Not by blood, but by fire and water

Chapter 15

I'm sorry it has taken so long to update this time. Life has just been absolute shit lately. Thanks for the kind reviews and thank you to Lifeart for being so nice and fixing my mistakes.

Mac loosened the bolts holding the truck bench seat in place, thinking that the seat would make a nice makeshift cot for Jack while they waited for exfil.

The last bolt came free and fell to the floor board. Mac lifted the seat up and let out a hiss, dropping the seat, his broken rib shifting painfully. Broken ribs were the worst, they hurt with every breath, twist, and turn and they turned your average cough or sneeze into pure unadulterated hell.

He tried again, pushing through the sharp stabbing pain, lifting the seat free of the truck and carrying it through the large opening that served as the loading dock.

Even though he was in the shade of the warehouse, he squinted at the bright light. The rays felt like nails trying to pierce through his eye sockets and into his brain.

The fresh air was worth it though, it was crisp, cool, and smelled loads better than their cement prison.

He set the bench seat down in the rocky grass outside of the opening, then headed back inside

His stomach dropped and he ran to his partner's side. Jack lay on his back, his bruised face turned toward him with his eyes closed. Even in unconsciousness his features were pinched in pain and his chest rose and fell at an alarming rate.

Rapid shallow breathing is one of the later signs for significant blood loss, it meant that Jack's lower blood volume was struggling to get enough oxygen to his brain.

"Dammit Jack… please don't die on me, please." Mac pleaded, his voice breaking. "Jack…" Mac said, clearing his throat and gently cupping both sides of the older mans face.

He distantly heard his name being called and quickly zeroed in on the source. The phone lay a couple feet away and appeared to have fallen from Jacks grasp when he went down.

"Riley?"

"Mac, is Jack okay? I mean, how bad is he?" Riley asked nervously.

"He's gonna be fine Riley." Mac answered with a confidence he didn't feel.

"Don't lie to me, I overheard you a moment ago. Do you really think he might not make it? How bad is he Mac?"

Mac dropped his head and squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's bad…" Mac confirmed. "I've never seen him like this before." Tears rolled down his face before he realized what was happening.

Somehow saying it out loud made it more real.

"I had a fight with him before he left, Mac, I can't have that be my last memory of him."

Mac wiped the moisture from his face and put his hand on Jacks chest, feeling the fast but steady beats, "It won't be Riley, if there's one thing I know about Jack it's that he's a fighter, he'll never give up."

Mac placed the phone next to him and put it on speaker.

"Jack, hey buddy, I need you to wake up okay?" Mac gently tapped the least bruised looking side of his friends face. "Jack, come on big guy."