Chapter Seven: Have a Good Day

"Will you come see our fort this morning?" Cindy asked eagerly as soon as she entered the kitchen where MacGyver was fixing breakfast.

"You bet. We can go down right after we eat."

The kids ate quickly, then waited impatiently as MacGyver filled the dishpan with water.

"Come on!" Cindy begged.

MacGyver chuckled. "I'll let them soak for now if you kids help wash all the dishes after lunch," he bargained.

"We will!" Dylan promised.

"Sure," Cindy agreed hastily. "Now let's go!"

MacGyver raised an eyebrow, wondering if she really meant it, but also knowing he could probably get them to do almost anything today. "All right, lead the way."

Derrick and Cindy ran a little way ahead of him as Dylan and Cassie pulled eagerly on his hands.

"You're the first grown-up who's seen our fort!" Dylan told him.

"I'm honored."

"We'd'a let Ma an' Dad, but they don't care about it," Derrick explained over his shoulder.

Cindy kicked a stone. "Yeah, they pretended to be interested when we talk about it, but they're really not."

"You don't know that," MacGyver insisted.

Cindy only shrugged.

"Here's the tunnel, Mr Mac!" Cassie cried, dropping his hand and running forward. "I can go through standing up!"

"Yeah, watch your head," Derrick warned. "We let the branches an' stuff grow over so no one will realize the path goes through here."

"Not bad," MacGyver remarked. The cleared part was high enough for Cindy and Derrick to get through by ducking, but he elected to drop to his hands and knees and crawl until the tunnel widened out into a clearing. "Here we are!" Cindy announced, flinging out her hand proudly. "What do you think?"

MacGyver looked around as he got to his feet, and at first didn't see the fort. Then he realized that the thick, leafy hedge was a living wall. "Pretty good," he said admiringly.

"We used willow branches for the walls," Cindy explained. "When you stick the ends in the ground they take root, so the walls keep growing."

"That was clever," MacGyver approved.

"Yeah, sometimes some of 'em die, but we just replace them," Derrick added.

"Come in, Mr Mac!" Cassie insisted, pulling on his hand.

MacGyver ducked down through the opening they had woven in the walls. Straightening, he looked up overhead. "Bit open up top, though."

Cindy wrinkled her nose. "We haven't figured out a roof yet," she admitted.

"Kind of need one to sleep in here…" MacGyver mused.

Cindy's face fell. "Does that mean you won't camp with us?"

"Nope; if we can't sleep in here, I'll rig up a tent for ya."

"We actually had some ideas; we just couldn't get high enough," Derrick commented.

"Hey, I bet I could reach from Mr Mac's shoulders!" Dylan exclaimed excitedly. With a running jump, he grabbed MacGyver's shoulders and began climbing up his back as if he were a tree. *

"Whoa!" MacGyver protested, laughing.

"Dylan!" Cindy cried in horror, glancing at MacGyver to see if he would count this as breaking their promise to be good. But he was smiling, and she relaxed.

Grabbing Dylan's hands, MacGyver flipped the boy over his head and swung him upside down, tickling him. "What do ya think I am, a ladder?"

"Stop it, Mr Mac!" Dylan squealed, laughing and squirming until MacGyver set him on his feet.

"All right, kiddos, let's get a roof on this place. What were some of your ideas, Derrick?"

The boy was smart, MacGyver acknowledged as he helped them put Derrick's ideas to work with only a few modifications. The kids couldn't seem to resist a few minor pranks, but it was all in the spirit of fun and didn't feel as if they were trying to take advantage of him.

"We did it!" Cindy cried, turning a cartwheel in her excitement. "Now we can sleep in the fort!"

"Yup!" MacGyver agreed. "C'mon, let's head up to the house for lunch, and then see how we're set for supplies. You kids have sleeping bags?"

"Nope," Cindy said cheerfully.

"Well, they must have some kind of sports store or outfitters in town; if not I can rig something up with blankets. Just remember, I can still call the trip off at any time if ya try to trick me."

"We won't," Cindy promised blithely, scampering through the tunnel.

"Yeah, we wanna go camping!" Dylan added.

Cassie frowned and slid her hand into MacGyver's as he emerged from the tunnel and got to his feet. He squeezed it reassuringly, then swung the little girl onto his shoulders. "Let's go, then; race ya!"

The three older kids took off running as Cassie squealed and grabbed two fistfuls of his hair. "Giddy up, horsey!"

MacGyver laughed, tossing his head and letting out an exaggerated whinny that made Cassie forget her fear for the moment in gales of laughter.

oOo

"Guess we'd better take your mother's station wagon," MacGyver decided, wiping his hands before hanging the dishcloth to dry on the edge of the sink. "We'd all fit in the jeep, but we wouldn't have much room left for camping stuff."

"Shotgun!" Cindy and Derrick cried together, then took off running. Their hands touched the car door almost at the same time, and both reached for the handle.

