A/N: The epilogue features James MacGyver and only mentions Mac and Jack.

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Chapter Two: Epilogue

April 2001

James hung up the phone.

His son's grandfather was still livid with him for having abandoned Angus on the boy's tenth birthday, but it couldn't be helped, and then it seemed like the best for everyone going forward. However, despite the animosity between them, Angus's grandfather was willing to keep him updated on his son's life.

He had called fairly regularly over the last few weeks to see how his son was adjusting to the changes in his life. Angus's grandfather had spent a lot of time letting him know just how badly his son had been handling things during those first few days.

And then he was told about the action figure of a soldier Angus had named Jack and how it seemed to help with the adjustment somehow. His son was too old for such toys, and was too old to think they could be of any real help, but there wasn't really much he could do about it. Except for the updates he got from Angus's grandfather, he needed to keep a zero profile in his boy's life.

However, he would still be there in the background nudging Angus, course correcting his son whenever he felt it was necessary. For now, a stupid toy was nothing to worry about, and didn't alter his ultimate plans for Angus.

The kid could keep the toy for now.

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July 2011

James decided he couldn't wait any longer. There was no denying his son was a trouble magnet and needed some kind of overwatch sooner rather than later if Angus was going to make it out of the Army alive.

His plan had been to pair Angus up with his soldier counterpart after his son had been hired by the DXS, but James realized he might have to accelerate that timeline and have them meet before he'd planned. For the time being, until he could find the perfect candidate, he would draw up a short list of qualified soldiers and get someone over to be Angus' overwatch ASAP. He would find someone permanent to partner with his son at a later date.

The next day, he was assessing the list of soldiers he thought might be able to do the job. Some were only a few of months away from being discharged while others still had more than a year to go. All of them were qualified, some more highly than others, and had good service records.

Considering the pros and cons of each man, he was able to narrow the list down to a few possibilities, but had yet to decide upon one.

James sighed and looked down at the soldiers' files once again, and something caught his eye. Up until now, he had cared only about the soldiers' service records, and not their names. This time though when he read their names, a faint memory stirred.

It was something he remembered from when Angus was younger… Something about a toy…an action figure? Yes, that was it. An action figure. One his son had named, which he had thought was a ridiculous idea at the time, but had done nothing about it. Even more ridiculous was how long Angus had held onto that toy, when he had been too old for such things after his tenth birthday.

If he remembered correctly, that toy was named Jack, and he just so happened to have a soldier named Jack on his list of possibilities.

Based on what Angus's grandfather had told him back then, James was certain Angus would be more open to dealing with someone named Jack because of that stupid, childish toy. His son was always a little too sentimental for his own good, so it was perfect despite the fact that this…Jack Dalton…had less than three months left in his deployment. Based on the man's record, this was the best it was going to get on this short of notice until he could find the next person to watch over his son when Dalton was discharged.

James reached for his phone. He had a transfer to arrange.

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The end.

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Many thanks to Celticgal1041 for proofing. Any remaining mistakes are Murdoc's fault.

Thanks for reading!