Chapter Text
Between Rocks and a Hard Place
by Ginny
The low groan was the first thing that Mac was aware of as he regained consciousness. It took him longer than he was comfortable with to realize that he was the one making the noise and even longer to realize that the harsh breathing that filled his ears was not him.
"Mac? Are you awake?" the rough voice asked out of the darkness. If he listened closely, Mac could hear the slight tremble in it.
"Yeah ... Danny?" he asked uncertainly. He blinked to clear away the darkness that filled his vision. He was lying down, his head resting in, what he was assumed was, Danny's lap.
"I'm right here," Danny assured him, awkwardly patting Mac's chest.
"Please tell me it's dark in here," Mac requested. "That, that's the reason I can't see anything."
"It's not dark, it's pitch-black," Danny told him, emotion that Mac couldn't quite identify filling his voice.
"Where are we? What happened? Are you okay?"
"Buried under a ton of dirt. The Sandhogs were obviously wrong when they said the tunnel was stable."
"Tunnel?" Mac repeated slowly.
"Yeah," Danny confirmed.
"Bear costume?" he asked uncertainly, not sure what it was that he was vaguely remembering.
"Yeah." Danny's laugh was forced. "The Sandhogs found a guy in a bear costume down here and called us in. No idea how he got down here."
"Our kits?"
"Buried somewhere in the rubble. Sorry."
"Don't be. You pushed me over here." Mac rolled over, intent on sitting up as his memory returned. They'd been kneeling next to the body when there had been a muffled explosion, followed by falling rocks. That would explain the bruises and his pounding head. He groaned when his ribs protested the movement.
"Here, let me help you," Danny insisted as he eased Mac up and against the wall.
"Thanks." He tried not groan as his bruised muscles protested the movement.
"Careful," Danny admonished. "I don't know how badly you're hurt."
"I'm fine." The denial was automatic and Mac knew Danny wouldn't buy it for a second. His head throbbed, he had a feeling that he'd cracked at least one rib and he was going to be bruised for days. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I wasn't unconscious as - you're the one that was unconscious for half an hour. Give or take."
"Give or take?"
"Can't quite see my watch," Danny pointed out. Mac didn't need to be able to see him to know that he was shrugging.
"But you're okay?" Mac pressed. He felt like Danny was keeping something from him.
"Gonna be feeling this one for a few days, that's all."
"All right," Mac agreed and let the matter drop for the moment. "They'll get us out of here."
"Sure," Danny agreed. "Don's out there."
"Right." Mac could feel himself leaning toward Danny as exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed him.
"Hey, hey, hey. No sleeping," Danny admonished, poking him in the ribs. "Head injury, remember."
"Sorry."
"You should be. You fall asleep and I'll tell Don."
"Tyrant," Mac grumbled, but they both knew he was kidding.
They fell quiet, waiting for the rescue. Occasionally one would reach out and brush fingers lightly against the other to assure themselves that they were both there.
"Dan?"
"I'm right here."
"I know." Mac smiled lightly at Danny's automatic assurance. He hesitated for a moment, hating to admit weakness, even to one of his lovers. "I'm tired."
The sharp intake of breath was Danny's first response. "Please don't sleep?" It was all he could do not to beg Mac to stay awake with him. It would be so easy to tell him how much he hated this feeling of being crushed underneath the rocks and to tell him that he couldn't be left alone in the dark here and stay sane.
"I won't. I won't sleep," Mac promised. He reached out blindly, feeling for Danny's hand until he held it, gripping it tightly.
"Thanks." He let out a shaky breath. All they had to do was wait.
~**~
"I want this done in teams," the Sandhog leader said loudly to his men. "Each shift will be one hour long. After that you'll rotate to another site. This way we keep the tunnels moving and the search going without being overwhelmed. Safety checks will be performed on everything before work continues. Any questions?"
"No sir," several men answered.
"Good. You all know what to do, get to work!"
The men nodded and spread out in different directions.
"This good with you?" he asked Don and Stella.
Don nodded. "We'll both be at the rescue site."
"That's not necessary."
"It is," Don answered firmly, his eyes cold. "We'll stay out of the way unless we can be useful."
The man glowered but gave them a sharp nod. "Fine." He turned on his heel and stormed off.
"You okay?" Stella asked Don quietly.
"I need to get things organized up here. Kaile should be here any moment. She'll handle things here, leaving us down there."
"All right," Stella agreed. "Don. Are you all right."
He met her gaze, his expression telling her exactly what he thought of the question. "Not really."
"I'm sure –"
He held up a hand, cutting her off. "I really don't want to hear it Stella. Not right this moment."
