Stolen Treasure – Part I

By

Jackie Clouse

It was nap time in the Gage house, Min, Johnny and Evan were all sound asleep. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon and the threesome had just finished coming back from grocery shopping. Min had taken off her jean shorts. She was in a dark blue t-shirt, curled up beside her husband. Johnny was lying on his back. He was bare chested, his green t-shirt was crumpled up on the floor. The fireman was only in a pair of hunter green shorts, his arm slung across his wife’s shoulders. The phone started ringing and the couple groaned, Johnny opened his eyes and looked down at his wife.

“Get that will you?”

Min sighed, she rubbed her eyes and rolled over. “Whoever it is had better be dead or dying.”  She reached out and picked up the phone. “Hello this better be good.”

“Hello to you too Sunshine…”

Min didn’t recognize the voice on the other end, she creased her brow. “Who is this?”

“I’ll give you a hint, right now I’m wearing a t-shirt that says, OPERATIVES DO IT IN DISGUISE.”

The young woman smiled and sat up. “MacGyver?”

“Good guess.”

“Hey! Long time no hear! Where have you two been?”

The man on the other end sighed. “Long story Min, let’s just say that for a couple of weeks I was indisposed.”

“Indisposed?”

“Yeah, I got buried in work. And then once that got taken care of we’ve been really busy.”

Min nodded. “Oh, well I figured there was a good reason we hadn’t heard from you two.”

“I know and we’re really sorry about that Min.”

Johnny opened his eyes and reached out, he put his hand on his wife’s back. “Let me talk to him.”

Min turned back and looked at her husband. “That’s okay, I know how busy you guys get. Do you want to talk to Johnny?”

“Sure, if that lazy Seminole is around.”

She started laughing. “Oh he’s around, he’s right here.” She turned around and handed the phone to her husband.

Johnny took the phone and put it against his ear. “Hey Mac, what’s up? Did you get amnesia and forget our phone number?”

“No, just been really busy lately and of course there was the matter of my death.”

The paramedic sat up. “What?” He looked at his wife and widened his eyes at her. “What do you mean you died?”

Min’s mouth opened a little. “What?”

Mac sighed over the phone. “Johnny the truth is that Gillian and I disappeared for a couple of weeks because I was supposed to have been dead and buried.”

“Why?”

“Let’s just say the FBI wanted me to testify against someone with a lot of bad friends, so they buried me 6 feet under until this guy went to jail.”

Johnny nodded. “I see, well that certainly explains why we didn’t hear from you guys when we got back from Montana.”

“Yeah that was why, say what are you and Min doing tonight?”

“I don’t think we are doing anything, but hang on and I’ll check.”

“Okay.”

The paramedic put his hand over the phone and looked at his wife. “Are we doing anything tonight?”

His wife shook her head. “No, nothing’s planned.”

Johnny put the phone back to his ear. “No we’re free, do you want to get together?”

“Yeah I thought you Min and Evan could come over for dinner.”

“That’d be great, we haven’t celebrated your promotion. What time?”

“Uh…how’s 7 sound?”

Johnny nodded. “7 it is, do you want us to bring anything?”

“Nah, just yourselves.”

“Okay Mac, we’ll see you at 7.”

“See you then.”

Johnny handed the phone back to Min, she hung up it up. “All right Gage, what in the world was he talking about? What did he mean he died?”

Johnny put his arms around his wife and they both laid back on the bed. He relayed the brief story he had gotten from MacGyver to his wife.

“So what are we going to cook?”

Gillian was in her red bikini top and a pair of jean shorts, her long red hair was in a pony tail. She had a bucket and two sponges in her hand. She set them down on the grass. Her husband put the top back on his Corvette and stepped out of it. He had on a red t-shirt and his red swimming trunks. He took off his tennis shoes and socks and set them in the driver’s seat. He closed the door and walked around the car.

“Oh I don’t know, whatever we can think of.” He unrolled the water hose, he turned the faucet and started wetting down his dirty car. Gillian picked up the bucket and took out a bottle of soap.  She poured a capful of the blue powder into it.

“Hey fill her up.”

Mac walked over to his wife and stuck the hose down in the bucket. The blue bucket was soon over flowing with white soap suds. Gillian set the bucket down and dipped the two sponges into it. She picked up one of them and started wiping down the back of the Corvette. The black car was so dirty it was now a light grey color.

“Holy Smokes Mac what did you drive through the Sahara?”

“No, I’ve been driving the Nomad, all this dirt is from being in the garage.” He finished wetting down the car, he picked up the other sponge. He started washing the other end of the Corvette.

“How about I make a couple of roasted chickens? We bought that little rotisserie oven why not put it to good use?”

“Yeah we can do that.”

Gillian was done with her half of the car. She walked around the car and spotted where her husband had dropped the hose. She picked it up and turned the attachment that was on it and started rinsing it. 

Mac dipped his sponge in the bucket and was washing the passenger side. “Hey Gill, can you wet this side of the car again please?”

“Sure.” She had finished rinsing off her half. She walked to the side and aimed the hose at the passenger side. Mac was standing back, not wanting to get wet.

Gillian saw him trying to keep out of the way, she got a very wicked idea. She wet down that side of the Corvette and moved the hose to point directly at her husband.

“Oh Mac?”

MacGyver turned his head and looked at his wife, he saw the hose and opened his mouth. Before he could get one word out Gillian turned on the hose and a thick stream of water hit her husband in the chest; wetting his hair and face and completely drenching his t-shirt. The young woman started laughing when she saw her sopping wet husband. He casually wiped his face off and smoothed his hair back.

“Nice, thanks a lot.”

Gillian watched as he lifted his soaking t-shirt over his head and rung it out. She grinned as she got a good look at his back and chest. “No, thank you.”

Mac saw the way his wife was smiling. “You did that on purpose to get me shirtless didn’t you?”

“What was your first clue?” She walked over to him and wiped some water off of his chest. “Are you mad?”

He sighed and tossed his wet shirt onto the porch. “Well let me see, you turned the hose on me and soaked me with freezing cold water.”

Gillian nodded. “Yeah I did, but I’m also helping you wash your filthy car.”

Her husband raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t want me to be mad then let’s get back to it.”

“Are you going to get even?”

Mac shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know yet, maybe.”

“Fair enough.”

The couple worked on the one dirty side of the Corvette. Gillian had wisely tucked the hose into her pocket as she helped her husband wash off the other half of his car. Mac was watching, waiting for his chance to pay his wife back. She crouched down to get the right front tire, the hose popped out of her pocket. The young woman didn’t seem to notice, she was busy scrubbing the hubcap. MacGyver casually picked it up and stood over his wife.

“Gill?” He had a large grin on his face.

“What is it Baby?”

“Oh, I just wanted to give you something.”

MacGyver pulled the trigger on the hose and a spray of water hit his wife on the top of her head and ran down her back. The young woman screamed and stood up, she whipped around and saw her husband. He was laughing hard, he dropped the hose and started running. Gillian took off after him, she jumped on his back. “You soaked me with the hose!”

“Hey I was just getting even!” He grabbed her legs and started giving her a piggy back ride. “I was just doing what you did, trying to get you out of your bikini top.”

