more about going home for the night.
Something didn’t match up.
He resumed his trek towards the gym, spotting more missing panels and upside down lightswitches. And a soft track of plant soil. As he approached the final corner before the doors to the gym, he could hear a clacking sound, interspersed with soft mumbles in a familiar voice.
Picking up speed, but remaining cautious of traps, he rounded the corner and had to freeze or else he’d bump right into his missing bomb nerd. His bomb nerd who was doing something to the insides of the air conditioning control panel on the wall. The same bomb nerd who hadn’t noticed Jack appear right beside him.
“Mac? Buddy?”
The man in question whirled around, immediately overbalancing and Jack was quick to reel him in, holding him close. From this close it was obvious that this was not the fault of a fever. It was also obvious that Mac wasn’t really tracking.
“Oh. Hey, Jack.” The younger man’s voice was slow and slightly slurred as his eyes kept drifting to the side before flicking back to focus on Jack for a second. “What’r you doing here?”
Concussion maybe? He carefully reached up to card one hand through blond hair, but couldn’t find any bump or blood.
“You texted me, hoss. Remember?” Big blue eyes blinked up at him for a long moment. Yeah, the kid didn’t track at all.
Without offering a reply, Mac’s gaze drifted again, this time back towards the gutted wall panel. He tried to sway towards it, but Jack kept a firm grip on the back of the kid’s waistband, holding him steady.
“Nuh-uh, kiddo. Eyes on me. C’mon.”
Using gentle force, he started to drag his partner in the opposite direction and towards medical.
“What?” The kid stumbled along willingly enough which only worried Jack more. A docile Mac usually spelled trouble.
“But I… I was…” He suddenly tried to look backwards and would have crashed to the floor if not for Jack’s reflexes.
“Woah, Mac! Kiddo, no. That can wait, okay?”
Glazed blue eyes turned his way again and Jack tried to shuffle them along faster.
“But… Jack?”
This was taking too long. Something was obviously wrong with his kid, but he knew if he tried to pick him up and leg it, Mac would struggle fiercely. At least he normally would. It was tempting though. But maybe he could try something else first.
“Mac? Bud? That has to wait, okay? There’s a, uh, monitor that’s broken in medical. They need to you fix that, right?” It was a gamble. Judging by the destruction left in his wake the kid was trying to do something productive, so offering him one device that was usually strictly forbidden would hopefully do the trick.
They made it several more feet down the hall as Mac seemed to deliberate. Then the stumbling steps gained momentum in the right direction with a mumbled “okay” and Jack hastened to grasp the opportunity.
They were still taking far too long. On the way, Jack used his free hand to fish his phone from his pocket and let Matty know where to meet them.
After what felt like hours their three-legged race finally led them across the med bay’s threshold. Immediately they were swarmed by the night shift crew and Jack was glad to spot Doc Martens in the fray. Knowing that one of their regular physicians was on duty helped.
As a group they shepherded Mac into the examination room and Jack stepped to the side where Matty was waiting for him with a scowl and her tablet computer at the ready. Mac’s confused protests drew his gaze back to the table, but it looked like the doc and Ruth, one of the older nurses, were enough to calm him down for now. He focused back on their boss.
“Matty?”
She drew a sharp breath before speaking in a carefully neutral voice.
“I checked the footage while you were getting baby Einstein.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
They both looked back at the blonde for a moment, when the argument grew in volume.
“I was right. Mac worked on the signal disrupter last night. Unfortunately, someone had modified the settings without documenting the changes. The device went off with Mac next to it.”
Jack hissed sharply, but shook his head after a reassuring glance at his partner.
“I didn’t see any wounds, burns or sign of shrapnel, Matty.”
“That’s because the device didn’t explode. It set off a powerful energy charge.”
Jack frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means young MacGyver is showing all the symptoms of Havana Syndrome.” Doc Martens joined them in their corner, leaving Ruth and a young nurse Jack didn’t know to argue Mac into lifting his shirt for the ECG leads.
