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CHAPTER SIX
Five hours later, MacGyver woke slowly and groggily looked around the room. He was laying on the couch, and couldn’t remember getting that way from his previous sitting position. A soft comforter covered him-it usually stayed upstairs. His shoes had been removed.
As his senses returned, Mac noticed a slip of paper on the coffee table in front of him. He picked it up and read the simple note. A smile spread over his face. It was his first real smile since the warehouse, and the first sign that perhaps he would get through this after all.
I’m upstairs if you need anything. Wake me when you get up. -Jack
A slight flush of embarrassment flooded MacGyver for a second. Jack Dalton had tucked him in like a child. It was usually the other way around. The feeling fled almost immediately, however, and was replaced by a warmth that had nothing to do with the comforter.
Pete often complained about how MacGyver constantly let Jack Dalton drag him into his various schemes that usually ended in trouble for everyone, but there was a very good reason Mac had a hard time saying no to Jack. Sure, the puppy dog expression and the whining and the fact that he always swore it was the last time helped, but the real reason was simple.
Jack was Mac’s Labrador.
MacGyver loved Labradors, but he lived under no delusions that they were perfect dogs.
He knew Labradors cause a lot of trouble. They chew shoes, mess up floors, drool all over, and eat a fortune in food. They shed like crazy, get mud all over, and always manage to get underfoot just in time to cause a major tumble.
But they’re always there when you’ve had a bad day. They somehow always know when they need to be extra good, either because you’re feeling a little fragile or they’ve done something really wrong.
They’re always there when you need them.
They never bite when a growl will do.
And even at their worst, they always seem to be able to tilt their heads sideways just right or do just the right thing to make you realize that you wouldn’t want to live without them.
Jack caused his fair share of trouble, but he always came through for MacGyver in the end, and he really did know a few things about Mac that Pete, as his boss, would never know. He’d been a faithful companion for almost as long as Mac could remember, and there were some things that were just easier to talk about with Jack than with just about anyone else, including himself.
Last night had been Jack’s time to shine, and he had done so brilliantly.
Jack was his friend.
Perhaps he would get through this after all.
With a little help from his friends.
 "Now, come on, Pete! Look at me! I'm a hurtin' guy! I'm beat up! I need a month's worth of sleep! And I need a haircut!" MacGyver, 'Serenity'
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