Gillian climbed down off of her husband. She wiped the water off of her arms and face. “Oh yeah like I would take it off in the middle of the yard in front of our neighbors?”

They walked back over to the Corvette and rinsed it off, it was all shiny wet and clean now.

“Wow it looks great!”

Mac put his hands on his hips and looked at his shining car. Gillian turned off the hose and stood beside her husband. “Yeah it looks really nice.”

“Now we have to get some towels and dry it off.”

“Me and the car both.”

Gillian walked back over to the porch, she picked up her husband’s t-shirt and opened the front door.

“Where are you going?”

“You said you wanted to dry off the Vette.” She stepped inside the house and after a few seconds poked her head out.

“Hey Mac?”

“Yeah?”

MacGyver was dumping out the wash water and wringing out the sponges. He was crouched down but then stood up when he heard his wife call out to him. He turned in the direction of the front door. “What?”

Gillian grinned and tossed him something. “As you wish.”

Mac caught it, he saw that it was her bikini top. This made him smile. “You are such a wicked woman.”

“I know, but you love it.” She curled her finger at him.

Her husband decided that the sun could dry off the Corvette; he ran into the house slamming the door behind him.

Min was standing in her kitchen, she had scattered the ingredients to make fruit salad on top of the white and blue flower tiled countertop. She had decided to make something to take over to Mac and Gillian’s house despite the fact that Mac told her she didn’t have to. She was plucking red grapes from a small branch, adding them to her large metal bowl when a pair of hands encircled her. She gasped as she touched them.

“What are you making?” A deep voice spoke into her ear and kissed it gently.

“Ambrosia Salad.” She glanced over her shoulder at her husband. “Evan?”

“He fell asleep in his swing.”

Johnny peeked over her shoulder and looked down into her bowl. “Isn’t that just another way to say Fancy Fruit Salad?”

Min opened up a can of pineapple chunks and handed it to her husband. “Yeah pretty much, can you drain this for me?”

Johnny walked around his wife, he stood over the sink and drained the juice. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Min took the can from her husband, she kissed him on the cheek.

Her husband looked her up and down. “Is that what you are going to wear to their house?”

Min put the pineapple in her salad, she stopped and looked down at her clothes. “What’s wrong with it?” The young woman had on a pair of jean shorts and a dark blue t-shirt.

“Well for one you have gotten yourself full of fruit juice.” He reached out and touched a large spot on the bottom of her shirt.

“Oh great.” Min sighed as she touched her fingers to the wet spot and sniffed it. “It’s that syrup they put in with the fruit cocktail.” She had inadvertently splashed herself with the juice when she drained the can.

“Don’t worry about it, just change your shirt.” He stepped back. “What about me?”

Min smiled as she looked at her husband, he had changed into a bright red t-shirt that had across it in big black letters. Firemen… find ‘em smokin’, leave ‘em soakin. He had on bright red shorts that matched.

“I think you look great.” She took a step towards him and kissed his lips.

Johnny grinned at his wife. “Thanks, I can’t wait to see Mac and Gillian, it’s been awhile since we got together with them.”

“Yeah it has, especially when he had to hideout from that Carson guy.” Min added a bag of mini marshmallows to her salad. She picked up a container of whipped topping and started spooning it out. “Honey can you get that bag of coconut flakes out of the pantry?”

“Sure.” Johnny walked behind his wife, putting his hands on her hips as he slinked by her. He saw a bag of coconut flakes sitting on the third shelf. “Anything else?” He picked up the bag and handed it to her.

“No that’s it, what time is it?”

Min tore open the top of the bag and sprinkled about a quarter of the bag into her bowl. He picked up her spoon and started stirring everything together.

“Almost 6.” Johnny leaned against the counter, he was watching his wife. He stuck his finger into her bowl and tried to sample some of the salad.

Min saw his fingers and she lifted her wooden spoon up, threatening to smack her husband on his hand. “Get those dirty fingers out of my salad!”

“They aren’t dirty, I just washed them.”

“Uh huh sure you did.”

Johnny was smiling at his wife. “I just wanted to try some of your delicious salad.” He fluttered his eyelashes at his wife. “Please?”

Min sighed, her husband’s dark eyes were gazing at her. She scooped some of the salad onto her spoon and offered it to him. “Here, go ahead and try it.”

“Thanks.” He took the spoon from his wife and ate the salad, he closed his eyes. “Oh man that’s good! You should make it more often.”

“Thanks, I just hope Mac and Gillian like it.”

Johnny licked the spoon again. “Oh I’m sure they will.”

Min had put her fruit salad in a smaller bowl, she had barely closed the lid when the sound of a baby crying reached her ears. She turned around and put the blue bowl into the fridge.

“I’m coming Ev.”

Min was alone in the kitchen, Johnny was out in the garage packing the baby’s portable playpen and swing into the Land Rover. She opened the French doors and walked out of them, Evan’s swing was beside the couch. The little boy was dressed in a light blue bodysuit that had the symbol of the Phoenix Foundation on it, it had been a gift from his Uncle Mac and Aunt Gillian. The baby was crying, his little fists waving in the air, his face was red.

“Oh hey now it’s all right.”

Min gently picked up her son and held him to her chest. “Shh, it’s okay Baby. I’m here; your Mommy’s got you.”

The little boy was snuggled against his mother; he finally started to calm down. Min smiled as she gently kissed her son on his head. “See, you’re safe Baby, it’s all right.” She was moving from side to side, rocking her son.

“Is he okay?” Johnny too had heard his son crying, he came back into the house to check on him.

“Yeah he’s fine, just woke up upset that’s all.” Min pulled her son away from her chest, she held him up and looked into his face. “Right?”

Evan was gazing at his mother, she made a face at him and he smiled at her. He reached out and touched her mouth. Min kissed his little fingers.

“See Honey he’s okay, probably had a bad dream or something.”

Min carried her son over to her father and handed his son to him. “See Evan, tell your daddy you’re okay.”

Johnny lifted his son in the air and kissed his cheek, he made a face at him. “Know where we are going? To see your Uncle Mac and Aunt Gillian. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Min and Johnny were standing in front of the white wrought iron door. Johnny was holding his son in his arms as he reached out and pressed the doorbell.

“I hope we aren’t too early.”

Johnny switched his son from his right arm to his left. “Nah, its only 6 30.”

The wooden door opened and the couple saw MacGyver through the screen. “Hey!”

“Hey yourself strangers!”  He unlocked the wrought iron door and stepped back. “Come on in!”

Johnny was the first one to step inside the house, he saw the t-shirt his friend was wearing and it made him laugh. MacGyver’s t-shirt was a turquoise green, with big black letters that read. Mac trucks can go all night… Satisfaction guaranteed.

The fireman shook his head. “You are getting as bad as me with the t-shirts.”

The two men shook hands. “I wore this just for you.” Mac touched Evan on his face. “Hey Ev.”

Min was right behind her husband, she stepped over the threshold. “Hey Mac.” The young woman hugged her friend.

“Hi Min, how are you? How’s the club?” MacGyver returned her embrace.

“Good, both me and the club.”  She handed him the blue bowl with the lid. “I brought dessert.”

