Happy Saturday! I had this scene pop into my head a couple of days ago, and I don't quite know what to do with it, so I'm posting it here for now. This is in the Reunited verse where Jack was captive for 5 years because Kovacs and Mac and Riley have a son named Jay.
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Jack let himself into Mac and Riley's house and quietly closed the door. He'd heard from Matty that Mac took the day off because Jay was sick, and Riley was out on an op with one of the other teams, so he'd high-tailed over to the house.
Rounding the corner into the living room gave him his first glimpse of the situation. The TV was quietly playing an episode of Spongebob – a show he'd become familiar with recently while looking after Jay – and the couch was occupied by a MacGyver men blob.
Mac was lying on his side with his back pressed against the back of the couch, and Jay was curled up in front of him with his back to Mac's chest. They were still in their PJs and sharing a blanket. Jay was clutching the plush horse that Jack had gifted him, but he barely looked over at Jack when he sat in the chair by the couch.
"Mornin'," Jack said softly. He eyed the bucket he'd just noticed was set in easy reach by the couch, but it was empty when he craned his neck to peek inside. "Rough night?"
Mac looked over at him with bleary eyes and nodded slowly. "Jay caught a stomach virus, but I think he's getting better. He's kept down some meds and Pedialyte this morning."
Jack spotted the half-empty Pedialyte bottle and a sippy cup on the table and nodded. "And you?"
"I'm not sick, just tired."
Jack raised an eyebrow, but Mac met his gaze calmly, if a little sleepily. He seemed to be telling the truth. "Do you guys need anything?"
"Coffee?" Mac asked hopefully.
Grinning, Jack stood and headed into the kitchen, where he started a pot of coffee. He made it strong, and Mac usually hated that, but if he'd been up all night with Jay, he needed the caffeine boost. He also dropped a couple slices of bread into the toaster and poked around in the fridge to see if there were omelet ingredients.
He was debating how much sugar to add to Mac's mug when Mac walked into the room, yawning and stretching his arms over his head. He grabbed the cup and downed it black, which was very unlike him.
"How long have you been up, bud?"
Mac glanced at the clock and grimaced. "Twelve hours, give or take."
"I can stay with him if you want to go and get some actual sleep in a bed."
Mac looked over his shoulder to where Jay was sleeping on the couch. "I might take you up on that for an hour or so. If he feels worse or his fever spikes, just wake me up. There's a thermometer on the coffee table."
"One that you haven't taken apart?"
Mac rolled his eyes but replied, "Riley says the child thermometer is off limits. Always off limits."
Jack narrowed his eyes and stared Mac down for a moment. "And how many have you replaced?"
"About five, but don't tell her."
"Secret's safe with me. And don't worry. Jay and I will be out here, watching TV and drinking our breakfast beverages of choice. Do you want me to try and get some food in him?" Jack grabbed a piece of toast that had just popped up.
"If he asks for something, you can give him some banana or applesauce. He doesn't like plain toast." Mac grabbed the toast from Jack's hand and took a bite as he headed toward the master bedroom. "Thanks, man."
Jack took a minute to fix himself a cup of coffee before heading into the living room to sit back in the chair beside the couch. Jay, now awake, looked over at him and waved with the hand that didn't have a death grip on the plush horse.
"Hey, cowboy. Are you feeling a little better?"
Jay nodded.
"Good. That's real good. You want some more of this?" He leaned forward to grab the sippy cup next to the Pedialyte bottle. It was about half-full, which Jack decided was good enough for now.
Jay nodded again. This time he moved, sliding off the couch, walking to Jack, and climbing into his lap.
Setting his coffee on the side table, Jack helped Jay get settled in the crook of his arm. He could feel the heat of the little boy's fever and worriedly pressed the back of his hand to Jay's forehead. He was warm but not as bad as Jack first thought he was. He handed Jay the sippy cup and picked his coffee back up.
Jack stared at the TV, not really paying attention to it, while he thought about how good Mac was with his son. Jay adored Mac, and Mac cherished every moment with Jay.
Jack figured that losing his parents at such young ages made Mac acutely aware that time was a precious commodity with kids. As an adult, he'd gotten his father back for a little while, but Mac knew what it was like to long for a parent, so he spent as much time as he could with Jay. It was something that everyone encouraged, right down to Matty giving the whole family time off whenever possible. Jack was so glad that he got to be a part of that family and that he got to watch the little boy in his arms grow up.
Yo this is kinda messed up but I kinda want to do a "sad fact of the day" thing where I just post one sad thought or memory that pops up in a day. And then just like.....I don't know, explain why it's sad? Does that make sense? Probably not but it's way past my scheduled bed time and I have a cold so everything's wonderful on my end.
Really not wanting to be at work today. Wanting to be home, eating chicken noodle soup, drinking tea, and sleeping. I hate being sick. :( Send me some loves?
