Macgyver imagines

Jack Dalton: 11

"Show me the shine underneath the diamond I think I just found."
  -Brett Edlridge

Summary: Jacks longtime friend, has been doubting herself and her literacy when a mission pulls on a sensitive subject.

Warnings: None.

Note:
It goes into yet another problem of our day and age:
Self-confidence.
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How can you be the stupidest person in the world yet at the same time the absolute smartest?
How can you be so well known and so well organized, but yet so alone and so discomfigured?
These two questions are the only thoughts that went through Jayden's perfect little mind. Her eyes scanned over the paper work in front of her like they had so many times before. She faked it and looked up. "This is brutal."
Jack nodded."Yeah your telling me. Tigers lost 65-12. Talk about a loss."
"Wonder what the coach is thinking?"
"Ahh. I bet he makes em' run a tad more."
Jack reached over and grabbed her hand. "It's so small."
Jayden laughed. "Yeah, but I can still beat you up."
Jack rolled his eyes. "As if." But he knew she could in a split second.
Madi walked in to the war room to which they were relaxing in. "Emergency meeting."
Uh oh. Jayden didn't get any calls last night. Usually before they get a mission she is informed a day ahead seeing her predicament.
She couldn't read.
She saved a mans life once and he turned out to be a high authority in the Phoenix Foundation. As a favor to her he debriefed her on all missions ahead of time so she wouldn't be embarrassed. It always worked well. And she often improvised on missions if there was reading involved.
Jack stood his hand still locked in her. "What's this about?"
Macgyver and Riley walked in.
"Today a man was taken into custody under charges of terrorism. He escaped moments ago with a high grade bomb. Your in charge of getting him back into custody with out blowing the city up. He will more than likely be headed to this place." Some words showed up on the screen and Jayden, try as she might, just didn't get it.
"Were on it." Mac said and the three of them took off. With Riley staying in the war room.
They hopped in the small car with Jack driving, Jayden in shotgun and Mac in the middle back seat.
"Turn here." Riley yelled and Jack quickly turned the car riding on two wheels for a second. "Geez Riley little more heads up please, thank you."
"Shut up Jack. You try looking at these maps."
"Hello I can't I'm driving." Jack lifted his finger to the earpiece, and turned it up a notch.
"Jack!" Jayden yelled when he nearly hit a walking person.
He swerved again. "Eyes on the road, hotshot." Jayden smiled slightly when he winked at her.
"There it is!" Mac pointed to a building that looked abandoned.
"Alright looks like the floors are named." Jack says when they reached the inside.
The room was musty and cold. It looked to be an abandoned small motel. There was a sign in the middle of the room naming the floors. "Alright Lets split up. Jack you take the fitness room. Jayden you take the gaming floor and I'll get the roof." Mac ordered and after a quick look at the map the boys had taken off to their general direction. Jayden stared at the map one more time and questioned herself when she saw the lines following everywhere were colored. "Why couldn't they just say floor Blue or Red or something?"
Jayden took her best guess and took off down the right hallway, unaware she was headed to the basement. "Dang." She mumbled when she saw the cellar and pulled her flashlight and gun out.
She swiped the floor carefully and just when she thought the room was clear something took her out from behind.
-----
"Where's Jayden?" Jack asked when he ran into Macgyver in the Gaming Room, after they both noticed the man wasn't there.
"I don't know. Look around. Maybe she got lost."
They looked around and a second later they saw the man. "Jack!" Mac yelled before taking after the bomb terrorist.
After a few long minutes of blindly running up and down hallways, the man hid behind a door and when Mac ran in, the man jumped on him. The man must not have realized there was another person and Jack quickly had him subdued. "Way to take one for the team, Mac" Jack commented seeing Macs bloody nose.
"Where's Jayden?"
They both paled in realization she hadn't wandered back to the front of the building. They searched the building floor by floor looking for her when finally they made it to the cellar and saw her tied up. A bomb strapped to her stomach.
Mac mumbled something before attempting to dissarm. He cut the wrong wire and the time decreased drastically. "Crap."
Jayden started to freak out a little at this and squirmed before Jack held her still. "Don't move. You might activate it." She was immediately rigid.
Macgyver cut the blue wire at the last second and he knew he chose the right one, when he finished his breath without dying.
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"Jayden, I'm officially putting you on leave for three weeks." Madi told her privately the next day.
"You don't have to ma'am. Here's my letter of resignation." Jayden handed her a slip of paper. Her handwriting was messy, and the resignation was obviously typed up by someone else.
"So that's it? Your just quitting?" Madi asked slightly shocked.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'm leaving back for the marines, if they'll take me."
"What about Jack?"
"He'll have to understand. I'm a danger to the whole team." Jayden looked down slightly.
"I won't accept this unless you tell the team why your leaving."
"Don't do this." Jayden tried to plead.
"It's my only condition for losing an agent. They deserve to know." Madi's eyes softened. "I'll bring them in now."
Madi turned off the fog glass and saw the team waiting on the other side. She waved them in slowly. Jayden was staring at the opposite side of the room, her back turned when they walked in.
"Jayden, has something she would like to say." Madi turned to her, but it made no difference to Jayden. She would tell them, but she wouldn't face them.
"I'm a danger to this team. I have sent in a letter of resignation."
The team gasped slightly, Jack stood so fast he was almost dizzy, "What?"
She blinked back tears. "You heard me."
He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She wanted to snuggle into it and let Jack tell her everything was fine. But that would only make it harder. She shrugged him off and walked away. Madi spoke up when she saw Jayden walking towards the door.
"I'll tell them if you don't."
She froze. Then she reached for the knob, giving up the fight.
"She can't read."
Those words hung in the air for a moment. Macgyver finally ended the silence. "So what your kicking her out?"
"No, anything but. I gave her three weeks to try and learn, but she handed in her resignation."
"Jay, you can't leave." Jack said and his voice sounded as broken as she felt.
"I have to Jack. I'm a burden and I can't learn to read, I'm stupid."
She sobbed out her voice cracking slightly.
Jack immediately, his boyfriend instincts kicking in, wrapped her in a hug from behind. She hung her head slightly and a tear dripped on to the floor. "You ain't stupid. I'll teach ya. It might not be perfect english but, I'll teach ya. Just don't leave me."
Jayden looked shocked and for a second her heart clenched. She stuttered after a moment. "If you teach me to read, I'll stay."
He nodded. "Okay. Well then let's get to work." He pecked the top of her head.

------
Jayden was the smartest girl around, she might now have been able to go to the best schools or learn the fanciest manners, but she was smart in the ways of how to be kind. Not once did she think of herself, but only the danger that could happen.

Thankfully, Jack always knew just what to say.

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So people let the constructive criticism come. For I will one day be great!
*this is where you applaud!*

Naah I'm just kidding if you like it vote and comment maybe even follow, if you don't there are other books in the world.