MacGyver took the bowl from her. “Great, I’ll put this in the fridge.” He closed the door behind them.

“Where’s Gill?” Min walked into the living room and set her purse down on the coffee table.

“I’m right here!”

Gillian emerged from the garage, she had the little rotisserie oven in her hands, she set it down on the counter. She saw her friend and smiled at him. “Hi Johnny, great t-shirt.”

MacGyver closed the fridge door. “Can I hold Evan?”

“Sure.” Johnny handed his son over to his friend and hugged Gillian. “It’s good to see you Gill.”

“Same here, I’m sorry it’s been so long.” Gillian put her arms around the dark haired man.

“Yeah I know Mac told us about his death.”

Min came into the kitchen where everyone else was. “I bet that was wild, having to bury your husband.”

Gillian let go of the paramedic. “Oh yeah it was a joy.” She walked over to Min and the two women hugged.

“At least it wasn’t a real funeral.”

“It still didn’t make it any easier.”

The greeting hug was over and the red haired woman smiled when she saw the baby in her husband’s arms. “Man he’s growing like a weed.”

MacGyver was holding Evan with his arms across the little boy’s chest, he leaned over close to the baby’s ear. “Tell her I’m supposed to grow Aunt Gill, I can’t stay a baby forever.”

Min started laughing and shook her head. “No he can’t but I just wish he would stay a baby just a little while longer.”

Johnny nodded. “She’s right, he’s changing so fast it’s not funny. I know I’m going to wake up one morning and he’s going to be asking me to borrow my car.”

“Oh come on he’s not growing that fast. It’s not like he’s going to start shaving tomorrow.” Mac kissed the little baby on top of his head. “Right Ev?”

The baby boy looked up at his uncle and touched his lips, he gave the blond man a smile.

MacGyver gave the little boy a hug. “See, he agrees with me.”

The rotisserie oven had worked great, the two chickens they roasted had turned out tender and juicy. Gillian took the meat off the bone and had made all the fixings for chicken fajitas. She had sour cream, homemade salsa, grilled onions and bell peppers. She had even made flour tortillas, rice and beans and had put everything in the center of the dining room table along with some sliced avocado, lettuce and tomato. It was fiesta night in the MacGyver house, the 4 people were sitting around the table making their own chicken fajitas.

MacGyver was licking his fingers as he reached across the table and spooned more of his wife’s homemade salsa into his tortilla.  “This was a great idea Gill, and a whole lot more fun then just boring roasted chicken.”

His wife smiled at him as she added sour cream to her fajita. “Yeah I thought it would be something different.”

Johnny wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You’re right it is, we never do stuff like this at the station house. We need to though just to do something different.” He looked at his friends. “Oh by the way, we got the thank you notes, the guys really appreciated them.”

“We just wanted you all to know how grateful we were for the stuff you guys sent.” Mac started laughing and shook his head. “I’m a fireman.”

Min had a drink of her ice tea. “Yeah well it’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.” She gave her blond headed friend a wink.

MacGyver shook his head. “Oh I have plenty of adventures just being an Operative.”

“And a husband.” Gillian had to add her own opinion in, she grinned at her husband.

Mac raised an eyebrow at his wife. “Yes, so far it has been and we have only been married for almost 2 years.”

Min looked beside her at Gillian. “You’re right about that Gill, marriage is the greatest adventure one can have.”

Johnny turned to his right looking at the only other husband at the table. “Hey Mac, do you hear the way these two women are talking?”

MacGyver wiped his mouth. “Yeah I hear them, they seem to think we are like Indiana Jones or something.”

Gillian giggled. “You are, minus the whip and hat of course.”

Min cleared her throat. “Let’s face facts, you two are not what I would call normal husbands.”

Johnny put his hand to his chest. “Me? Not normal?” He looked at MacGyver feigning outrage. “I don’t know what to say!”

Mac put his hand on his friend’s back and patted it. He shook his head slowly. “I feel for you Pal, they said I wasn’t normal either.” He hung his head and sighed.

Gillian and Min both looked at each other. “Say Gill, got any plates? There is an awful lot of ham piling up here.”

“Yeah I got plates but at this rate we will need a dump truck.” She picked up a napkin, waded it up and tossed it at her husband’s head. “Oh stop it Mac, the acting awards have already been passed out this year.”

The two men lifted their drooping heads, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Gillian and Min were standing at the counter, they had taken out the fruit salad Min had brought and were getting ready to pass it out. Johnny came back into the kitchen, he had just put Evan to bed. Min saw her husband.

“He didn’t wake up did he?”

“Nope, he never even flinched. I just laid him down and covered him up.”

“Oh good.”

Min got 4 bowls out of the cupboard, the 4 spoons were lying on the counter next to the blue bowl. Gillian scooped out two bowls worth of the salad.

“Here you go guys, enjoy.”

“Thank you.” Mac smiled as his wife as he took the bowl from her.

“You’re welcome.” She handed her husband a spoon and shot him a quick wink. He walked into the living room.

“And one for the paramedic.” Gillian handed one to Johnny.

“Thank you Gill.”

Min handed her husband a spoon and he too walked into the living room.

Gillian picked up another bowl and filled it with the fruit salad. “Here you go Min.”

“Thanks Gill.” She picked a spoon and took a bite of it. “It came out better than I thought.”

Gillian finally served herself some, she put the empty bowl in the sink and filled it with water. She turned off the faucets and picked up her bowl, sniffing the salad. “Smells great, what’s in it?”

Min took a bite of her salad. “Nothing fancy, just some dessert topping, grapes, some cans of fruit, a small bag of marshmallows and some coconut.”

The word coconut made Gillian stop in her tracks. “Did you say coconut?”

The young dark haired woman nodded. “Yeah.”

Gillian swallowed hard and put her bowl down, she looked over at her husband and saw he was chewing. She started walking towards him. “Mac…”

MacGyver looked up at her, a strange look crossed his face. He looked down a moment and swallowed hard. He touched his hand to his throat and the 3 other people in the room watched as his face went instantly red. He looked up at his wife, the bowl of fruit salad dropping from his hands.

Johnny creased his brow, he watched his friend turn red. He recognized what was happening and stood up. “Mac?”

Gillian turned and ran from the room, she went into her bedroom and grabbed her purse.

Min didn’t understand what was going on. “Johnny, what is happening?”

MacGyver started wheezing, he was grabbing at his throat. He stood up and started to sink to the floor.

Johnny grabbed him and laid him down on the carpeting. “Gillian! He’s going into anaphylactic shock!”

Mac was looking at the paramedic with wide eyes that were full of terror and panic. He couldn’t breathe and he was clawing at his throat.

Min crouched down beside her husband. “What is going on?”

Johnny looked at his wife. “He’s having a severe allergic reaction to something.”

The red haired woman returned with her purse, she dumped its contents onto the floor and rummaged through them. She picked up a yellow epinephrine pen and pulled off the grey safety cap. “Here! Give it to him fast!”

Johnny pulled up the pant leg on his friend’s black shorts, exposing his thigh. He pressed the pen against his leg hard, he held it for about 10 seconds. He checked the pen and saw the adrenaline had been injected. “It went in but we might need another.”