“Doc?”
Martens shared a look with Matty, before continuing.
“It’s an ailment not publicly recognized as real. There have been cases in the past that were inconclusive, but the Five Eyes were very invested in research on the phenomenon.”
Jack clenched his fist at his side, not liking where this was going at all.
“Basically, what we know is that something, in this case an isolated energy blast causes neurological symptoms, typically blurred vision, cognitive problems like confusion and concentration issues, as well as dizziness and impaired coordination.”
He watched his kid get distracted by a pen light waved in his face. Trouble concentrating and confusion. Right.
“How do we fix it?”
They were going to fix it. Jack wouldn’t accept anything else.
“We don’t.”
“What?!”
Doc Martens raised his hands, quickly adding “I’m sorry, that sounded wrong. We don’t need to fix anything. The symptoms should clear up on their own after a few hours. Until then we’ll monitor him closely under concussion protocol.”
For a moment Jack had felt his heart freeze in his chest, but he found he was able to breathe again.
“Don’t scare me like that, doc.”
The other man nodded with a slightly sheepish smile.
“MacGyver will be fine. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Left in the corner with their boss, Jack was surprised to find an amused glint in his old friend’s eyes.
“Matty?”
She met his gaze with a slight vindictive smirk.
“From what I’ve seen in the footage blondie was quite productive on his way from the lab. He left several unfinished builds and surprises.”
Jack grimaced remembering the mess in the breakroom.
“Mac wasn’t thinking clearly, Matty. He didn’t do it on purpose.”
“I know that, Jack." She threw him a glare before continuing. "But our new hire acted with intent when he disregarded orders and messed with the device. And someone needs to check and reassemble every single piece of machinery, computer and appliance on that floor of the building to make sure nothing poses a safety hazard.”
That was more like it.
“Now. Jack, stay with our boy. I need to cord off parts of this building and call in our volunteer to get started.”
—---------------------------
Mac woke several hours later, feeling strangely hungover. Turning his head, the pillow under his cheek felt different from the one at home, but still unfortunately familiar. As familiar as the muted noises of medical staff and patients moving outside the door.
What had he done to land himself in medical? He frowned as the memories eluded him.
“Mac?” Gentle calloused fingers tugged at his fringe and he opened his eyes to blink blearily at his partner.
Not feeling up to words yet, he hummed a greeting and got a soft relieved smile in return.
“You with me this time, buddy?”
This time? Maybe he needed to use words after all.
“What happened?”
A glint entered Jack’s eyes and Mac immediately dreaded the answer.
“You got something that don’t exist and went on a nerd rampage.”
What?
“What?”
With a soft chuckle, Jack setlled back in his chair and offered a more detailed explanation. The more he learned the more mortified Mac felt.
“I did what?!”
“You take apart the coffee machine, then get distracted by this potted plant on the table. You mumble something about not enough space, take the thing, upend it from the pot and try to plant it in the hallway.”
Mac buried his face in his face.
“Then you seem to notice the mess you made. You grab the empty pot, head back to the kitchen and fill the pot with water. Then. Then you get distracted by the eviscerated coffee maker and. Frankly, I’m losing your thread of thought somewhere around here, but it looks like you decided the plant pot filled with dirty water was a mug of coffee.”
He sputtered and turned to look at his far too amused partner in horror.
“I didn’t!”
“Oh, you did, hoss. You absolutely did. Which, ew. But the doc says you drink enough to be concerned.”
Mac dropped his face into his hands again with a wounded sound. He was never going to live this down.
“The air conditioning is still wonky, by the way. The lab douche hasn’t managed to figure out what you did to it. On the bright side, the Phoenix is now the proud owner of a microwave on wheels, because everyone decided that modification is harmless enough and it makes wiping down the counter easier.”
Mac only groaned into his hands.