Okay here we go again. Let's see what I've got in store for y'all…
"Now, who won?" Dunc asked as Pete and Boxer came back with Jack between them.
"Neither." Pete smirked, "Or well, Jack. If you don't mind that I pushed Boxer over…"
The confession and smile was rewarded with Boxer's hand smacking against the back of his head.
"Hey! OW!" Pete frowned and brought his free hand up to rub at the back of his head.
"Oh come on now…" Jack drawled as he tried to conceal that the corners of his lips quirked upward, "It was just a brain duster… That's church discipline… Doesn't really hurt."
Then when he saw the glare Pete shot him, Jack broke out laughing.
"Church discipline - my ass…" Pete frowned and kept rubbing the sore spot, "Might have been if it wasn't for Box's watch hitting me…"
Boxer chuckled and shook his head, "Sorry Pete, forgot I had it on…"
Pete scowled over at Boxer, then he twisted to see Box's wrist and the offending watch, with its clock face on the inside of Boxer's wrist out of habit.
"You know I'm planning revenge, right?" Pete warned, his eyes forming small slits as he pinned Boxer with a stare.
"Don't go starting any kind of prank war, please!" Duncan rolled his eyes, "We all know everyone is a little too competitive to lose, and you know what happened last time…"
"That wasn't us…" Pete frowned.
"Yeah, that was… That was Jack and Coop…"
"Same difference…" Dunc shook his head, "Clue is, we all remember what happened, we don't want to start anything like that again. Right?"
"What happened?" Allie darted in, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Well." Duncan sighed, "As retaliation for some itching powder someone had used on the other. One person decided to cut someone's hair in their sleep, and superglue it to their chest and face…"
"Which in turn caused the other one to get a hold of some laxatives." Boxer added.
"Yeah, before the other person got out a needle and tread and sowed the legs and sleeves of all the other person's clothes shut…" Duncan remembered.
"And a lot happened after that too…" Boxer shrugged, "But I think the final straw was when person A stole person B's clothes while he was in the shower and pinned them up at the message board… His towel included…"
"And then pretty much gave the rest of us direct orders not to help person B…" Duncan chuckled.
"There was a small retaliation after that too, before the rest of us managed to get them to stop."
"Oh yeah?" Allie was giggling despite her best efforts.
"Superglue plus coffee mug…" Pete remembered, "Let's go with the whole person A vs person B thing to keep the two anonymous in who was guilty of what… But person B planned to just glue person A's hand to the cup…"
"-Person A got his hand glued to the cup…" Boxer nodded then laughed, "He also got his lip glued to the cup when he went to get a sip of his coffee…"
"So… Pete, Box…" Duncan crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the two in a way that he tried to copy from Miss Water's, "Would you two just please behave, before we end up with situations like last time?"
"Not promising anything…" Pete shrugged.
Duncan shook his head in exasperation, before he silently muttered "If this is what it's like having kids, then I'm not having any…"
MACGYVERxDELTASPECIAL
"If this is what it's like having kids, then I'm not having any…" Duncan's words were just loud enough for Coop to hear, and they genuinely made him laugh. Out of all the Delta's he knew exactly who was likely to end up with kids, in plural, later on. Pete was on the top of the list, then came Dunc… And maybe Jack after that again.
Coop wasn't entirely sure about himself of Boxer. He couldn't really imagine himself as someone's dad, and he doubted that would change over the next decade or so. And Boxer? Boxer was more fit to be the cool uncle than a father.
-Okay, he would be a great father too, but he didn't really come across as the 'wife and kids' apple-pie life type. Coop's guess was Boxer would stay with the Delta's as long as they allowed him to be in the field, then who knows? Maybe he would finally start climbing the ladder? Everyone in the field knew the desk jockeys could use a few good heads among them. And who knew, in about five years when Boxer reached what? 107 years of age? Maybe a desk job would be something for him?
His thoughts did nothing to stop him from snickering as the rest of the team placed their eyes on him with expectant looks.
"What's funny big guy?" Pete finally asked.