“I have one more here and a whole box in the garage.”

Min swallowed hard. “What is he allergic too?”

Gillian’s heart was racing as she watched her husband struggle to breathe. “The coconut in the salad.”

Min gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh my God…” She closed her eyes briefly.

The paramedic was watching his friend, he was still having a hard time breathing.

“Give me the other pen Gill.”

Johnny gave Mac the other injection and touched his hand to his jeans pocket. “Min, I need you to go get my kit from the Land Rover.” 

He gave his keys to his wife, she simply staring at her friend. Mac’s eyes were open but he was still red faced and wheezing. 

Johnny saw his wife was not listening to him, he touched her arm. “Min, my kit.”

The young woman finally heard him, she took his keys and went to get his medical kit.

Gillian was stroking her husband’s hair, he was fighting to stay conscious. She could see the fear in his dark eyes as they slowly opened and closed. “It’s going to be okay Mac, don’t worry.”

The adrenaline from the pens was kicking in, he was calming down and beginning to breathe easier. This was a huge relief to her.

Min returned with the medical kit, handing it to her husband. Johnny opened it and started rummaging through it. “Gill do you have any antihistamine? Like over the counter allergy medicine?”

“Yeah we have some diphenhydramine in the medicine cabinet in our bathroom.”

Johnny nodded. “That’ll work, get them and bring them here.” He got up from the floor and walked into the kitchen, he started dialing the number to Rampart Emergency.

Gillian got the tablets out of the bathroom and showed them to the paramedic. “Good, give him a regular dose.”

“Okay.” She got a small glass out of the pantry and filled it with water.

Johnny put the phone on his ear. “Hi Dr. Brackett, its Johnny.”

“Hey Johnny, what’s up?”

The paramedic sighed. “Listen Doc I have a friend here going into anaphylactic shock. I gave him two epinephrine injections and 500 mgs of diphenhydramine.”

“How’s his breathing?”

“Good, its not normal but he’s getting air okay.”

“All right, give him a Ringers Lactate IV, got any oxygen?”

Johnny nodded. “Yeah I got a mini tank in my kit.”

“Good, give him the oxygen and the IV and watch his pressure. If his breathing and his pressure normalize you won’t have to bring him in but if he gets worse, get him in here. Okay?”

“Yeah Doc I got it, thanks.”

“Sounds like you do Johnny, keep me posted.”

“I will, bye.”

Johnny hung up the phone and walked back into the living room. “Gill, give him a Ringers Lactate IV and get that mini tank out of there.”

Gillian had given her husband two allergy pills. She started getting everything she would need out of the medical kit for the IV. Johnny sat down beside his friend and took the mini tank from her. He looked down at his friend. MacGyver was being very still, a drowsy look in his face. His eyelids were looking heavier with each passing moment.

“Mac, I’m going to give you some oxygen to help you breathe, just try and take normal breaths.”

He slipped the mask over his face and held it, he slowly turned the knob and the loud hiss of oxygen rang out.

Gillian swabbed her husband’s right arm with alcohol and sunk the IV needle into his arm as gently as she could. He did not even flinch, he was starting to drift into unconsciousness.

Min was kneeling on the floor, she was holding her friend’s hand, there were wet marks down her face.

Gillian saw how upset she was but right now that was the least of her problems. She looked down at her husband and watched as his eyes slowly closed. They didn’t open again, he had finally lost consciousness.

“We need to get him off this floor.”

Johnny and Min were both sitting by MacGyver’s left side. The paramedic looked at his wife, he reached out and gently touched her arm. Min had her head down, she was very quiet. She was sitting beside her husband, her legs folded under her Indian style.

Gillian nodded, she took the oxygen mask off of Mac’s face and was watching her husband breathe. His face was no longer red, now it was slightly pale. She gently touched it before lifting her eyes to look at her friend.

“Can you lift him or do you need help?”

The dark haired man contemplated this for a moment. “We’re both about the same height and build I think I can lift him.”

“Okay.” Gillian moved back, she was sitting on her husband’s right side. She watched as the paramedic stood up, he stepped over Mac with his legs on either side of him. He crouched down and grabbed MacGyver by his right wrist, he pulled on it sitting the blond man up.

“Okay, let’s see if I can do this.”

Johnny breathed in and out slowly, he took a deep breath and bent over a little pulling Mac’s wrist and laying him across his shoulders. The paramedic sighed. “Well that was the easy part, standing up is going to be the hard part.”

Gillian reached out and put her hands on Johnny’s waist. “I’ll help you.”

“I could probably use it.”

Johnny took another deep breath and with Gillian’s help he slowly stood up. He put his other hand around his friend’s legs. “Well that wasn’t too bad, he’s a lot lighter than I thought.”

“He’s not heavy he’s just tall.”

Together they walked down the hall and into the master bedroom.

Gillian helped the paramedic lay MacGyver down on the bed.

“Is Dr. Brackett sure we shouldn’t take him in to the ER?”

“Yeah, his exposure was minimal but I do want to check him over and see if he’s getting any hives or a rash.”
Gillian nodded and gently lifted her husband’s t-shirt, she pulled it over his head and looked down at his chest and stomach. “I don’t see anything.”

“It might not come right away, sometimes that’s the first sign, sometimes it’s not.” The paramedic stuck his stethoscope into his ears and gently pressed the other end to his friend’s chest, he was listening to his heart. “His pulse is still a little fast but it should start calming down once the allergy pills kick in.”

Johnny saw a long silver chain, it was hanging on left side of MacGyver’s neck. The paramedic picked it up and saw not only a round green stone but a silver dog tag as well. He recognized the medical insignia. He flipped it over and read the back of it.

AI MacGyver

 A +

ALLERGIES : Penicillin, Coconut

The allergy part was stamped in bright red, Johnny looked at Gillian. “Penicillin too huh?”

The young woman nodded. “Yeah.” She sighed and gently touched her husband’s hair.

Johnny gently put the tag back down and adjusted his necklace. “Don’t worry Gill, the worst of it is over.”

“So what do we do now?”

The dark haired man checked his watch, it was almost 9 30. “We watch and wait.”

Johnny sighed as he took his stethoscope out of his ears. He was checking on his patient once more, his professionally trained ears were listening to MacGyver’s heart. His pulse and breathing were pretty much back to normal and there were no more signs of the anaphylactic shock. He was lying on his back peacefully sleeping. Gillian was sitting on the bed next to him, leaning against the headboard. She was holding his left hand in hers, dozing lightly. She had been watching her husband carefully and had finally dropped off.  Johnny straightened up, he had his stethoscope in his hand as he walked around the bed. He reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Gillian?”

The young woman gasped, her eyes flew open. “Mac?” She turned and saw it was her friend. “Oh, it’s you Johnny.” She rubbed her hand across her eyes.

“Yeah it’s me, I just checked on him. Everything is back to the way it should be. I think we got it.”

Gillian sighed and uncovered her eyes. “Good.” She lifted Mac’s hand and gently kissed it. “I’m so glad.”

The paramedic nodded. “Me too, things were a little tense for a while.”

