Chapter Five: Hide and Seek Shenanigans

Tuesday

"Let's play hide and seek!" Cindy suggested the next afternoon. "You be It first, Mr Mac!"

"I dunno," MacGyver said slowly, slightly wary now after two days with these kids and cautious of a game that had him intentionally letting them hide from him.

Cassie looked up at him with wide gray eyes. "Please, Mr Mac?" she begged.

MacGyver sighed, unable to resist. "All right," he gave in, smiling down at her. "One! Two!" As he turned and leaned his face into his arms against the porch post, the kids shrieked with delight and scattered to find the perfect hiding spot. *

It wouldn't be hard to find them if they were that noisy, MacGyver mused wryly, and began counting a little more softly. But by the time he reached a hundred, everything had become surprisingly quiet and still, and he was forced to admit it might not be as easy as he had assumed. "Ready or not, here I come!"

He turned slowly, scanning the yard for any sign of where they might be hiding, when a muffled giggle came from nearly at his feet.

He debated pretending he hadn't heard, but settled for walking around the porch steps and back before peering underneath. "Aha! Found ya, Cassie!"

He offered her a hand, and she squirmed out, brushing dirt off her knees and apparently not minding the ants that went with it. "I won! You found me first, Mr Mac!"

"Sure did," MacGyver agreed with a chuckle, not bothering to try to explain that in hide and seek, the object was actually to be found last. He suspected that her siblings had either already tried to explain it to her, or preferred her to remain in error. Sooner or later she would figure it out, and in the meantime she had all the pleasure of winning.

"I'll help you look for Dylan!" she offered, grabbing his hand and pulling him across the yard — toward the huge pine, he noticed with a barely suppressed groan.

"Found you, Dylan!" Cassie cried, releasing MacGyver's hand and running toward the tree.

"Aw, no fair, Cass!" Dylan protested. "You knew where I was hiding; you're s'posta let Mr Mac find me!"

Reaching the tree, MacGyver looked up. "Found you. C'mon down now."

Dylan swung down from the branch he had been perching on. "I didn't make you climb up it, Mr Mac," he said earnestly.

"Nope, we're good," MacGyver agreed. "Want to help me look for Derrick and Cindy?"

"Sure! I bet they went this way…"

MacGyver followed Dylan, Cassie's giggles as she skipped at his side making him even more sure the boy was purposely leading him in the wrong direction. But as long as it was innocent fun and not part of another prank, he didn't mind, and played along as if he suspected nothing.

At last MacGyver had found Derrick, but Cindy's hiding spot still eluded him.

"Bet you're gonna hafta give up!" Dylan taunted, dancing around him.

MacGyver made a grab for him, letting the boy dodge away from his hands. "I don't give up — ever! Any chance she could be in the house?"

"Nope," Derrick told him, smirking. "We always play either inside or outside — never both."

There was no particular reason to believe him, but MacGyver decided to have one more look outside before making his distrust obvious.

"How about the woods?"

"No," Dylan said cheerfully.

Derrick snorted. "Not since Cassie went in there lookin' for Dylan an' couldn't find her way back out. Cindy an' I got tired of hidin' an' had to go in an' find both of them."

"I wasn't really lost," Cassie defended.

"Sure you weren't," Derrick said sarcastically. "You were cryin' so hard, was easy as anything to find you."

"I was not!"

"All right, enough!" MacGyver cut in before the bickering could escalate into an argument. "So she's not in the house or the woods, an' I already looked around the front of the house."

Derrick and Dylan shared a quick look, and MacGyver paused, wondering at its meaning. He was fairly certain Cindy hadn't been in the front yard before…but did that mean she wasn't there now?

He walked slowly around the house, the kids trailing behind and no longer offering suggestions. That had to mean he was getting close, MacGyver reasoned, and scanned the yard for possible hiding places.

If someone was gunning for him, where would he take cover, he pondered, and his eyes immediately dropped to the space under his jeep. Had that just been a flash of color by the tire…?

Pretending not to have noticed, he made as if to walk on by, then suddenly bent to look under the vehicle. "Found ya!" he exclaimed, and had the satisfaction of seeing Cindy jump slightly before she laughed in defeat and rolled out from under the jeep. *

"You weren't there before," he accused.

"Moving's not cheating the way we play," Cindy explained.

"Yeah, It just can't see you between hiding places, or you lose," Derrick added.

"An' no one bothered to let me in on that?"

Cindy shrugged. "We always play it that way; forgot you wouldn't know," she said airily.

"Yeah, right; sure ya did," MacGyver muttered. "Anyway, I found you last, so you're It. Any other family rules I should know about?"

Cindy and Derrick shook their heads, and MacGyver turned to the others. "Dylan? Cassie?"

The two youngest only giggled, and MacGyver sighed again, sure they still had some tricks up their sleeves.

"Everyone back to the porch; I'm gonna start countin'!" Cindy cried.

"Want help hiding, Mr Mac?" Cassie asked earnestly.

MacGyver chuckled and tugged her pigtail. "No, thanks; I think I can manage on my own."

If he could hide from terrorists, he reflected as Cindy started counting, he ought to be able to manage hiding from an eight-year-old girl.

He ran across the yard as Cindy began counting, veering away from the others. Cassie wouldn't hesitate to "help" Cindy as she had him, and even Dylan might give him away if he knew his hiding place. He wasn't as concerned about Derrick; if Cindy had his help, then he had been found first and MacGyver won anyway.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

"Whoa!" MacGyver muttered, sliding to a stop. Either she had counted awfully fast, or they had neglected to tell him that they didn't go all the way to a hundred. But going by their rules, he still had time to hide as long as she hadn't seen him yet, and he looked wildly around.

The shed door stood temptingly open, and in a moment's decision he had ducked inside to stand panting in the dimness and wonder why he cared so much about winning a game of hide and seek. Maybe these kids had gotten the better of him enough times that he just wanted to turn the tables for once.

Even as he thought it, the shed door slammed shut, and MacGyver spun toward it. The wind… but it had been a calm day.

And the wind wouldn't turn the latch as he distinctly heard. They had gotten the better of him again, he realized, pounding his fist into his hand in frustration. The door had been left ajar on purpose, Cindy waiting until it was his most likely hiding spot before calling "Ready or not." How she could have seen from her place by the porch he couldn't begin to guess, but suspected the others had acted as spies and had some sort of prearranged signal.

The thoughts flashed through his mind even as he pounded with both fists on the door. "Cindy!"

Mocking laughter that faded as she ran off was his only response, and MacGyver groaned as he sank down to sit on the floor. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of continuing to pound and shout, and if they thought he was beaten, they had better think again.

Next chapter coming next week!

* Illustration for this scene can be found at

www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art [slash] Countdown-879588095

www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art [slash] Behind-the-Wheel-878831738

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!

Please note that I have only minimal internet access, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. (But they are much appreciated, even if you're reading this story long after I originally post it!) If you have questions regarding my MacGyver alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie