So here is another, slightly longer, chapter. Enjoy

Nope, still not mine. Bugger.

Jack had been worried about the kid, but seeing him engage with him and Lander and the rest of the patrol, aside from Hasnik, made him hope that the kid would consider joining his unit when he asked. It was still early days yet, but he knew he had helped pull the kid out from his depression.

That had been ten days ago. Some of his unit arrived back that night. Too late to join the earlier dinner line, Jack and his men found themselves surrounded by the younger and lower ranked men and women. Jack looked around for a certain blonde. The younger man had been happier than he had been in weeks, according to Radise. Jack had noticed that he wasn't putting that much weight on however. He had hoped that by being friendly to him, it might have put off the bullies. While Jack hadn't told Radise about what was happening, he had told those involved to back off. Otherwise he would, and they would end up back Stateside. Seemed he would have to do something a little more proactive. Like actually ask the kid what was going on.

The haunted look had gone from MacGyver's face, a sure sign that, while still grieving over Pena, he would be ok. Jack watched as he joined the line. He and his unit had their usual table toward the back, and as a result, Jack was hidden by his team mates. So he was able to see what happened next.

Jack hadn't joined MacGyver for dinners since that first night. Not wanting to appear to be favouring the kid. And it was discouraged by the higher ups that those of rank didn't mix with the others, least said favouring happen. Now it seemed that the kid was still being hassled, but now it was by a lot of different people. While he couldn't hear much, he was able to catch some of the words by lip reading.

What you doing hanging out with Delta?

Think you're better than us?

Pena, Delta? Who else are you bedding?

And other things. While on their own, he suspected that the kid would be able to handle it. But combined with someone sweeping his dinner off the table 'by accident', and another squeezing his arm until Jack was sure there would be massive bruises come morning; the kid looked defeated. And the worse thing, Jack knew his friendship with the young man had brought this about.

"You alright Jack?" Tim's voice brought him back to his table.

Tim and the others were looking at him and he realised that he had gotten so focused on MacGyver that they had noticed.

"What's your deal with the youngster?" Tyler asked. They had finished their meal and had been sipping coffee.

"He's a good kid. Smart; he made a few water pistols out of some old exhaust pipes, a BB gun someone snuck in and a busted Glock. Knows his stuff when it comes to IED's, too." That got their attention.

"Simon's not been gone a fortnight, and you've already got a replacement lined up?" a third spoke.

They knew the deal. They had a couple of weeks R&R, but they were needed too much to be on stand down for long. They had thought a rotation back to the states to find another tech would have been what happened. But if Jack had found another EOD tech here, it meant that they would be training here, in the heat, to become a cohesive unit again. Instead of the relative cool that enveloped home at this time of year.

"He's just a kid." A forth said, looking over at the table again. MacGyver had given up on eating anything and was heading out, a look of utter defeat and dejection on his face. He didn't even bother to grab an energy bar on the way out, causing Jack to stand.

"He know you want him?" Tim asked as he stood too. Jack didn't answer, just followed the kid outside.

The others finished their coffee and followed Jack, each grabbing something to give the kid. They may have been shocked at Jack's choice, but as their leader, he had that right. And they had seen the kid's face when he had walked out without eating. Harassment was one thing, but outright bullying like they had just seen was another. Jack, from the looks of things had been watching the kid for a while, so he better than they ever could; would know if he could fit in with them. While they had been a team without change for over ten years, none of them had the experience or years of service that Jack did.

If Jack saw something in the young man that made him think that MacGyver would be a good fit with the Delta unit, he was probably right. So they decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

It was a good thing they went after him. They saw him turn a corner to the tents that they knew he would be housed in, followed by several people. And from the way they walked, none of them meant anything good.

Jack hurried when he saw the shadows following the young man. He managed to catch up just as Mac managed to put down the first of his attackers with a well-placed kick. The kid quickly took out another as Jack went after a third. Jack knew that the kid was good at martial arts. He had sparred with him a couple of times over the last few days. Between him, Mac and the rest of his unit, they quickly took out the gang. Jack figured the whispers that he had been hearing the last couple of days were starting to irritate those who believed that they should be on the unit.

They looked at each other a moment, before looking over those who had started the attack.

"I had hoped to ask you in the morning, but I guess now's a good a time as any." Jack looked at Mac as the blonde looked at him.

"What?" Both were still getting their breath back, so they all stood to one side as the base MP's arrived.

Jack waited until the MP's had taken the others away. They had been eight in total, including the ones that Jack had chased off twelve days ago. He nodded in the direction of his tent/office while the others gave the startled kid fruit, power bars and, Jack didn't know where it came from, a slightly melted chocolate bar.

He headed off, looking back once to make sure he was following. They arrived at his tent a few minutes later, knowing that they had at least half-an-hour before either Radise or the MP's arrived to hear their story. He sat down, motioning for Mac to continue eating. The banana and one of the power bars had already gone on the walk over and Jack could tell he was holding the chocolate bar for last.

