Since spooky season is upon us, I decided to write something that's LOOSELY inspired by my favorite original MacGyver episode: The Secret of Parker House. And when I say loosely, I mean I used the setting, and threw in some references.

But I hope you enjoy my take on Mac and Riley spending the night in a haunted house…

Lightning + Thunder + Poltergeist

"Are you sure we got the right address?" Mac asked, taking in the sight in front of him.

"Yes, I guess aunt Betty wasn't joking about it being haunted," Riley replied, standing at the bottom of the steps that lead up to the front door of the real life haunted mansion that was their home for the weekend. The owner, Riley's great aunt Betty, needed someone to look the house over before putting it on the market – and Riley happened to know the perfect guy for the job.

"Thanks again, you didn't have to do this," she added with a smile.

"Are you kidding?" He replied. "This is going to be fun! And I'm actually glad to get out of L.A. for a weekend, I mean for something not Phoenix related…"

"Well in that case, you're welcome," she gave him a little nudge. They had fallen into a nice routine after Mac and Desi had finally acknowledged that they were better off as anything, than whatever they had been trying to hold on to. That meant, starting their days with coffee on the deck, ending them curled up on opposite ends of Mac's couch – him with a book, her with her laptop – and working on various projects on the weekends. It was everything Riley had been longing for, well almost everything…

"So, anything I should know before we enter?" Mac joked.

"Betty said something about weird noises, voices, moaning…"

"…creaking floor boards, strange drafts and flickering lights?" Mac cut her off.

"I know, I know it's just an old house…"

"…and there's a purely logical explanation for everything you just described," Mac assured her, before he turned around to unload the car.

"Tell that to these guys," she commented, patting one of the creepy looking stone figures, that were framing the stairs, on its head…

xoxo

"I win again!" Riley beamed, adding the final set of cards to her stack.

"Ok, one more round. All or nothing, loser takes care of the dishes."

"Deal," Riley replied shuffling the cards, grateful for the distraction. After a quick tour of the house, they had set up camp in the parlor (the real work would have to wait until morning), and so far the evening had been rather uneventful. They had ordered a pizza and opened the bottle of wine that Betty had left for them as a thank you – not a ghost, demon, or creepy doll in sight. Maybe Mac had been right, and all the noises, drafts and shadows were really just the results of an aging structure. Although, she could have done without the thunderstorm that had started shortly after their arrival…

"Damn it!" Riley jumped as a crack of thunder sounded right above their heads.

"You ok?" Mac had experienced enough storms – some a lot worse than this one – with Riley to know that it wasn't the weather that was keeping her on edge.

"Yes, It's just… You promise not to laugh?"

He nodded.

"I know there's no such things as ghosts, but Aunt Betty told me that she felt like someone was watching her when she dropped the wine off yesterday, and now I can't shake the feeling…"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it's embarrassing! And you always used to make fun of Jack for believing in the supernatural…"

"First, so did you. And second, if someone is watching us, it's more likely to be one of our many enemies."

"That is literally the worst thing you could say…" she laughed.

"You're smiling, so it worked."

Riley opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by another wave of thunder followed by a loud crash and the room going dark…

"What was that? Mac?" She panicked.

"Right here," he found her hand and squeezed it for reassurance. "It's just the power, I'll go check on it. The breaker box is behind the garage."

"I'm not staying here by myself!"

"Fine, but you'll wait by the door, there's no reason for us both to get soaked," Mac found his flashlight and lead them to the front door. The rain hit them as soon as he opened it.

"I don't think you need to check the breaker box..." Riley yelled over the howling wind, looking at the tree that had taken down the power line, plunging the whole street into darkness.

xoxo

"The city's gonna take care of it in the morning, apparently it's not the only damage," Mac explained, stepping back into the parlor where Riley had assembled every candle she could find.

"Can't you whip up a generator or something?" She pleaded.

Mac laughed. "I appreciate your confidence in me, but we'll have to wait this one out."

