Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. They are the property of Shoot the Moon Enterprises. I'm very grateful for the chance to enjoy these characters, and I hope I put them back in the proper condition to go on to their next episode.

Many thanks to my wonderful beta readers for their patience and assistance. All mistakes are my own.

This story fits within the same interpretation as my previous stories. However, it is out of chronological order from the others, it falls far earlier, during season 1.

Lee slowly eased the drape a fraction of an inch to the side, careful not to let it catch an errant breeze. It was imperative that he do nothing to disclose his location, not to either of the two who were diligently searching the area below him, nor to any onlookers.

Tension gripped him as the nearer of the two seekers approached his hiding place. He absentmindedly rubbed the smooth green fabric between his fingers. Moments ticked by as the hunters worked their way nearer. Lee shrank farther back into the shadows, but still kept his opponents in view.

He studied their movements, contrasting their strategies.

The closest of the two was working carefully, methodically. Scanning the area directly around him for possible hiding places and investigating each one before moving on. He was thorough, tenacious, and sharp. He had already examined many places that Lee had considered as very good hiding places.

The other fellow appeared to take a more random, scattered approach. He would examine one area, then look around, and often travel some distance to search a new spot. However, in spite of the random appearance, he was also showing notable intuition and covering a lot of ground.

A hint of a smile crept over Lee's face, even as his eyes narrowed. These guys were showing themselves to be satisfying adversaries.

"Hey! Look at this!"

At his companion's yell, the nearest searcher spun around, temporarily abandoning his own hunt, and rushed to answer the summons. Lee released a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding until then. He felt a surge of triumph that his hiding place remained undiscovered.

As quickly as that feeling had come, it was banished, when the searcher passing below his vantage point paused and looked up. Lee was certain that he couldn't be seen behind the drape, but he was equally certain that there could be no escaping detection if they chose to come up here. He'd underestimated them, allowing himself to rely too heavily on the idea that people don't look up. Another shout from across the way bought him a momentary reprieve.

He considered his options quickly as he watched the retreating figure. Moving to the rail at the far side of the structure, he reached up and gripped the overhang. From their present positions, there was only one person visible who might be able to see this side, and for the moment all eyes were turned away. He knew he had only seconds to act. Moving swiftly, but wary against a making any sound, he pushed the drape aside. The fleeting thought crossed his mind that this would be easier if he unhooked a bit of the end, but he dismissed it immediately. Any effort to refasten it would make him visible and leaving it hanging detached would attract attention. With one last glance, to be sure no one was looking in his direction, he stepped sideways up onto the rail, and from there heaved himself up to the overhanging roof.

In his haste to pull his legs up out of sight, Lee failed to see a small cache of acorn shells accumulated against the edge of a shingle. In horror he watched the small cascade of acorns tumbling towards the brink from where his toe had dislodged them. A quick thrust of his foot blocked most of them, but several slipped over the edge. A ping that sounded thunderous in Lee's ears rang out as an acorn bounced off the rail where he had stood just heartbeats earlier.

"What was that?" called out a voice below, accompanied by returning footsteps.

He flattened himself against the rough wooden shakes, not daring to breathe. Why had he let himself get involved in this? It had nothing to do with him. If he was detected here, the consequences didn't bear thinking about. He turned his eye as far as he could without lifting his head, as if a solution could be found on this roof. Only more of the treacherous acorns. The acorns! He stretched out his left hand, but his quarry was beyond his reach. Too many acorns around his feet, but none within arm's reach. He inched forward, conscious of even the slightest scraping sounds, hoping they didn't carry. Just a fraction of an inch more and he'd have it.

At that moment a large gray squirrel plopped onto the roof before him. With a nimble leap it scooped up the acorn at his fingertips and just as quickly, sprang back into the branches above. Lee glared balefully at the retreating fluffy tail until another leap carried it out of his sight.

"It's just a squirrel, Wormbrain."

"Don't call your brother names," intoned two female voices together.

"Maybe..?" Jamie King replied to his brother's taunt.

It was several seconds before the sounds of renewed activity convinced Lee that it was safe to peer past the edge of the roof of the tree house. The boys had resumed their hunt for Easter eggs, and other hidden treasures, while Amanda and Dotty looked on with amusement.

"This is the most amazing thing ever!" Philip enthused, posing a toy robot in a battle stance.

"They're like Jeff''s GoBots." Jamie agreed, swooping his own through the air.