“Yeah, they were.” Gillian looked at her friend fondly. “Thanks Johnny, if you hadn’t been here...” She turned her head away from him and closed her eyes.

Johnny touched her fingers to the young woman’s chin and turned her face back towards him. “Mac is going to be just fine Gill, it’s over okay?”

“I know he is.” She smiled at him. “What do you say to a cup of hot coffee?”

Johnny grinned at the young woman. “I’d say you’re on.”

Gillian gently laid her husband’s hand down on the bed beside him. “You get some rest Baby, I’ll be right back.” She reached out and stroked his hair a few times before leaning over and kissing his lips.

Gillian and Johnny were sitting at the dining room table. Johnny was drinking coffee and Gillian had a cup of hot tea.  They were the only people awake in the house, because of MacGyver the couple and their son were staying the night.

“Well that wasn’t exactly how I imagined us celebrating Mac’s promotion.” Gillian added a little more honey to her tea and stirred it with a spoon.

Johnny nodded. “Yeah I know what you mean.” The paramedic eyed the young woman. “That is very smart of him to have that tag. A lot of people don’t have them when they need to, especially because of the penicillin.”

Gillian nodded. “Believe it or not it that tag is new. I bought it for him after our first anniversary.”

Johnny had a sip of his black coffee. “What did he have up until then?”

“He had a keychain and a card in his wallet. I told him the tag for his necklace was a better idea.”

The paramedic put his cup down. “The tag or the bracelet is much better, that is the first thing doctors and nurses look for.”

Gillian sighed and rubbed her hands down her face, she was exhausted. “I’m so worn out Johnny, I feel like I can drop right here at this table.”

The paramedic reached out and touched her on the arm. “I know, you can get plenty of rest as soon as he wakes up.”

“Believe me, I will feel a whole lot better when he wakes up.” Gillian smiled at her friend and patted his hand.

MacGyver slowly opened his eyes, his mouth was dry and his head was pounding as he looked around. He was in his bedroom.

“Hi.”

He turned to his left and saw his wife. She was sitting beside him, smiling widely.

“Hi.” Mac took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What time is it?”

Gillian was very happy her husband was awake, she sighed. “The middle of the night.”

“How long was I out?”

“It’s been a few hours.” Gillian leaned forward, putting her forehead down on his shoulder. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been flattened by an 18 wheeler.”

“Yeah well you were, the coconut fruit salad express.”

MacGyver sighed and rubbed his face. “I didn’t even know coconut was in that salad Gillian. There was so much other stuff I couldn’t see it or taste it.” He thought about Min, he remembered how upset she was during his attack. “Is Min okay?”

Gillian lifted her head and looked at her husband. “She was pretty upset Mac, it took Johnny a lot of coaxing to get her to go to bed.”

“It wasn’t her fault.”

“I know that but she doesn’t.”

Mac sat up on his elbows. “Am I okay? Do we have to go to the hospital?” He was looking down at his chest and he lifted his arms. He noticed there was a Band-Aid on his right arm from where his IV had been but he didn’t see any signs of hives or a rash anywhere.

“No, Johnny checked with Dr. Brackett, he said we only need to take you if your symptoms return. That’s why he and I have been watching you really closely for the past few hours.” She reached out and gently touched her husband’s face. “You scared the hell out of me.”

MacGyver laid back down on the bed, he picked up her hand from his cheek. “You weren’t the only one scared; all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe.”

Gillian got a flash of his red face and she squeezed her eyes against it. “I know, but between the epinephrine pens and the diphenhydramine, we managed to get it under control fast.” She sighed. “Dr. Brackett said that the fact you only had maybe two spoonfuls helped. It might have been worse if you had eaten more of it.”

“Yeah, worse as in 6 feet under.”

Gillian put her fingers on her husband’s lips briefly. “Please… don’t talk like that I think I’ve had enough excitement and fun for one night.”

Mac gave his wife a small smile. “I’m sorry.” He had her hand still, he tugged at her wrist.

Gillian stretched out beside her husband, she let him pull her close to him. Their eyes met briefly before holding one another tightly.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

The couple ended their hug, Gillian wiped her eyes causally and turned to see Johnny standing at the door. “No, of course you aren’t.”

He stepped into the room. “Well I see my patient is up.” He looked at MacGyver and smiled, he was glad his friend was awake. “How do you feel?”

Mac sighed. “Not bad.”

Johnny nodded. “Good, I just talked to Dr. Brackett he said since your pulse, breathing and blood pressure have returned to normal we don’t have to take you to Rampart.”

MacGyver sat up slowly, his body felt stiff. He leaned against the headboard. “Oh that’s good.”

The paramedic moved over to the edge of the bed and sat down. “Mac, even though Dr. Brackett said we don’t need to take you in you really should go get checked out in the morning.”

Mac sighed and rubbed his eyes, he was beginning to get tired. “I know, that’s probably a good idea.”

Johnny folded his hands in his lap. “Yes it is, true I was working under the advice of a doctor but just as a precaution and to set my mind at ease, go to Rampart.”

Gillian reached out and took her husband’s hand. “He’s right Mac, we have to be sure you really are okay.”

MacGyver sighed, he was looking at both Gillian and Johnny. He knew they were only concerned about him. “All right, I promise, we’ll go to Rampart in the morning.” He stuck out his hand to Johnny.  “Thanks, for everything. I owe you big time.”

Johnny shook his friend’s hand. “No you don’t, if the situation was reversed you would have helped me.”

Mac smiled and nodded his head. “Yeah I would have.”

The paramedic smiled widely at his friend. “Now that we have that settled, want some coconut macaroon cookies?”

Both Gillian and MacGyver turned and looked at their friend. Mac narrowed his eyes at the fireman. “Oh very funny, you are hilarious.”

Min was sleeping in one of the spare rooms, it was the Southwestern one she had slept in during the LAFD strike. Evan was in the same room with her in his playpen. The young woman had felt terrible for what had happened to her friend, it had taken a long time for her to finally go to sleep.

Johnny left the couple alone, he opened the spare room door and saw his wife lying in the bed despite how dim the room was. There was not much moonlight coming in through the window. She was on her side facing away from the door. He had his stethoscope tucked into his pocket, he set it down on the nightstand and kicked off his tennis shoes. He pulled off his socks and climbed onto the bed, curling up next to his wife.

“How’s MacGyver?”

Johnny started, he didn’t think she was awake. She rolled over and faced him, he was waiting for him to answer the question. “He’s going to be fine, he just woke up.”

The young woman sighed, she laid flat on her back and rubbed her hands down her face. She covered her mouth and breathed through it. “I’m so glad Johnny.”

The paramedic propped himself up on one elbow, he leaned over his wife. He could see that she was still guilt ridden about what had happened to MacGyver. “Min, it wasn’t your fault, you didn’t know he was allergic to coconut.”

Min bit her lip and turned to look at her husband. “He could have died. I could have killed my friend with fruit salad.”

Johnny cleared his throat, trying not to laugh at the odd statement she made. “He’s going to be fine and I seriously doubt he’s going to be angry or upset at you.”

“He’d have a right to be, if he never talks to me again I wouldn’t blame him one bit.” Min started getting upset, her husband could see it in her face.