"You want to join Delta?" Jack asked. He knew of the kid's dislike for guns, but he knew that he had other skills. One of which was to create something out of almost nothing, a thing he had witnessed after knowing the kid for a couple of days. The day they had patrol for the first time together he had carried a gun, only because he knew he had no choice.

He saw the kid pause in taking a bite out of an apple. The look on his face, Jack couldn't quite decipher. It looked like a mix of confusion, fear and awe.

"What?"

Jack took his time in answering that, knowing that he needed Mac to understand that he wanted him on the team. Not that he was being assigned. "As I mentioned that day we met on the running track, we lost someone. Simon. He was our EOD tech." Jack pulled a couple of bottles of water from the mini fridge (another perk) and tossed him one. "I first saw you with Pena a year ago. My guess, you had only been here about six months. You had a look about you then, that no matter what life threw at you, you could handle it. You can stand on your own two feet, but you also have trouble because of your age. Others treat you like a kid." He took a moment to look him over. His earlier assessment that he wasn't eating regularly held true. The way he had been eating the snacks the others had given him had proved that. "I asked the base commander about you after I gave you dinner that night. His assessment of you told me you would be a good fit with my team. The file he gave me reinforced that."

He saw Mac start to put things together. "That's why you were on the patrol with me that morning." His voice was slightly accusatory.

"I didn't ask, if that's what you're thinking. Radish must have figured that if we were on the same patrol, we might get to know one another. I hadn't counted on Hasnik being there, nor the radiator dying. But seeing you work your magic on it and the way you handled yourself tonight? I'm not seeing anything that's dissuading me from asking you this; same with what happened the other day. It's your choice. There's another Delta team leader that's had an eye on you as well. A Major…" A helicopter flew overhead at that moment, obscuring the name, but Mac lip read. "He wants you too. He's a good man, good leader."

"But?" Mac asked.

Jack could see that nothing got past the kid. "But he has a tendency to not realise little things. Like the fact that this will no doubt be your first assignment without Pena. That you haven't been in the military long and because of that, there will be somethings that will overwhelm you." He held up his hand to stop Mac from saying anything. "I know you can handle yourself. You proved that tonight. That's not what I'm talking about." He had been leaning against the fridge and now sat down in front of the kid. "Aside from Pena, have you seen much combat death? Because of your job, have you experienced a long drawn out firefight that lasted twelve hours?" He looked deep into the Mac's eyes. He saw him thinking hard.

"No. I'm guessing that's something that's likely to happen if I decide to join." The younger man looked at Jack.

Jack for his part, didn't twitch. The look MacGyver was sending him was full of thoughts.

"If I decided not to join either of your teams?"

"You'll be on call for whoever needs an EOD tech. Or, Radise could assign you to one of us, or another team entirely; with people you don't know. From experience, it's exhausting, and not the best way to make friends. And you could be constantly moving."

"Why befriend me at all? The last few days have been pretty bad with the others thinking I'm shacking up with you to get on the team." Mac sat back, his face clouded, thunderous. Jack had to step carefully now.

"Like I told you on the field that day, I don't like bullies. I know you could handle them on your own. But not on top of dealing with Pena's death. You were losing weight and starting to get demoralised. Not a good thing in this line of work." He took a breath. "And you reminded me of someone I knew years ago. Stanley had a good friend that didn't care if he was different. He was, not as smart as you or I, but he had an amazing sense of humour. He was older than me, but he always had a joke ready for me. I was a runt at school." He sat back, "But that changed when his friend was killed. She was a beautiful golden Lab he called Tinker. She was run over by one of the people that teased him. After that he was never the same. Tinker grounded him, helped him to focus; helped him to cope with everything."

"My understanding is that you have no-one back home you can talk to about any of this." He posed it as a question.

"You're comparing Pena to a dog?" In that moment, Jack knew the kid was on his team.

"No, to a friend. He helped you to keep grounded. Helped you deal with being so far from home. I know that my friendship with you has caused others jealousy, and they've taken it out on you. That just proves to me that they will never fit with my team." He stayed quiet after that. The only sound came from the light breeze as it moved the tent flaps.

"I've only got my best friend back home, but you're right; I can't talk to him about this. Boza wouldn't understand." Mac straightened as he came to a decision, just as two MPs came in, followed by Radise.

"Jack, MacGyver." The base commander said as he walked in. His desk Sargent had informed him of what had happened. Hasnik was one of the men arrested for trying to assault MacGyver. After seeing the man's face upon the return of that first patrol he had sent Jack and MacGyver out on, Radise had a feeling that this was punishment. Jack had stood to offer the seat to the commander, standing next to him. "What happened?" he asked, not really expecting an answer from the younger man.

Jack hoped that Mac would tell Thom what had been happening. It seemed that the event from a couple of days before had come to a head.

The next chapter will be a flashback scene.