Disclaimer: MacGyver's ideas in this story have not been tested, and some probably have a better chance than others of working in real life. MacGyver and other recognizable characters are the property of Paramount; all original characters and story © 2021 FemaleChauvinist. Specific references in this story are to the Season 2 episode "Final Approach," a summary of which can be found at the end of this prologue. "Cover" illustration © 2021 FemaleChauvinist

Do not post without permission. Do not copy/print without including the above disclaimer in its entirety.

A full-size version of the cover illustration can be found at www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art/The-Kids-Who-Cried-MacGyver-Cover-874904513

Prologue

Lizzie Jenkins pounded frantically on the window. "Hey! Let me back in!"

From behind the glass, eight-year-old Cindy put her thumbs in her ears and stuck out her tongue, waggling her fingers in the classic "nyah-nyah, nyah-nyah-nyah" gesture.

Sighing, Lizzie sank down to sit on the roof and thought about how she had gotten herself into this predicament. *

Babysitting the four Witowski kids for a few hours had seemed like an easy way to earn a little extra money, and for the first half hour all had seemed to be going well as the children played quietly in their rooms.

Then Cindy had come running down the stairs, shouting that Cassie was on the roof and was going to fall.

Heart pounding, Lizzie had dashed up the stairs after Cindy.

The window to the girls' room stood wide open, and six-year-old Cassie was indeed outside on the wide porch roof.

Leaning cautiously out the window, Lizzie kept tight hold of the sill with one hand and reached for the little girl with the other. "Cassie, honey, come back inside before you fall."

Acting as if she hadn't heard, Cassie moved a step further away, nearly making Lizzie's heart stop as she moved closer to the edge. "Stay where you are; I'm coming," she ordered, squirming through the window and trying not to think of the fall if she slipped and how much steeper the roof seemed when she was out on it. She didn't dare try to stand as Cassie was, instead crawling cautiously toward the little girl. "I'm coming, Cassie; don't be scared."

"I'm not scared," Cassie said firmly. Reaching the other window far faster than Lizzie could crawl, she scrambled in, helped by her brothers' eager hands. The next moment, the oldest, Derrick, had shut and locked the window after her.

With a wild presentiment of what was about to happen, Lizzie scrambled to her feet too quickly and nearly fell as she spun back toward the girls' window, just in time to see it slammed shut and Cindy's mocking face.

oOo

So it was that she sat hunched miserably on the roof as the sun went down amid gathering clouds and a cold drizzle started to fall. She wondered what mischief the kids were getting into on their own, but couldn't bring herself to care; she suspected she would have been powerless to stop them anyway.

At last the bright beams of headlights coming up the drive pierced the gloom of the night, and Lizzie waited eagerly for the sound of a car door opening.

"Help!" she shouted. "I'm locked out on the roof; I can't get down!"

Showing remarkably little surprise at her predicament, Mr Witowski hurried to get a ladder from the garage as his wife went on into the house.

"Can you climb down on your own if I hold it?" he called up to her.

"Y-yes," she replied through chattering teeth, crawling to the ladder on limbs almost too stiff and cold to move. Normally she would have been terrified to step onto the ladder from the roof, but now all she could think about was getting to solid ground once again.

"Thank you," she said stiffly as Mr Witowski took her arm to help her down the last few rungs.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

Mr Witowski dug in his pocket, producing a fifty-dollar bill. "Here…a little extra for your trouble."

It was more than double what she usually charged, but she shoved it in her pocket without argument or thanks. "I'm never going to watch your kids again," she told him. "And I'm going to warn all my friends about them!"

Mr Witowski put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand completely. I'm sorry, Lizzie —"

"I don't want your apologies!" she hissed, jerking her shoulder free and running toward her car. Once inside, she turned the heat as high as it would go, but she was nearly home before she finally stopped shivering.

First chapter coming next week!

* Illustration for this scene can be found at www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art/Locked-Out-874904601

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Appendix: "Final Approach" Summary

A/N: "Final Approach" aired in Season Two; however, to fit my timeline of when Mac works with Phoenix, I have moved it to "Season Three."

MacGyver is involved with a Phoenix pilot program to take young gang members camping in the wilderness. Gina and Tommy were together until their gangs came between them, while Luther hates Ramone because common knowledge says Ramone killed Luther's little brother.

On the way back in a small plane, Ramone is hectoring the pilot, who suddenly collapses and dies of a heart attack, sending the plane into a nose dive. In the copilot seat, MacGyver manages to pull up just in time for a controlled crash landing. After burying the pilot, he makes a tent from a parachute and they wait for a search party to come for them.

In the morning, Tommy is missing, having decided to be a hero and go for help. While MacGyver is looking for him, Ramone sits by himself, a hand pressed to his painful side. Still out for revenge for his brother, Luther sharpens his knife and goes out after Ramone. He chases Ramone, who falls while running from him. Returning with Tommy, MacGyver is in time to see Luther throw the knife into the ground just beside Ramone's head. He runs off while Ramone lies there, too weak to get up.

MacGyver askes where Ramone's hurt, and for the first time gets an honest answer; Ramone has been in pain since the crash. Back in the tent, MacGyver checks Ramone and determines he has a punctured spleen. They can't afford to wait for rescue; if they don't get Ramone to a hospital he's going to die. And their only way out is the damaged plane.

As MacGyver starts making a ski to replace the shredded front wheel, he sets Tommy and Gina to work surveying a runway, digging a trench, and filling it with mud for the ski to slide through.

Luther refuses to help, not considering Ramone to be worth trying to save. But MacGyver, who doesn't believe Ramone is guilty, tells Luther to be sure of his facts before going out to exact vengeance. While the others are busy, Luther confronts Ramone, who admits he didn't kill Luther's brother, but claimed he did to gain the respect of his gang. Unwilling at first to give up his quest for retribution, Luther leaves to sit by himself. But at last, he joins Gina in toting mud for the trench.

With all three helping, MacGyver pushes the plane into position and lowers the ski onto the trench. Then he leans against it for a moment, realizing that now he has to try to fly this thing, despite his fear of small planes.

After settling Ramone on board, MacGyver promises to send a rescue party back for the others as soon as he reaches the airport. Then they watch with bated breath as he gathers speed down the makeshift runway. Finally, the nose lifts and the plane soars off above the trees!