*Authors Note*

Hi everyone,

This here will be a collection of random stand alone one-shots that take place between or after the events of Little Bear, my first HH's story. If you haven't read LB first, I recommend reading that before starting on these as the OC of Maisie is introduced in that particular story. I had been contemplating uploading these as individual stories but decided against it, not wanting to clog up the FFnet site so they'll be here in one story instead. I will upload them as I complete them, I have marked the story as complete since each one-shot is complete and not a continuing story.

*End of AU*

The Art of Hiding in Plain Sight

-Summery- Takes place during Little Bear, missing Scene between chapters 14-15.

In an all male camp, how do the Heroes' work around keeping Maisie a secret? While Maisie can buy Schultz's silence, how do they make sure no one else notices they have a girl in the Barracks? Just a little one-shot I came up with to answer these two little questions. Enjoy. :)

'Maisie-' Newkirk exclaimed with frustration, holding a couple of sewing pins between his teeth. 'Stop squirming would ya-'

'I'll stop squirming if you stop poking pins in me… Ow.' She growled, glaring at him as she was pricked again. 'How much longer Newkirk?'

'Well do you want these to fit you or not? These things take time-'

'I know…' She rolled her eyes as Newkirk adjusted the length of the trousers again. With her spending more time in the Barracks than below, Hogan had decided it would be best to play it safe by dressing her up as one of the men. While Schultz wasn't a problem, they'd have a little harder time explaining to anyone else, or Klink, if someone else spotted her-'

'There we are little mate, all finished.'

'Finally.' With a sigh of relief she stepped down off the crate and slipped off the clothes she'd put on over her current outfit. 'What's next, after you've fixed these?'

'Well, that hair of yours is right pretty on you-'

'You aren't touching my hair.' She growled. 'That's the only thing I won't let you do-' She picked up a cap off the table, tucking her braid up beneath the cap. 'Good enough?'

'I guess it'll have to do.' He shrugged. 'It's just a precaution in case one of those nosy Krauts happens to look through the window. Dressed up in these they wouldn't think to look twice but if they realized you were here, oh boy… We'd find ourselves in a world o' trouble.'

A shiver ran up her spine. With Hogan still laid up in bed, she had been spending a lot of time above ground in the barracks. So far they'd been lucky and hadn't run into any major problems, except for that time when Klink had come in without warning and she'd had to hide beneath the bunk bed. She'd almost had a heart attack on the spot, it had been way too much of a close call and sure wasn't something she wanted to repeat in a hurry at all. 'Message received loud and clear.'

'As long as we're careful, we shouldn't run into any problems-'

'Klink and Schutlz are coming.' Carter said, standing at the door keeping watch. 'You better-'

'Get downstairs, I know...' She hurried to the tunnel and went to open the entrance then realized with horror that it was stuck. 'Newkirk-'

He thrust the jacket and pants to her, kicking his sewing supplies under his bunk. 'No time to get it unstuck. Put these back on. Sit, on the bunk, keep your head down.'

Her heart pounding she quickly pulled the clothing over her blouse and leggings, taking a seat on the bunk like he told her. Newkirk handed her a book to read, standing in front of her to block as much of her from Klink as he could. I hope you know what you're doing Newkirk… The door opened and she pretended to be absorbed in the book, making sure the collar of the jacket was turned up as high as possible to cover her face.

'What brings you to this neck of the woods Kommandant?' Newkirk asked, appearing as nonchalant as usual. 'To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?'

Just hurry up and get him out of here! Maisie begged in her mind, not daring to glance over at the Kommandant. After a moment and a little further conversation, Klink headed into Hogan's office. After the door had been closed behind him, the three of them hurried into action.

Newkirk looked over the bunk, trying to figure out what the problem was. 'Sure picked a bloody good time to jam up on us, that's for sure.'

'Your the one who said we shouldn't have any more problems now, remember?'

'I think you might have jinxed us.' Carter interjected.

'Thank you Carter.' The corporal rolled his eyes.

'What's wrong with it?'

'I think it's just stuck-'

They heard Klink's footsteps approaching the door and the three of them hurried back to their previous positions.

'Let me know when Colonel Hogan is awake, it's important that I speak with him.' Klink said, closing the door behind him once more.

'Of course. We'll let you know the moment he wakes up.' The Kommandant nodded and left, Newkirk breathing a sigh of relief when he walked out. 'That was bloody close.'

'You can say that again…' Maisie jumped off the bunk, rubbing her bottom furiously. 'Blasted pins….'

Carter began to chuckle. 'You sat down on them, didn't you?'

'You wouldn't be laughing if you were the one sitting on them.' She removed the offending clothing, glaring at the pin she'd sat on. Handing them to Newkirk, she turned to the bunk and slapped it crossly. The entrance to the tunnel opened, much to her annoyance. 'Now it decides to work.'

Newkirk stifled a laugh. It certainly hadn't been a good day for her.

'It's no laughing matter Newkirk! I'm going down to read for awhile, I've had enough surprises for one day…'

The teen disappeared angrily down the tunnel, leaving the two men behind laughing softly. After Newkirk composed himself once more, he glanced down at the clothing slung over his arm. 'Well, at least she's learned the art of hiding in plain sight.'