Not by blood, but by fire and water

Chapter 24

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.