Chapter Six: Promises, Promises

Still sitting on the floor with his back against the door, MacGyver reached up and almost idly felt the back of the handle. There was no way of opening it from this side; it was perfectly smooth, without even a slit he could use to turn it with his knife.

The shed had no windows, but as MacGyver's eyes adjusted he could see dimly in the light that came through cracks in the walls, and he got up to start poking through the sundry articles and find a way out.

A lawn mower stood near the door, and MacGyver rocked it gently, listening to the slosh to determine how much gas it held. Probably enough to blow the door open, but he abandoned the idea instantly. He didn't want to blow up his friend's shed, and he couldn't risk an explosion without knowing where the kids were.

Anyway, the door wasn't all that solid-looking; if it came to it he could probably kick it out without need for explosives. But he wasn't ready yet to try anything even that drastic…

Running his hand lightly along a shelf, he stopped as his fingers came in contact with a bit of stiff wire. Yes…this could work… Closing his eyes, he pictured the hinges on the outside of the door. He hadn't consciously noticed them before, but now he saw them in his mind's eye as clearly as if they were in front of him, and knew they were the right type for his idea to work.

"If there's no rust…" he muttered, setting his heel on the end of the wire and bending the rest up to form an L shape.

Then MacGyver hurried back to the door and knelt beside the hinge. The door fit badly, and there was enough space between it and the frame for him to work the metal through. Wiggling it until he found the bottom of the hinge, he pushed upward and heard the pin pop out and fall to the ground outside.

It was a simple matter to repeat it on the other hinge, and then he was easing through the wrong side of the door.

Glancing quickly around, he saw no sign of the kids. Maybe there was time to beat them at their own game and let them think he was still in the shed…

With that in mind, MacGyver quickly replaced the pins, but as he turned to run toward the house, he heard footsteps dashing off.

He spun around quickly, but saw no one.

Drawing a deep breath, MacGyver shook his head. If they knew he was free, they were hiding from him in earnest now and not as part of a game, but he'd surprise them and not even go looking. He had seen that despite their bickering they looked out for each other, and there were four of them; if there was trouble, they knew where to find him, and they were old enough not to need constant supervision.

With that in mind and only a twinge of misgiving, he headed into the house.

There was little for him to do on his own, and he wandered into the living room and ran a finger idly along the volumes in the bookcase. Choosing a title that seemed interesting, he flopped onto the couch and began paging through it. *

But with one ear open for any sound from the kids, he found it impossible to concentrate, and read the same page three times with no comprehension of what it said.

At last he saw with relief that it was late enough to start dinner; having something to do would distract him from wondering if he had done the right thing in leaving the kids on their own.

But even as he set about the preparations, he found himself often glancing out the window.

It was still a bit early when the meal was ready, but MacGyver decided he had waited long enough. Going to the end of the porch, he gave a shrill, piercing whistle. "Kids! Supper! Olly-olly-in-come-free!"

He stood with a hand on the porch post, waiting to see if they had been close enough to hear and whether they would come if they had. He was just starting to think seriously about where he should begin looking for them when he spotted them straggling up the path through the brush behind the shed.

Cassie and Dylan started running as they got closer. "I'm hungry, Mr Mac!" Dylan declared.

"All of ya go wash up, then," MacGyver told him, tugging Cassie's pigtail as she went past.

"How come you weren't looking for us, Mr Mac?" Cindy demanded, taking a running jump over the stairs and landing with a thump on the porch in front of him.

MacGyver raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't my turn to be It."

The logic of that was so irrefutable that Cindy shut her mouth on any reply she might have made and went to wash her hands without a word.

MacGyver was just serving up the food as the kids trooped back into the dining room, quickly taking their usual seats.

"So…just out of curiosity…were you kids ever plannin' on lettin' me out of there?" MacGyver asked conversationally as he set his own plate down and took his seat behind it.

Cassie and Dylan looked at each other, giggling.

"Yeah," Derrick admitted. "We'd'a unlocked it in a coupla hours."

"An' waited to see how long it took you to realize it was open!" Cindy added.

"Uh-huh," MacGyver murmured, leaning back in his chair. They had obviously played the same trick before, and had it down to perfection.

