Wunderkind

1.18-Flashlight

SOMEWHERE OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN

NOT THE PLACE FOR THIS CONVERSATION

Mac finds it kind of funny that Matty seems to have taken to categorizing their missions as ones Bozer can go on without causing an international incident, or ones she'd rather not risk. The last one fell into the category of the former. Matty's apparently a firm believer in learning on the job.Mac can't complain. Having Bozer along helped. A lot.

But he does want to sleep. And Jack is bothering him. Matty was wrong. This wasn't a mission she could send Bozer on without an incident. Because they may have averted a small international crisis in south Asia, but Bozer somehow let slip that Mac's birthday was coming up...and Jack has too many suggestions.

"Karaoke?"

"No," Mac mumbles sleepily.

"Laser tag? Bowling?"

"We just stopped a brutal dictator from deploying a chemical weapon. Can't this wait till we get back?"

"Vegas?"

Riley shoves off her own blanket and joins the conversation. "Jack, stop suggesting things you want to do. It's his birthday, not yours." She shrugs. "But what about something low key? Like, we could all just go out to dinner somewhere if you want."

"Trust me, Riley, I have tried suggesting everything," Jack says. "Mac's just boring. Like, he's got something against birthdays or something." Mac just tugs the blanket someone threw over him a little tighter around himself. He's tired and he doesn't want to have this conversation ever, least of all right now. They were having a good time. A successful mission, no one critically injured...and then Bozer had to tell everyone Mac's birthday is tomorrow.

Riley wrinkles her nose. "Birthdays are awesome. Cake, presents, what's not to like? Well, maybe surprise parties when your partner, " She leans over the seat and punches Jack, "thinks its a good idea to hide behind the door of someone trained in three different forms of martial arts."

"You're all wasting your time," Bozer mumbles sleepily. "Been trying to get him to celebrate a birthday since I met him."

"Birthdays make no sense. We are aging every second of every minute of every day." Mac hears Bozer sigh, okay, I've used the same argument a few times. Well, more than a few. But never on Jack and Riley. "And for some reason we pick one day to celebrate being one year older, all because some pope made a calendar in the sixteenth century."

Bozer groans. "Mac, we know. Now will you stop giving us explanations for your weirdness and let me sleep? I don't think I've slept in three days."

"Well, we definitely haven't showered in three days," Riley says.

"Wait, he's on a roll," Jack says. "Honestly hearing Mac try to wiggle out of birthday celebrations is way more entertaining than an in-flight movie."

Ok, if you want to laugh at my logic, try this one. "If we were on Mars, I would be fourteen years old and my next birthday wouldn't be for another...two hundred and thirty-one days."

"Yeah, well, you look about fourteen," Jack chuckles. "And seriously, you're using Mars as an argument against birthdays?"

"All I'm saying is, they're irrelevant." Mac rolls halfway over so he doesn't have to face Jack anymore.

"No, they're not. Dude, birthdays are precious. Every day on this earth is. Especially in this line of work. Birthdays are like those signs in those factories that say it's been x amount of days since the last fatal incident. So we're celebrating." He squints. "What about monster trucks? You like cars. And what's not to love about a bunch of trucks smashing each other up?"