"Hey!" Cindy protested. "I beat you that time!"

"Nuh-uh; your finger was on top of mine, so you couldn't have."

"Mr Mac!" Cindy wailed.

"No arguin', or you can both just ride in the back," MacGyver warned.

"Oh, all right," Cindy gave in quickly, remembering that the camping trip still hinged on their good behavior. "But I get the front on the way home!"

"Fair enough," MacGyver agreed. "Right, Derrick?"

"Yeah, sure."

MacGyver waited as they all piled in and fastened their seatbelts before backing out of the driveway.

"What else are we getting?" Dylan demanded.

MacGyver grinned. "Camp food…an' I'm nearly outta matches. I could start a fire without them, but it's easier with."

Twenty minutes later, he was pulling alongside the curb of the little Main Street. "You kids stay close," he warned. "Last thing I want is to lose one of ya."

Still unsure about the whole thing, Cassie slipped her hand into his, but the others skipped around him excitedly.

MacGyver stopped at the grocery store first, stowing the bags in the car before moving on to the sporting goods store he had spotted. He grimaced when he saw the display of hunting rifles lining one wall, and tried to herd the children quickly past them. But Dylan and Derrick spotted them instantly, drawn as most young boys to weapons of any kind.

"Wow, lookit, Mr Mac! Bet that could kill a bear!"

"Yeah, or a person," MacGyver said grimly. "Believe me, ya don't wanna go messin' around with guns."

"Are there bears?" Cassie whimpered.

"Not at night," MacGyver assured her. "Bears like to sleep at night, same as you do."

"What about wolves? Do wolves sleep at night?"

"No," MacGyver admitted, "but I don't think there're any around here, an' if there are they won't come near a campfire."

"But if one did, an' you had a gun, you could shoot it!"

"Nah; I don't need one of those things to scare off wolves or any other critters. C'mon, you two; forget about guns and come pick out some sleeping bags."

Dylan and Derrick left the display reluctantly and joined Cindy at the shelf of folded sleeping bags. "Can I get green, Mr Mac?" Cindy asked eagerly.

"Sure, if they have a small one. How about you, Cassie; red, blue, or green?"

"What color's yours?"

"Blue."

"Me, too."

MacGyver grinned and helped her find a blue one, then waited as the boys decided what colors they wanted.

"Better get some camp pillows, too; don't think your mother would be too happy with me if I let ya use your bed pillows."

He selected four and handed one to each of them, then ushered them up front to the cash register.

"Looks like someone's going camping," the clerk commented with a smile.

"Mr Mac's taking us!" Cindy said, bouncing on her toes excitedly.

"Yeah, and we're gonna stay out all night in the fort an' maybe see bears and wolves!" Dylan added.

"Dylan," MacGyver said warningly, lifting Cassie sleeping bag and all as she whimpered again.

"Aw, I didn't mean it, Cass," Dylan told her.

"Haven't been bears or wolves around here for ten years at least," the clerk remarked, ringing up the purchases. "That's be forty-nine ninety-seven."

"Ten years is as old as Derrick," Cassie said, sounding a little braver.

"That's right," the man agreed, putting MacGyver's fifty in the drawer and deftly scooping out his change. "Be real surprised if you saw any within thirty miles. Here's your receipt, sir; enjoy your trip!"

"Thanks. C'mon, you three."

"You kids been telling Cassie stories about bears and wolves?" he questioned as they walked to the car.

"We play it sometimes," Derrick explained. "Some of us are bears or wolves trying to get the others, an' the others have to try an' shoot them first."

"With stick 'guns,' I hope," MacGyver muttered.

"Yeah, or if it's hot we play with water pistols; that's better 'cause the bear can't say you missed when you know you got 'im."

"Cassie gets really scared sometimes," Dylan said scornfully.

"That's 'cause Derrick growls good!" Cassie explained.

"Grr," Derrick demonstrated, MacGyver having to admit that it sounded surprisingly convincing.

Cassie squealed and clutched at MacGyver, burying her face in his neck.

"Bang! You're dead, bear," Dylan remarked cheerfully, aiming an imaginary rifle. Derrick staggered several steps, then came to life again and swiped a pretend claw at his brother. *

"All right, shove the sleeping bags in the back," MacGyver directed as they reached the station wagon. "Derrick, no more growling or playing bear today; we want Cassie to enjoy camping as much as the rest of ya."

"Sure," Derrick agreed, climbing into the back without having to be reminded that it was Cindy's turn in front. "Cass, you know if a real bear did show up, I'd protect you."

"You can't, 'cause your gun's just pretend," Cassie pointed out, pouting.

"Then I'll throw a rock and hit it in the nose so it would run away," Derrick declared.

"Sounds like a plan to me," MacGyver agreed.

Next chapter coming next week!

* Illustration for this scene can be found at

www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art [slash] Living-Ladder-879988505

www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art [slash] Bear-Hunt-879988595

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