"How did you get out?" Cindy demanded.

"Oh, wasn't that hard," MacGyver dismissed. "I've broken out of rooms that were locked a lot tighter than that."

It was the truth, but as he said it he found himself hoping they wouldn't take it as a challenge. "So, where did you kids disappear to?"

Derrick and Cindy looked at each other, and in that moment decided to tell him what they had never shared with any other babysitter.

"We're making a fort down by the creek," Cindy said, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, it's really neat!" Dylan chimed in.

"An' they let me help sometimes," Cassie added.

"Sounds interesting," MacGyver remarked.

"You really think so?" Derrick demanded.

"Sure do. I usta build forts when I was a kid; even sleep out all night in 'em."

"I wish we could sleep in ours," Cindy said enviously.

"Why don't we, then?"

Cindy scowled. "'Cause Ma said we can't, that's why."

MacGyver looked at Cindy with raised eyebrows, wondering when being told not to had ever stopped her from doing anything. But he said nothing, knowing that to point out the inconsistency now would seem like a tacit endorsement of her usual disregard for authority. "She doesn't want the four of ya sleepin' out there on your own, an' I don't blame her. But I'm sure she'd let ya if an adult went along."

Cindy's eyes lit up. "You'd take us camping, Mr Mac? Really?" Jumping up, she ran and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, Mr Mac!"

"Whoa!" MacGyver protested, laughing. "All right, tell ya what. If you're good tomorrow — no false alarms, no locking me into or out of anything, no disappearing, no changing rules of games in the middle or 'forgetting' to tell me the rules — an' as long as this fort looks like it's not gonna come down on our heads, we can sleep out there tomorrow night."

"We'll be good, we'll be good!" Cindy promised excitedly.

MacGyver chuckled. "Believe it when I see it. How about ya start by sitting down and finishing your supper?"

In their determination to be good, for once the kids didn't stall and delay when bedtime came. Mr Mac was all right, Cindy decided as she climbed into her upper bunk. Most babysitters looked frantically when the kids disappeared, and they prolonged the fun by hiding until dark. But Mr Mac had used the age-old hide and seek call and expected them to honor it — and so they had done so.

It had taken most of the fun out of the prank, but it had also won Cindy's respect. And tomorrow he had promised to take her camping!

Smiling to herself, Cindy snuggled down in her blankets and went to sleep.

oOo

After all the kids had gone to bed with a lot less fuss than on the previous two nights, MacGyver took a shower, knowing it would be his last chance for at least a day. Before going to bed himself, he peeked into each of their rooms, not quite trusting them not to sneak out to the fort tonight rather than wait for him to sleep out with them tomorrow.

But all of them were where they should be, looking sweet and innocent in sleep. MacGyver smiled and was about to pull the door to the girls' room shut when he heard a rustle as Cassie stirred, and saw the gleam of her eyes looking back at him.

"Cassie?" he murmured, crossing the room and kneeling beside the bed. "Why aren't you asleep yet?" She had been quiet all evening, he realized now; in the excitement of the other kids' conversation, it had escaped his attention before.

"I don't want to go camping, Mr Mac!" Cassie whimpered. "Can't the rest of you just go?"

"You don't want to sleep in the house all by yourself, do you?" MacGyver asked her.

"N-no," Cassie admitted. "But it's dark in the woods, an' there might be bears or wolves!"

"The moon and stars will be out, and remember I'll be there, too; I won't let any animals hurt ya."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Think you can come with us? I bet you'll have lots of fun."

"O-kay," Cassie agreed reluctantly.

MacGyver pulled the covers up around her. "Good. Now go to sleep."

"Stay here," she whimpered.

MacGyver put a hand on hers and felt cold, tiny fingers grasp his. "I'll be right here," he promised. "Sweet dreams."

"'Night, Mr Mac."

Cassie's eyes opened every few minutes as if to assure herself he was still there, but gradually the intervals grew longer and longer. When her grip relaxed, MacGyver gently pulled his hand free and tucked hers under the covers before stealing softly from the room.

Next chapter coming next week!

* Illustration for this scene can be found at

www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art [slash] Passing-Time-879588137

The link for the first illustration of the previous chapter is now up at the end of that chapter.

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