“Min…” He shook his head as he reached out and hugged his wife to his chest, stroking her hair.

Gillian opened her eyes, she sat up and looked down at her husband. She watched his chest move up and down for a brief moment. She had purposely left the light on in the bathroom so she could see him breathe.

“What’s wrong?” MacGyver rolled over onto his side.

His wife sighed and wiped her hand down her face. “Min is very upset over what happened to you Mac, I can feel it. She thinks that you won’t want to be her friend anymore.”

MacGyver rolled over the other way and turned on his lamp. “What?”

Gillian squeezed her eyes shut as the bright light filled the room. “She thinks you won’t talk to her ever again.”

The blond man shook his head as he sat up slowly. “That’s ridiculous! Why would I do that to her? It wasn’t her fault.”

“I know but that’s what she thinks right now.”

“Well I think I should set her straight.” He swung his legs around the side of the bed and stood up. His legs were a little shaky as he walked towards the door.

Gillian was watching her husband. “Hey now take it easy, you’ve had a busy day.”

“Yeah I know, my legs feel like wet celery stalks.”  Mac stopped in front of his dresser, he opened a drawer and took out a blue t-shirt. He shrugged it on as he opened the door and walked out into the hall.

Min was not in her bedroom, she had left it and went into the kitchen leaving her son and husband to get some sleep.

Mac opened the spare room and saw the back of his friend and the other half of the bed was empty. He looked down the hall and saw the light was on in the kitchen.

Min had gotten herself a glass of milk, she was leaning against the sink drinking it. She saw the empty bowl of fruit salad in the sink and she shook her head slowly. She got a flash of Mac lying on the floor, he was wheezing, touching his hands to his chest as he struggled to breath. The young woman shook her head out, she didn’t want to think about what had happened. There were many things going through her mind as she walked around the counter and over to the dining room table. She pulled out a chair and sat down. She set her glass of milk down and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. She had her face covered with both of her hands.

A hand reached out and gently touched the young woman on her right shoulder. Min uncovered her face and put her hand over it.

“I’m sorry if I woke you when I left, I tried to be quiet.”

The hand simply squeezed her shoulder. “I know you think I should be sleeping but I can’t. Every time I close my eyes I can see Mac dropping his bowl of salad and he’s all red.” She sighed and curled her fingers around the hand. “He’s probably upset at me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

Min creased her brow, that wasn’t the voice of her husband, she turned around and saw it was MacGyver that was squeezing her shoulder. She swallowed hard, she didn’t know what to say. She simply got up from the chair and started to leave the kitchen.

MacGyver chased after her. “Min, wait a minute.” He walked around the other side of the table and got in front of her. He could see the tears of shame and embarrassment in her eyes.

“Why are you running from me?”

The dark haired woman wiped her face casually. “Why? Because I almost killed you, that’s why!”

He licked his lips and pressed them together. “No you didn’t.”

“Yes I did! You told me not to bring anything but I didn’t listen. I brought fruit salad loaded with coconut.”

Mac nodded and put his hands on his hips. “Yeah you did, I should have been more careful.”

“I shouldn’t have brought it in the first place.” Min shook her head and turned her back to him. “You could have died, don’t you understand what that means?”

He walked around her, facing the young woman once more. “Yeah I know what that means.”

Min swallowed hard and wiped her face. “I almost took your life and made your wife a widow, why aren’t you angry at me about that?”

MacGyver could see the guilt and shame on her face, he took a step towards her. “Min, I’ve had this allergy my whole life but up until now I have never really put much thought into it. I simply avoided coconut and I thought that would be enough. Obviously I was wrong.” He sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. “I should have taken my allergy more seriously and I didn’t. I guess I never counted on having a lot of people in my life to have to explain it too.” He gave her a smile. “I didn’t think I would have friends like you and Johnny.” He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “So don’t go blaming yourself for something you didn’t even know about, okay?”

Min sniffled, she could see into her friend’s eyes and saw the truth in them. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

Mac wiped a stray tear from her face. “So am I, you are my friend Min and I know that you would never do anything to hurt me.”

The two friends were standing face to face, they put their arms around each other in a hug.

Min sighed as she had her arms around her friend. “I’m glad you’re okay Mac, I mean that.”

MacGyver let go of her and took her hands. “I know you do but I do have one little comment to make.”

“Okay, what?”

He smiled at his friend and started to laugh. “Well despite what happened I just have to say…” He looked down briefly. “That was really good fruit salad!”

Min’s eyes grew wide for a second, she saw that he was serious. The young woman bit her lip, she was trying not to laugh but she couldn’t help it; she started laughing. “Oh? Well I’m glad you liked it, it was a real killer recipe.”

MacGyver chuckled. “Yeah tell me about it.”

The two friends had a good laugh, the pain of the earlier incident starting to fade.

Johnny was whistling as he walked into the kitchen of the fire station, the first thing he saw was his partner.

“Morning.”

Roy smiled at his partner as he sipped his coffee. “Morning, how’s MacGyver feeling?”

“Oh he’s fine, Gillian took him to Rampart yesterday morning and they checked him out.” Johnny took a dark brown coffee mug out of the drain board and poured himself a cup of coffee. He sat down next to his partner.

“Does he have a medical alert bracelet?”

“No, he’s got a dog tag.”

Roy nodded. “Well it’s never a dull moment is it?”

Johnny looked at his partner and laughed. “No, not really, especially when you are a paramedic.”

There was a commotion coming from the bunkhouse, the two paramedics turned in that direction.

“Now what do you suppose that is?”

Roy shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, when I got here Cap was on the phone and Chet and Marco were changing sheets.”

“Aw come on Cap that isn’t fair!”

The answer to Johnny’s question came into the kitchen. Captain Stanley walked in being followed by Chet. The dark haired fireman was obviously unhappy, he was frowning. Hank sighed as he poured himself a cup of coffee, he opened the fridge and add a little milk to it.

“I’m sorry Chet it wasn’t my decision.”

Johnny creased his brow. “What’s going on?”

Chet scowled at his fellow firefighter. “Cut the innocent act Gage, you know exactly what is going on.” He looked at Roy too. “And so do you.”

Roy raised both of his eyebrows. “Chet we don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The two paramedics turned their heads and looked at their Captain.

Hank could see on their faces that the two men were waiting for an explanation. He pulled out a chair and sat down. “All right, I just got off the phone with Chief Forrester, there is a big convention of the Fire Fighters Association taking place next week in Las Vegas. The Chief told me that there are going to be two fireman and two paramedics selected to go as representatives of the LAFD.”

Johnny nodded. “So who got chosen?”

Hank cleared his throat. “Well, Richardson and Tanner from Station 12 were selected as the two firemen.”

Roy was looking at his Captain. “And the two paramedics?”

The Captain smiled. “I’m looking at them.”

Johnny and Roy looked at each other. “Us? We were chosen to go?”

Hank nodded. “Congratulations, out of the 60 paramedics in this city you two got picked.”

Chet scoffed. “Yeah how fair is that.”

Roy smiled. “I’ve always wanted go to that convention , I’ve heard they have demonstrations of new fire fighting techniques and equipment.”

“Well this year you get your chance, the tickets and the convention passes will be sent here by the end of the week.”

