There's a large bowl of paperclips in whatever room the team is always briefed in. I was wondering why (and, honestly, being a bit annoyed by it, because they always have Mac do that thing with the paperclip every single episode), but then I realized that there might actually be a good reason for it.

Or at least good material for a story.

This is set when MacGyver is around 19. He and Jack have been working together for a few months. I feel like MacGyver found some way to join the army early, because that's about the only way he could have done everything he has and also be as young as they imply in the show. Maybe some kind of special program? In my world, he worked with the army until he was around eighteen and a half, then, when Pena died, he was given leave for psychological trauma after his last encounter with the Ghost. (I realize that this might not be how the army works, but please don't get mad at me for inaccuracies. I would love it if someone who was knowledgeable felt inclined to correct me.)

After he left the army he was immediately recruited into the DXS to work there and was assigned Jack, who had just quit the CIA (the Ghost mission was his last mission for them) as his partner.

Riley rested her chin on her hand and watched MacGyver doze in a chair, his feet resting on the tabletop. The man was obviously exhausted from their last mission, and apparently too tired to stay awake until Thornton arrived to debrief the team.

Bored, the girl let her eyes wander around the room. Her gaze came to rest on the large bowl of paperclips that had been present in every briefing room of the Phoenix Foundation that she had seen so far. With nothing else to do, she turned to Jack. The man was frowning at his phone and tapping on it, grunting in frustration every so often.

Riley let him continue for a moment, then spoke. "Hey, Jack."

The man looked up at her. "Yeah?"

The girl pointed to the bowl of paperclips. "I keep seeing those around the briefing rooms. What're they for?"

Jack grinned, the corners of his eyes creasing as he remembered something funny. "Well, Riley, sit on back and I'll tell you a story that begins with our good friend MacGyver here."

When Jack first began working with MacGyver, he noticed a habit the kid had. One might even call it a nervous tic, except the kid did it even when he was calm. No matter where he was, the kid couldn't sit still. Some part of him always had to be moving. This rarely caused an issue. Rarely, however, wasn't the same as never.

The woman that normally debriefed the pair, Patricia Thornton, was out sick. As a result, they had a different agent, one who wasn't nearly as patient with the teen as Thornton normally was. While Thornton would normally let the kid bounce a ball or something while he talked, this man- Jenks- had confiscated the rubber ball as soon as he had walked in the door.

MacGyver had shot a mournful look at Jack, who had only shrugged. There wasn't really that much that the older man could do. Sighing through his nose, the blond had settled back in his chair.

Jenks looked slightly less disapproving than he had when he walked in.

After about five minutes, though, the kid's leg had started bouncing. The movement had started out small, nothing more than a slight shake of the leg, but now it was bouncing like crazy. Jack was having trouble not laughing while he watched it. He kept quiet, though, hoping that Jenks wouldn't notice and his partner wouldn't get in trouble.

Luck wasn't on MacGyver's side, however,and it only took Jenks another minute or two to notice. When he did, the annoyed expression on his face grew fierce. "If you don't stop, agent, I'll handcuff you to the table."

Jack knew Jenks. The man would follow up on his word. The brunet shot a glance at his partner, trying to catch his attention. When he had it, he mouthed, "Be careful."

MacGyver nodded, his gaze more mournful than ever. It was like watching a puppy being kicked and not being able to do anything about it.

After another few minutes- maybe ten; Jack was impressed- MacGyver's fingers started to tap on his leg. He did his best to keep still, but couldn't stop fidgeting. When Jenks started to look up, Jack kicked the kid in the ankle, warning him to stop.

Jenks caught the end of the movement out of his eye, though, and his gaze hardened. He stood up, went over to the door, and spoke to someone walking outside. The next moment, he was back at the table carrying a pair of handcuffs. They weren't normal handcuffs, however, they were the heavy-duty ones that were reserved for high-profile criminals. Jenks held them up as he walked towards MacGyver. "These were all we had. I warned you."

Jack stood up, a frown marring his face. "Now hold on just a minute-"

He was cut off by Jenks. "Unless you want to find yourself handcuffed to the table as well, Agent Dalton, I suggest you sit down and keep quiet."

Jack, furious, sat down again, knowing that he wouldn't be of any help to the kid if he was also handcuffed to the table. He could only watch as Jenks made MacGyver stretch out his arms to have them cuffed to the center of the table. Given that MacGyver still had some growing to do, as well as the way the cuffs were made and the fact that the table in itself was designed to keep a prisoner off guard when cuffed to it, the kid's chest ended up pressed against the surface of the table in a very uncomfortable way that, given the way he was grimacing, was extremely uncomfortable on MacGyver's ribs.

