Take Care of Him
By: AndiKaneUnderwood
To say that Jack was pissed would be an understatement.
To say his was furious was an understatement.
Any word for angry would likely be just as much of an understatement.
There wasn't a word Jack knew that would describe how he was feeling right then.
Elwood seemed to pick up on his mood and was wisely staying silent, save one phone call from Jill where Jack had apologized for implying that they where expendable and had told them he hadn't meant to say that at all.
Jill then hung up and said good night and the men where plunged into silence once more.
Eventually, Elwood broke the silence and sighed. "Was it worth it, Jack?" He asked.
Jack didn't reply at first. Then, "What do you mean?"
"Don't play that. You know exactly what I mean. Now I know that what we just did was illegal and I know that you'd never do something like that without a reason. I know that you're far too fit and knowledgeable for a person who's only ever sold bathroom tile and I know all I need to know about you from Riley. You where in Special Forces that much I can gather just from this trip.
"I know for a fact that no sane man would go up against a woman like Matilda Webber if they wanted to keep their balls in tact, so you tell me Jack Dalton, what the fuck was I just doing in the house of your goddamn boss breaking into a fucking safe if only to take a picture and break some shit that looked extremely expensive."
Elwood paused and Jack said nothing. "Tell me, Jack. What the fuck was I doing there?"
Jack pulled the car into the lot they'd left Elwood's car at and put his car in park.
"The less you know right now, Elwood, the safer you'll be in the long run. All you need to know is that this is going to keep your daughter safe and it's not coming back to you." Jack replied.
"That's not good enough Jack. If you're some kind of spy, then I get you can't tell me anything, but you have to tell me something." Elwood told him.
"I can't tell you anything, Elwood. I'm sorry." Jack shot back.
He sighed. "Elwood, listen. The closer you are to this, the more time you're going to spend in jail when Matty finds out, so I'm not telling you a single thing about it because it'll keep you safe and it'll keep you in Riley's life in the event that Matty kills me for this, which she probably will.
"Now, I've only got one thing to ask you for. Call it a personal favor."
Elwood paused and looked like he would argue, but then he sighed and nodded. "Alright. What is it?"
Jack pulled out his phone and scrolled through his pictures. He came across the one that he'd taken after a victory in the desert.
Jack's blonde partner had successfully defused a bomb threatening to blow up a school and the kids had each thanked him in their own way.
Afterwards, Jack had told him to smile and snapped the picture.
Mac was still in army fatigues, but didn't have on the helmet. Mac had laughed, flashed the peace sign, and grinned wide.
Jack paused, wishing he didn't have to go and show the poor kid the picture.
After Nikki.
After Thorton.
After Mac's dad.
After everything that had happened to the kid, Jack didn't want to break his heart anymore, but he had to show Mac this picture.
Much as he wanted to let it go, to take care of it himself, to tell Matty to get off her damned high horse and tell Mac the truth, he'd promised Mac that he wouldn't let him down and Jack didn't make promises lightly.
He'd have to break the news to Mac that once again, a person they'd trusted, someone they thought was different, had betrayed the trust they'd placed in them.
Elwood cleared his throat and Jack snapped out of his thoughts.
Jack showed Elwood the picture of the too-young partner Jack had risked everything for.
The 22 year old that Jack was risking his job, his safety, and his life for just for thinking about breaking into Matty's house.
"You haven't met him yet, but if I know Riley, then she'll show you her little brother soon. This is Angus MacGyver, call him Mac. This is why I'm risking everything. Mac's my boy and I'm gonna do everything I can to protect him. So, if all this goes to shit and I don't come out alright, or at all, I want you to make sure you take care of him. Cause he's gonna fall into the biggest pit of depression you'll ever see in your life if I die.
"I want you to make sure he's taken care of because he won't do it himself and Bozer and Riley won't be able to help him. If you have to, force him to eat, force him to get up and do something. You make sure he knows that I'm asking you to do it because he won't accept it otherwise.
"And most importantly, you learn the faces of the people who've hurt him, Riley will tell you all of them if you ask her. You learn their names and you learn the faces and you keep them away from him. They will lie and cheat and manipulate Mac into doing something he'll never forgive himself for. Please, Elwood. You take care of my boy. Take care of Mac. Cause I can't do anything until I know that someone will be able to protect him in my place if I'm not around." Jack looked at Elwood with pleading eyes.
Elwood took a long look at the boy in army fatigues, wondering who this boy was that had earned this much love and respect from Jack Dalton.
Elwood then decided that this was the same kind of kid as Riley.
He took in the blonde hair covered by a bandana and the blue eyes that held all the innocence in the world.
Then Elwood looked up at Jack and nodded. "I'll take care of him Jack. I promise."
Jack sighed in relief. A little of the weight lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you, Elwood." He smiled. "Now get outta here."
Elwood nodded and got out of the car.
Jack watched as Elwood got into his car and drove away.
Jack sighed. Knowing that Mac would be taken care of took a lot of pressure off of him.
The storm that was coming would put Mac right in it's way and Jack would not be having that.
Mac wouldn't get hurt this time.
Not on Jack's watch.
This took me all of 30 minutes to write. That's a new personal record. Alright, well, this is my contribution for the week. I kept wanting to write, but nothing sounded right when I wrote for this fandom. So, I just went with my gut on this.
Hope you like it.