"Oh, nothing…" Coop chuckled as his left hand darted up to wipe at his right eye, "Just the thought of pretty much any of you with kids… Except maybe you…"
Pete looked a little confused for a moment, then he also let out a short chuckle. "That would be an experience…"
"Exactly." Coop nodded, grateful that he didn't really have to reveal what he'd really been thinking in detail.
"And how about you, big guy." Theo asked, looking over at Coop. "How hilarious do you think it would be to see you with a couple of miniature copies of yourself?"
Coop stopped laughing, then he shrugged. "Dunno… Have never really thought about kids."
"Aw, come on!" Theo pulled, "Everyone's had it pass through their mind one time or another…"
Coop shrugged, "Kinda figured I'd retire first. No hurries."
"Okay, that's fair." Theo shrugged back, then he looked at the Delta team, "Anyone of you've got kids?"
The Delta's shook their heads and a couple of them voiced their 'no'-s.
"And you guys?" Duncan decided to ask in return, "Anyone got that wife, dog, 2.4 kids combo waiting back home?"
"Both Kyle and Allan has." Theo answered for the group.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Kyle grinned, "I've got a daughter, she's 3. And talks even more than her mother, and luckily she's got her mother's good looks too."
There was a little fit of good natured laughs going around the two groups.
Then Allan cleared his voice, "I've got three. Two boys, one girl. Oldest boy turns 10 in a month, the middle one is 8 and my little princess is also 3…"
"Did you guys plan that or something?"
"Nah… Just happened to knock our ladies up during the same leave…" Kyle shrugged, "We had bets on whether my wife or his would be the first one to give birth…"
"It ended up being really close too," Allan informed, "There's five days between them, isn't there?"
"June 6th…"
"June 11th, yeah, that fits."
"You ain't got any either Ben?" Jack asked as he sat down next to the SEAL.
"No…" Ben shook his head a little, "No, me and my wife can't…"
"Oh, I'm so sorry…" Jack winced, knowing that it probably was a tender subject.
"We're looking into adoption though…" Ben shrugged, "I figure I'd rather retire and adopt a kid than keep on with this life for as long as I can, and end up being the reason my wife can't call someone her kid…"
Jack nodded, "Yeah, I see that."
Ben nodded too, then he looked back up at the others, "Okay. So… enough about that… I've got an idea for the next challenge…"
"You do?" Jack grinned, "Let's hear it then."
"Well, actually it's your idea, but…" Ben shrugged, "See who can get the furthest by jumping on one leg…"
Jack nodded, "How many participants?"
"One against one?" Ben shrugged, "Or we might end up having to send someone after stubborn Delta's again…"
Jack smirked, "So you already know you're gonna lose?"
Ben shook his head, "No, just joking. Of course we're gonna win."
"Who's your guy then?"
"I am…" Kyle answered for him.
"Yours?"
"What do you think guys? Should I?" Jack drawled and leaned back to look at all of his men, and Allie.
"Better you than me…" Cooper chuckled.
"That's true…" Boxer grinned at Cooper, then his expression changed and he looked over at Jack, "You sure you want to? I could go? Pete or Dunc could too…"
"Well, any of you got any objections to me taking this one?" Jack changed his question and gazed over his team.
None of them answered.
"Okay then," Jack grinned, "Then it's me…"
Ben and Kyle nodded.
MACGYVERxDELTASPECIAL
As Duncan helped Jack over to the starting point of the competition, Allie leaned over to Boxer and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"As a former gymnast, I've got to say one thing…"
Boxer chuckled and looked in her direction, "Lemme guess… Bad form?"
"Bad form…" Allie nodded with a smirk, "Or, it could be a Mexican handstand, but it would still be pretty bad form even then…"
"But hey, I keep my balance. And that's the important part in these little show-offs…" Boxer grinned.
"Guess it is…" Allie agreed, "But it's not pretty…"
"Never said it was…" Boxer shrugged, and looked over at Jack, Kyle and Ben just in time to see Ben send the two competitors on their way.
Okay. Hope you enjoyed today's chapter. Who's ready for this week's episode? I am!