"They're even better!" Philip declared "These move WAY more. And they're totally cooler!"

Amanda watched her sons playing, warmed by seeing their shared enthusiasm. Wherever her mother had gotten those robots, they certainly were a hit. She turned and made her way to the kitchen, where she found Dotty arranging tulips in a vase. "Mother, those action figures you got for the boys are the hit of the day! They just love them." she congratulated her.

Dotty turned toward her with a smile. "They do? Well that's lovely, Dear. Just lovely. I wasn't really sure when I got them. But really, how could I not? They were just too cute!"

"Cute?" Amanda puzzled at that description of the robots, with parts that looked like fragments of cars. "Well just as long as the boys don't hear you call them that." Amanda chuckled, lifting a marshmallow creme egg from a bowl on the counter, before she turned back into the family room.

Adding one more blossom to the vase, Dotty smiled to herself. "They love my ninja bunnies."

Lee shook his head as he walked through his door. He still couldn't believe he'd let himself pull such a crazy stunt. He couldn't believe he'd wanted to do it. And he couldn't believe he'd had so much fun.

As recently as three days ago, he'd have scoffed at the idea. He didn't do holidays.

But then he'd stopped by Amanda's and she'd greeted him wearing gloves that looked like they'd been decorated by Jackson Pollock. Seeing him goggling at the gloves, she'd quickly stripped them off. "Never-mind those. The boys and I were just painting eggs."

"You were what?" He had to have heard that wrong

"Painting the eggs."

He'd stopped and just waited for the long ramble that would surely follow such an incredible statement.

"Well?" she'd asked.

Lee felt as if the ground were shifting beneath his feet. "Well, what?"

"Well. Is there some reason you're hanging out in my backyard?"

Lee couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask. "Is there some reason you're painting eggs?"

"It's what people do."

Lee stared at her, dumbfounded. In desperation, he looked around as if the answer might be left lying in some corner.

"Easter eggs, Lee! This weekend is Easter."

"Easter?" He gave her a skeptical look. "Are you telling me you paint eggs so you can tell your kids that a magic rabbit brought them?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Lee. I just told you, the boys help me paint them. They know Mother and I each take a turn hiding stuff for them." As he continued to look confused, "It's a fun thing to do. We all have fun painting them, then Mother and I have fun hiding them, seeing who can come up with the best hiding places and who stumps the boys the longest, and the boys, of course they have lots of fun hunting for treats."

"They think painted eggs are a treat?"

"Well, it's not just eggs. There are also jelly beans and toys and a chocolate bunny for each of them. And yes. They do think those eggs are a treat, especially after they made crazy faces and characters on them."

"So, what happens if one of them finds both of the bunnies?"

"He takes one and leaves the other. Sheesh, they both know they have a brother. It's not like that's a secret. If they find something that looks special, they know to only take one unless they know their brother already got one too. It's not complicated, just a really fun thing for them to look forward to, to make it feel like a special day. Then they're more interested in listening when we talk about the spirit of the day, about celebrating things coming back to life after the winter, and renewing ourselves." She already knew better than to mention any of the deeper meanings.

"Right." Lee shook his head."And I thought Easter was just about new clothes and frilly hats for the ladies."

"You're thinking of the Easter Parade. The closest we ever come to that is watching the movie."

Try as he might Lee hadn't been able to get that out of his mind. Holiday celebrations normally filled him with dread, but this sounded so different than anything he'd imagined. Maybe a holiday wouldn't be so bad if it was celebrated by hiding and searching and sneaking around?

And after all, Philip's birthday, about a month previous, had felt curiously rewarding. In spite of all the aggravations, it had felt good finding replacements for the gifts that had been lost.

Thinking of that quest had reminded him of the conversation he'd had with Bernie. Bernie was a friend of his in the toy making industry. He'd called him looking for advice on where to find a Captain Galaxy.

"Hey. You want to get something that'll make that kid's day? I got some things here. They're going to be big. Every kid's going to want one." Bernie had crowed gleefully.

Lee wasn't sure exactly why he'd wound up buying Transformers robots, but they'd been sitting in his desk ever since. Today, watching those boys finding the places where he'd hid them in the yard had been a real thrill.

He slid open a drawer in his desk and reached to the back, pulling out a toy that at the moment was arranged into a Porsche.

Okay, so maybe he'd bought three of them.

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