This hospital was quite a bit larger than the previous one. They were at least fifteen stories up. When the young agent caught a glimpse of the ground his stomach flip flopped. He swallowed thickly and decided to keep his gaze straight ahead away from the edges.
An automatic sliding door wooshed open and allowed the group to enter the main building. They continued down the hall toward the elevators. They stopped and waited for the largest one to arrive.
"Mac..." The young agent heard a familiar voice call his name from behind.
"Boze," Mac answered before he turned to face the familiar voice of his childhood friend. He also found Riley and Matty not far behind Bozer.
"Mac… are you okay?" Bozer asked, his voice filled with worry. His gaze traveled to Mac's shirt.
Mac looked down to see what had captured his roommates attention. That's when he saw the blood spatter, standing out like a beacon on the otherwise clean white shirt.
"Yeah, that's uh… Jack's." Mac replied shakily.
Jack cried out again, as another wave of pain crested. Riley moved around Bozer to stand next to Mac. The hacker gasped and her hand came up to cover her mouth in shock. Jack's brows were pulled together and his eyes squeezed shut as he rode out the worst of it. Tears welled up in her eyes and started to slide down her cheeks. Riley had seen Jack banged up before, but nothing like this. It broke her heart to see Jack so damaged and in so much pain.
She laid her hand on Jack's arm just above his elbow. The hacker nearly pulled her hand back from the unexpected heat coming from the former Delta. She shot a questioning look to Mac, who was still standing beside her.
"They think he's in septic shock," Mac answered the question she hadn't asked.
The elevator doors opened and the Phoenix team stayed with their injured overwatch as they pushed the gurney inside.
"Jack…" Riley spoke softly, her voice quavered slightly.
The older agent moaned, and his unfocused eyes fluttered open. The following wave of pain, that crashed into him, ripped an anguished growl from the older man. His back arched and teeth bared like a feral wolf. "No! Don't hurt em, don't hurt the kid, please." Jack begged weakly. He was trapped in another nightmare, this time about Mac. Mac wasn't sure why that knowledge had his insides twisted into a knot and the guilt he shouldered ratcheted up another level.
"Hey man, I'm okay and we made it outta there. We're safe," Mac gripped his friends shoulder and tried to pull his partner out of it. Jack visibly calmed with his partner's affirmations.
The elevator dinged, indicating they had reached their floor. When the doors opened they all rushed out into the hall.
"I'm sorry, you will have to stay out here," one of the emergency room nurses informed the team. Mac reluctantly let his partner's lax hand slide from his, then watched him disappear behind the large automatic doors.
Mac turned to face the rest of the team, who still stared at the doors Jack had gone through. They looked shaken, even Matty's expression held worry mixed with shock. She schooled her features quickly when she caught Mac's gaze.
"Are you alright?" She asked softly. Her sharp eyes roamed over his body cataloging the visible injuries, they stopped on the blood soaked bandage on his left hand. "What happened there?" Matty questioned, taking a couple steps towards him to close the distance between them. Her question snapped the other two Phoenix members out of their daze and they both looked at Mac.
He lifted the appendage in question to examine it. He had completely forgotten about the wound. "The uh, same bullet that went through Jack's leg, went through my hand too," Mac responded numbly.
"Okay Mac, while Jack is being seen to let's get you checked out too," Matty left no room for argument and immediately ushered him towards the Emergency Department.
She sat Mac down in a seat near the nurses station and went to ask for a doctor and an orthopedic surgeon. The two friends sat in the seats flanking their teammate.
Mac just stared at the floor, earning him worried glances from Riley and Bozer.
Bozer wondered if he should ask if Mac wanted to talk about anything or if now was one of those times when he just needed silence.
He finally just decided to ask, "Uh Mac… is there anything you want to talk about?"
The blonde agent remained silent, as if his friend had not spoken.
Riley and Bozer exchanged another worried look.
Bozer had seen Mac like this before, usually when he woke from a nightmare, for a few months following his return from Afghanistan. Jack was the one who could always snap him out of it. In fact, Bozer had secretly called him the Mac Whisperer during that time.
The only problem was, their Mac Whisperer was currently in surgery fighting for his life.
Bozer laid his hand on his friend's shoulder and Mac jerked away startled by the contact. "I'm sorry man, just worried about you." Bozer held up his hands in surrender.
"No Boze, I'm sorry. I'm just really tired," Mac admitted and scrubbed a hand over his bruised face.
Matty was talking on her phone when the doctor she asked for approached them. She directed him over to Mac with a stern finger and continued her conversation on her cell. The doctor frowned slightly, but didn't seem to take much offense to Matty's somewhat rude gesture.
The doctor's eyes fell on Mac as the most likely candidate for needing treatment. It wasn't that hard to single him out, the kid looked like he'd gone through a medieval battle without a shield and judging by the haunted look in his eyes, he wasn't far off. He called a nurse over to him and told her to bring the young man to his examination room and get his vitals.
"Excuse me sir, can you follow me please?" The nurse asked.
Bozer stood and offered a hand to his friend. Mac accepted and slowly got to his feet. It felt like every muscle in his body was screaming at him. Still, his own pain took a back seat, the young agent could only think about Jack.
Mac passed by their director, who was still on her cell. She wore an expression of concern that quickly transformed to a small smile when she noticed his eyes on her.
Mac followed the nurse to the radiology department for an x-ray of his hand. He had trouble manipulating the injured appendage into the different positions the radiologist required, but the tech was satisfied with the images and released him back into the care of the nurse that brought him there.
The nurse led him to an examination room. The blonde was surprised to find his team already present. Seeing them there only served in making the kid super aware of the glaring fact that his overwatch, his best friend, wasn't.
The orthopedic surgeon came in shortly after the nurse had completed taking Mac's vitals.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Levy," The doctor said and extended his hand for the young agent to shake. After the two shook hands, the doctor brought the tablet, he was carrying, up closer to his face. He tilted his head up slightly to peer through his bifocals. "I have some good news and bad news, young man. The good news is no bones were impacted, therefore none are broken, as for the bad news, I'm afraid it will take a fair amount of physical therapy before that hand is useful again."
Mac nodded, but he had no real interest in what the orthopedist had to say. His mind was consumed with worry for Jack.
"Miss Ezra, could you bring in a suture kit so we can get this young man stitched up?" Dr. Levy requested.
"Of course, Doctor." The nurse answered and left the examination room.
The nurse returned with the suture kit and prepped Mac's hand for stitching. The young Phoenix agent flinched when Dr. Levy injected the lidocaine into the angry and inflamed wound. The surgeon placed the first stitch inside the gaping hole, which pulled the two sides back together.
Movement out the corner of Mac's eye captured his attention. Matty had stepped out into the hall and was speaking with a middle aged man he recognized as one of the medical staff that had unloaded Jack from the helicopter.
Mac pushed to his feet from where he had been seated on the hospital bed, ignoring the pain and stiffness that had settled into his legs from his lack of movement.
"Young man, you still need a couple more sutures," Dr. Levy admonished.
Mac didn't look back, he strode with single minded purpose toward the Director and the doctor she was conversing with. Her grim expression ignited fear deep within his core.
"How is he?" Mac asked, his request was more like a command than a question.
"We repaired a nick in the small intestine that was leaking and causing the majority of the infection. Your friend is fighting, but-"
"His kidneys are starting to shut down Mac," Matty interrupted. Their director could be hard to read, but right now he saw pain and fear in her eyes. She cared about Jack a great deal and was worried about him too.
"I need to see him."
To be continued...