Jack felt furious but reluctantly kept quiet. The debriefing continued, with Jenks wearing a smug expression the entire time. It made Jack want to punch him.

After the debriefing had concluded, Jenks walked over to MacGyver. He put his hand on the kid's shoulder in a way that looked normal but made the younger man try to squirm away. Jack felt his blood boil as he realized that the other man was pushing down purposely on the teen's shoulder, a cruel movement that only caused the kid more pain in addition to the discomfort that he already had to be feeling from his ribs. Jenks spoke, his infuriatingly smug expression still firmly in place. "I hope you've learned that you should pay attention during debriefings, Agent MacGyver?"

The kid's face was flushed red with embarrassment as he answered, "Yes, sir."

Jenks nodded. "Good."

He reached over and unlocked the cuffs, taking them with him as he exited the room. MacGyver sat up slowly, rubbing at his wrists. Jack didn't say anything, knowing that it would only add to his partner's embarrassment. Together, the two exited the room a few minutes after Jenks.

The next time that they were being debriefed from a mission, Jack was frustrated to see Jenks in the room waiting for them. Once the man saw MacGyver he flicked a meaningful gaze towards a pair of handcuffs that were resting on the table by him. Jack felt some of the energy leach out of the young man beside him, and he felt an unprecedented surge of protective anger.

As they sat, Jack palmed a paperclip from the top of a nearby sheaf of papers, handing it underneath the table to MacGyver. The teen's eyes flicked over to his partner in surprise, but he was careful to show no hint of his shock on his face.

Jenks looked a bit disappointed that he didn't have a chance to reprimand the younger man during the debriefing, and barely acknowledged MacGyver unless he was asking the kid a question.

When the two partners had left the debriefing room behind, MacGyver glanced up at Jack. "Thanks."

Jack shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I used to have trouble sitting still myself when I was your age. Now I'm old and glad when I get a chance to sit down and do nothing for a while."

Jack was rewarded for his joke by the bright grin that lit up the younger man's face. The teen was already putting the matter out of his mind, but Jack resolved to talk to Thornton about the behavior of some of the agents. He knew she wasn't the director of the DXS (yet, it was common-yet-unspoken knowledge that she was being groomed for the position), but he also knew that she had some serious power in the agency. She could easily pull a few strings and make sure nothing like that ever happened again- to Mac, or to any other agent with as much trouble sitting still as he did, because Jack knew that there had to be at least a few.

Jack leaned back in his chair. "And that, my friend, is why there are bowls of paperclips in every room."

Riley hummed, a thoughtful look on her face. "Interesting."

At that moment the door opened, and Thornton entered the room. She glanced at the still-sleeping MacGyver, then at Jack with a raised eyebrow. Jack shrugged, then poked MacGyver in the side. The blond awoke with a start, his hand going to his side. Jack pointed his thumb at Thornton, who was sitting down and gathering some papers before her. MacGyver quickly took his feet off the table and sat up, mouthing something at Jack. As the older woman began to speak, Riley watched as MacGyver's hand reached out and grabbed a paperclip and began to absently play with it. As she returned her gaze to the woman before her, she noticed a slight smile on the face of one Jack Dalton.

Jack was playing Flappy Bird*. MacGyver made him get the game when it was all the rage, but Jack never played it until he was very bored on a long stakeout. Now he's semi-addicted and plays it whenever he's waiting to be briefed or debriefed.

*For those who've never played, the game Flappy Bird was very big in the USA (and possibly other parts of the world?) around two years ago and reached its peak around early January of 2014. The game was deleted from both the Apple and Google app stores in February of that year. The game was wildly addictive, with many people becoming obsessed. For more information, visit the Wikipedia page for Flappy Bird.

I figured that Jack would be the type to play a game like that every once in a while when he had nothing else to do, but would be able to resist becoming obsessed with it. He seems like a man who more is focused on other, real life, things.

Also, Jenks was fired. Jack made a private complaint to HR and in the investigation that followed it turned out that Jenks had been abusing his power in the same way among other younger agents, not just MacGyver, and he was led (dragged) out of the building by security. He currently works as a cashier in a local fast food restaurant. Many agents delight in going there every once in a while to give him needlessly complicated orders.