“So how long is this convention?”

Hank sipped his coffee. “It’s a week long Johnny.”

Johnny smiled. “Sounds like a lot of fun, I can’t wait.”

Roy nodded his head, a smile breaking out on his face. “Neither can I.”

“To Las Vegas!”

The two paramedics lifted their coffee mugs and clinked them together.

Min was in her office working on the new band schedule. She was in a light pink SKIDZ t-shirt and black jean shorts. She had her sandals off and was working in her bare feet. She lifted her eyes and looked at her son, the little boy was on the dark carpeting. Evan was a little over 5 months and he was beginning to discover that he could move around if he moved his arms and legs. The little boy was slowly learning how to crawl.

Min smiled. “I see you Evan!”

Evan stopped and looked at his mother, the mention of his name had gotten his attention. He had on a white bodysuit and a pair of jean overalls over them. The little boy looked like a mini farmer but he was adorable in them. He was in his bare feet, he sat up briefly and this made his mom smile.

“Evan!” She stopped what she was doing and walked over to him, she bent down and picked him up. “You sat up all by yourself!” She hugged the little boy and kissed him several times. Evan giggled as his mother lavished him with affection. When she finally stopped she touched her forehead to his.

“Just wait till I tell your daddy!”
Min put Evan back down on the floor, lying on his stomach. “Okay, go back and play, Mommy has work to do.”

The dark haired woman sat back down at her desk and picked up her pen. She started working on her schedule again when her intercom buzzed. She sighed and pushed the button on her phone.

“Yeah Bo?”

“Are you busy Sis?”

“No not really, what’s up?”

“I just got something very interesting in the mail.”

Min creased her brow and sat back in her chair. “Oh yeah? What?”

“Well I think I better show it to you in person.”

“Okay, come on over.”

The young woman turned off the intercom and looked over at her son. “What do you think Ev? Think Uncle Bo has something important to show to Mommy?”

Evan was on his side, he rolled onto his back and laughed as he did so.

Min nodded. “Yeah that’s what I think too, but we’ll see what he says when he gets here.”

She leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head.

Bo had his arms crossed over his white muscle shirt, he was watching his sister read the letter he had received in the mail. He was sitting on the edge of his sister’s desk. He had on a pair of blue cotton shorts and was thumping his tennis shoes against the side of the wooden desk. Min flipped to the second page, she lifted her eyes from the letter.

“Bo, please… I can’t read with you doing that.”

The blond haired man sighed. “Sorry, I’m just impatient that’s all.”

“I know but I want to be sure I get everything that is in this letter.”

Bo sighed. “All right just hurry up so we can talk about this.”

“I’m getting to it.” She looked over at her son, checking on him. “Why don’t you go play with Evan, it’ll take your mind off of my reading.”

“Okay.”

Bo walked over to the carpeting and took off his shoes. He bent over and took his socks off. “Hey Ev!” He walked onto the carpet and sat down next to his nephew. The little boy was on his back and Bo gently picked him up and set him down on his lap. “Having fun?”

The dark haired baby gurgled at his Uncle, Bo opened his mouth widely in a dramatic fashion. “Really? You don’t say!”

Min looked at her brother and shook her head, she set the letter down on her desk and got up. “All right Bo I’m done.”

“And what do you think?”

She walked over to the carpeting and sat down next to her brother. “Well, if this corporation is serious about turning out club into a franchise the least we can do is meet with them.”

Bo nodded. “Yeah I already spoke to the one of the executives. He said we can come next week and listen to their proposal.”

Min sighed, she reached out and touched her son’s hand. “I’ll talk to Johnny tonight and see what he says.”

“What we need is some legal advice, but we don’t have a lawyer.”

His little sister nodded. “Yeah but I know someone who has a great lawyer.” She stood up and walked back over to her desk.

“Who?”

“Gillian and Mac have Duncan Peterson, he is one of the best. I bet he could give us some great advice.”

Min opened the bottom drawer of her desk and took out her purse. She sat down in her chair and started going through it. “Let’s see where did I put that card of Duncan’s that Gill gave me?”

Bo got up from the carpet, he was still holding Evan in his arms. “Just call Gillian.”

“Damn.” She couldn’t find the card, she closed her purse and put it back in the drawer.  “I didn’t want to have to call Gillian, when I spoke to her last night she said they were going to spend today at home. She took Mac to Rampart yesterday and Dr. Brackett had advised them to take today and maybe tomorrow off and just rest.”

Gillian and MacGyver were having a nice quiet day. They had slept in late and had not really moved much from their big bed. Gillian was treating her husband like a king. She had made him his favorite breakfast, and had gotten all of his favorite movies out of the living room. The couple was watching one of them. MacGyver was in his blue tank top and his blue boxer shorts with the flames on them. He was leaning with his head against his wife’s chest. There was a large bruise on the inside of his left arm from where the hospital had taken some blood from him. He extended his arm and looked at the purple area.

“Wow that guy did a job on my arm.”

Gillian was frowning, the phlebotomist had not drawn the blood the correct way. That was why her husband had been bruised. “Yeah I know, he was a rookie.”

She reached out and touched his arm, looking at it. “I mean you have very good veins Mac, they are right there near the surface. All he had to do was tie one of them off and simply poke you. It’s not like wild cat drilling.”

MacGyver started laughing. “Red gold.”

Gillian wrinkled her nose. “Oh that’s charming Sweets, really charming.” She was in a blue sports bra and little blue cotton shorts, she kissed her fingertips and touched them to the bruise. “Poor Baby.”

“I think I’ll live.” Mac sighed as he moved his head down. He rubbed his cheek against his wife’s bare stomach, the feel of her skin was warm and soothing.

Gillian stroked her husband’s hair. “Oh I know that.”

The phone started ringing and MacGyver lifted his head. “That better not be Pete.”

“I doubt it’s Pete, he knows you were told by Dr. Brackett to rest.”

She stretched out her arm and picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi Gill.”

Gillian smiled at the sound of her friend’s voice. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Not much, how is the Coconut Man?”

The young woman started to laugh. “He’s good, resting, and being spoiled rotten by me.”

Mac grinned and stuck his tongue out at his wife. Gillian stuck hers out at him and gave him a wink.

Min laughed. “That’s good, you do realize that if he was ever stranded on a desert island he would starve to death.”

Gillian looked at her husband, she covered her mouth with her hand and started laughing. “Oh man, I hadn’t thought about that!”

Mac creased his brow, he wondered what was so funny to his wife. “About what?”

“Hang on a second Min.” Gillian covered the phone with her hand. “Min just pointed out that if you were ever stranded on a desert island you’d starve to death because you can’t eat the coconuts.”

MacGyver’s eyebrows went up, his friend was right. “Well she makes a good point.” He stretched out his hand and took the phone from his wife and put it to his ear. “You make a good point but allow me to point out to you that there are other things to eat on a desert island besides coconuts.”

Min started laughing. “Very true, how are you feeling?”

“Good, pretty lazy at the moment.”  Mac put his head back down.

“Yeah so Gillian said.” Min was playing with the phone cord. “Say Mac, you guys still have Duncan for your lawyer right?”