"Okay," she agreed. She squeezed his elbow and walked toward the elevator. "My part of this is still down there."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Don told her.
She nodded, knowing that he would do what absolutely had to be done before joining her. After all, it was his lovers that were missing. He wasn't going anywhere until he had them back.
Don watched Stella get into the elevator before he sighed deeply. He ran his hand over the back of his neck and forced his rolling emotions away. He had a job to do before he could worry.
~**~
"Mac?"
"Yes Danny?"
"Nothing. Just wanted to make sure you're awake."
"I am," he sighed.
"How's your head?"
"Pounding."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." He could feel Danny shrug in response.
They fell quiet once more, sitting side by side, each listening to the other one breathe in the dark.
~**~
Danny sighed, breaking the quiet. "I hate this."
"Me too."
"What do you think the odds are?"
"Odds of what?"
"This is the second explosion we've been a part of in just over a year."
Mac tightened his grip on Danny's hand as he remembered the hours they had waited to find out if Danny and Stella were alive. "Don must be frantic."
"It's easier in here," Danny said quietly.
"Easier? How is this easier?"
"We're together. It's the waiting outside when both of your lovers are somewhere in a pile of rocks that's the hard part. All you can do is pray that the rock moved will be the one that proves they're okay, hope that the bodies that are found won't belong to the two people that mean more than anything to you. All you know is that you're alone in the wait. That's the hard part."
"Danny," Mac began sadly. He pulled the younger man to him, stopping when Danny hissed in pain. "You were hurt and didn't tell me?" he asked, voice low.
"It's fine. It's nothing."
"And by nothing you mean?"
"I don't know, a cracked rib or two."
"Danny!" Mac immediately regretted the sharp tone when the younger man pulled away from him.
"I'm fine Mac, nothing to worry about," he deflected.
"You should have told me."
"You have a concussion and who knows what else you didn't tell me. You don't need to worry about me."
"It's what I do."
"And you don't need to do it right now."
"What else am I supposed to do right now?"
"Sit here, stay awake and don't make me mad."
Mac let out an irritated huff of breath, rolling his eyes. "Fine."
~**~
"How much longer is this going to take?" Don demanded, resisting the urge to pace as he watched the Sandhogs digging at the pile Mac and Danny were behind. He refused to believe anything other than that.
"They have to be careful or they're risk bringing more rock down on everyone," Stella reminded him. They were both overseeing the rescue and doing their best to keep everything moving calmly and smoothly. The trick was keeping calm themselves.
"You do know that the odds of them having found a pocket and being alive are slim," one of the Sandhogs said as he stopped next to them. "Odds are we're gonna find their bodies underneath the rocks." He realized how callous he words sounded when Stella and Don both gaped at him. "Umm ... I'm sure they're both ... completely ... fine," he stumbled.
"You'd better hope they are," Don growled. The man nodded and hurried away. Don watched him leave, his nails digging into his palms as focused on calming the anger that had swept over him. They were going to be fine. He refused to believe anything else.
~**~
"Mac?"
"Yeah?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were awake," Danny admitted.
"I am. How are your ribs?"
"They're fine. Kind of achy."
"Do you want me to move?" Mac knew that his laying against Danny's chest couldn't be comfortable, but there wasn't much space to move in their little hole.
"No!" Danny answered immediately. "You're fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Danny promised. He moved his hand until he found Mac's and squeezed. "Stay where you are." Since he couldn't see his fingers if they were right in front of his face, it soothed him to know that Mac was so close.
"Okay," Mac agreed quietly and relaxed against Danny. He was so tired.
"Don't sleep."
"What?" Mac asked, confused.
"Please don't sleep. They're going to be here soon," Danny encouraged.
"Oh," Mac said quietly as he realized he must have been talking out loud. "Sorry."
"Don't be. Just don't sleep."
"I'm trying," Mac grunted irritably. He'd been in worse situations than this; he wasn't quite sure why this one was getting to him. At least this time he didn't have his hands inside his lover, praying and willing him to live. He felt one of Danny's hands brush against his hair and realized what it was. Never before had he been trapped in such complete darkness.
"Let's make a pact," Danny said suddenly.
"A pact?" Mac echoed tiredly.
"No more explosions. From now on, we won't be caught in an explosion or a falling building or anything like that. Agreed?"
Mac chuckled, "Sounds great."
"Good. I'll tell Don when he finds us," Danny said confidently. If he'd learned anything in the last year, it was that Don was always there when he was needed.
"Which will be soon."
"Right," Danny agreed. He closed his eyes as they fell quiet again.
end part 1
TBC