"Of course we do…" she sighed, lighting another candle and setting it down on the coffee table.

"Let's play Truth or Dare," Mac suggested.

"What?"

"It's too dark for another round of War, and I'm guessing you're not in the mood for ghost stories."

She couldn't argue with that. "How about Never Have I ever?"

"Are you afraid that I would dare you to check out the basement?"

"Maybe," Riley replied with a sheepish smile.

"Ok, but there aren't a lot of things that you and I haven't done…"

"I'll take that risk," Riley replied refilling their glasses.

xoxo

"Never have I ever cheated on a test."

"Seriously?" Riley rolled her eyes. After a few rounds, that lead to realizations in the realm of her having once finished a whole tub of ice cream by herself, and Mac never having had a cavity, she was ready for the game to become a little more interesting.

"No more middle school questions!"

"I'm just trying to keep it lighthearted. And did you?"

Riley took a sip of wine.

"I knew it," Mac grinned.

"Never have I ever gone skinny dipping." Riley offered.

Now it was Mac's turn to take a sip.

"Do tell!"

"Sorry, no exciting stories just a lot of time in the wilderness," he shrugged and continued the game. "Never have I ever written a love letter."

Riley laughed and finished what was left in her glass. "Toby Jackson in fourth grade, he used it to make a paper plane."

"Sounds like something nine year old me would have done."

"Guess I always had a type," Riley froze, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. Had she really just said that out loud?

Judging by the look on Mac's face, she had – and he had heard it.

"Are you talking about nine year old Riley, or…"

"I…" Riley took a deep breath. It wasn't too late to just laugh it off, but then she felt a weight on her leg, Mac was letting her know that it was ok.

"It just crept up on me…" Riley confessed, putting her hand over what she thought was Mac's… and then panic set in.

"Oh my god!" She jumped up, almost knocking over some of the candles, her own high pitched scream masking the response of whatever had been sitting on her leg.

"What is it?" Mac turned on the flashlight to get a better view of whatever had spooked her.

"I don't know, there was something on my leg! It..." she was cut off by the sound of a vase shattering on hardwood floor after something had pushed it off its place on the mantelpiece.

Mac moved the flashlight over the area the sound had come from…

"Don't move…" he whispered.

"Why?" Riley watched him put the flashlight down, before he walked around the couch to pick something up.

"Because, we wouldn't want to spook this little poltergeist…" Mac revealed a black kitten. The small creature was shaking, terrified by the commotion its efforts to befriend Riley had caused.

Riley's eyes grew wide. "Aw, do you think it has been in here all night?"

"Well It's not wet, so it had to be. Maybe your aunt Betty was on to something…"

"Mhmm.…" Riley gently brushed her thumb over the tiny animal's head. "This might go down as the most embarrassing night of my life."

"Nothing you did or said tonight is embarrassing."

"Nothing?" She looked up to meet his gaze, not sure what to make of his reaction. Him being understanding, didn't necessarily mean that he felt the same way.

"Nothing," with that he closed the distance between them, answering Riley's question with actions rather than words. As far was first kisses went, It was tentative - awkward even, but it told Riley everything she needed to know. They were in this together.

The meowing of their new friend (a reaction to the imminent danger of being crushed between them), forced them apart.

"I'm sorry buddy," Mac laughed, giving the kitten room to breathe, before he brought his attention back to Riley. "I'm glad you told me."

"Only took a haunted house, a blackout and a bottle of wine…"

"Not haunted," Mac held up the kitten for emphasis.

She blushed, but then a smile spread across her face. "Never have I ever, adopted a kitten…"

"What should we name it? Assuming, of course, that we don't find its family…"

"We…" Riley started, savoring the word. "…will think of something."

This was everything.

I wanted to make it spooky, and then it got away from me …but I like where they ended up.

Reviews are always welcome – and feel free to name the kitten!

Love,

Laura