“Uh huh, he takes care of ME for us.”

“Oh I know that I was just wondering if you had his number.”

Mac looked back at his wife. “Umm, let me ask my better half.” He moved the phone away from his mouth. “Duncan’s number?”

Gillian thought about it for a moment. “Oh man , I knew it until you asked that.” She covered her eyes with her hand for a second. “Oh! Yeah its 555- 3254.”

He put the phone back up to his mouth. “Min its 555- 3254.”

“Got it, thanks Mac. Bo and I got this letter in the mail from some big corporation. They are interested in turning the club into a franchise. We wanted some advice from a lawyer about it.”

Mac nodded. “Yeah then Duncan is definitely the one to call about that. He knows all about that big corporate stuff.”

“That’s what I thought too.” Min smiled. “Okay I better let you two get back to R & R. Thanks for the number.”

“No problem, see you later Min.”

“Bye Mac.”

MacGyver handed the phone to his wife and she hung it up. “Why did Min want Duncan’s number?”

“She and Bo got a letter about the club becoming a franchise, she wants to run it by Duncan.”

Gillian nodded. “Well Duncan should be able to advise them about it.”

“That’s what I said too.” He yawned widely and closed his eyes.

“Getting tired?”

“A little.” He rolled off of his wife and stretched out beside her. “But I’d rather get something to eat then go to sleep.”

Gillian took advantage of her husband being on his back, she climbed on top of him and straddled his chest. “You are huh? Okay what do you want to eat?”

Mac shrugged his shoulders, he put his hands on his wife’s legs. “Whatever is fine.” He started tickling her legs with his fingers, making the young woman squirm.

“Hey Mr. Handsy I thought you said you were hungry not horny.”

MacGyver grinned and opened his eyes. “I am, but not necessarily for just food.”

The young woman put her hands over his, stopping him in mid caress. “You are supposed to be resting Mr. MacGyver.”

“I am, I have been a big slug in this bed all day.” He sat up and put his arms around his wife, holding her. “I’m tired of resting, I want to have some fun.”

Gillian leaned back and kissed her husband’s lips. “Tell you what, we’ll have some lunch and maybe take a nap.” She smiled at him, touching her hands to his face and gently kissed him twice more. “Then maybe when we wake up we can have some fun, okay?”

MacGyver nodded. “Okay, how about we just have some sandwiches for lunch?”

“How about ham and Swiss cheese?”

“Toasted?”

Gillian sighed and looked at her husband sideways. “Okay, toasted.” She shook her head. “You really are spoiled aren’t you?”

Mac took the hands from his face and pressed his lips to them both. “Yes I am, I’m spoiled because I have you.”

The young woman grinned at the very gentlemanly gesture. “Well, after our nap is over I will be more than happy to show you my appreciation.”

“I look forward to that.”

“Well I better go make us our lunch.”

Gillian kissed her husband and climbed off of him, she left the bedroom to go make their sandwiches.

Min, Bo and Duncan had spent a good portion of the day together. The snowy white haired gentleman in the navy blue pin stripped suit had met them in their club. Min had showed him the letter and he went over every section of it, explaining it to the club owners exactly what it meant.  Bo and Min had listened very carefully to the older man’s advice. They had decided together to go to San Francisco to meet with the corporate executives that next week to see what they had to say.

Min had a lot of things to tell her husband when he got home; she was waiting for him in their bedroom, the time on the nightstand clock read that it was 6 15.

The young woman was sitting on the bed, she had her legs folded under her Indian style. She heard the front door open and the distinct thumping of her husband’s work boots as he made his way down the hall. Min smiled when the door slowly opened and Johnny came into the room.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Johnny closed the door and walked over to the bed, he smiled at his wife as he sat down next to her and hugged her. “How was your day?”

“Good, I have something to tell you.” Min hugged her husband, burying her head in his shoulder.

“So do I.”

The couple broke their hug and took each other’s hands.

“Okay, you go first.” Johnny was letting his wife tell her story first.

Min squeezed his hands. “Well, today in the mail Bo and I got this letter from this company called BayCorp. They are interested in turning Skidz into a franchise.”

Johnny’s dark eyes grew wide. “Really? You’re kidding.”

“No I’m not, Bo and I are flying to San Francisco Monday morning to go meet with them.”

The paramedic’s face went from happy to sad. “Uh oh.”

Min creased her brow. “What’s wrong?”

“What I was going to tell you. Roy and I were chosen to go to Las Vegas to the Fire Fighters Association Convention. We leave Monday morning too and will be gone a whole week.”

The couple looked at each other and sighed. “What are we going to do about Evan?”

Johnny rubbed his hand down his face. “We can’t leave him with Bo because of the club.”

Min nodded. “And Daisy and Enos are out of town for the next 2 weeks.” She covered her eyes briefly. “And JoAnne has two kids of her own much less a small baby to take care of.”

Her husband flopped back on the bed. “We have to leave him with someone we can trust.”

“Absolutely, it can’t be with just anyone.”

Min laid down beside her husband, she was going over a mental list in her mind. She thought of something and sat up fast, turning towards her husband. “Johnny, I think I know who can take care of Evan for us.”

The paramedic rolled onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow. “Oh yeah? Who?”

His wife grinned. “You won’t believe who I have in mind.”

MacGyver and Gillian were sitting in the middle of their living room. The lights had been dimmed and the coffee table had been turned into a mini dining area. There was one large scented candle in a glass holder in the middle of the table. Mac and Gillian were sitting on either side of it. They were eating fettuccine alfredo. The phone began to ring, interrupting their romantic dinner.

Mac turned in the direction of the kitchen. “Uh oh, the phone is ringing.”

Gillian sighed as she looked at her husband. “I know but can’t we just ignore it?”

“No, I better get it.”

MacGyver got up from the carpeting and walked into the kitchen. He took the cordless phone off the charger. “Hello?” He brought the phone back into the living room.

“Hi Mac.”

“Hey Johnny, what’s going on?” He sat back down at the glass table and had a sip of his ice tea.

“Busy?”

“No, not really.”

Johnny laughed on the line. “Well we were wondering if you and Gill were busy this next week.”

“I don’t think so, things are kind of slow right now since we are going to Egypt the week after next. We don’t even have to go in.”

Johnny sighed. “That’s good because Min and I have a huge favor to ask.”

Mac looked at his wife and gave her a wink. “We’ll do anything for you guys, you should know that.”

“This is pretty big Mac, see both Min and I are going out of town next week and we were kind of wondering if you and Gillian would take care of Evan for us.”

MacGyver was taken aback. “You do?” He was genuinely surprised that they would be asked such a special favor.

“Yeah, Evan loves you both and he knows you. Min and I really would feel much better about leaving him if we knew he was in good hands.”

The stunned blond man licked his lips and pressed them together. “Johnny I don’t know what to say.” He widened his eyes at his wife briefly.  “Hang on let me consult Gillian about this.”

“Sure go ahead.”

He covered the phone with his hand. “Johnny is on the phone. He wants to know if we will take care of Evan for them next week.”

Gillian was also surprised by this. “Did I hear you right? They want to leave Evan with us?”

Mac nodded at his wife. “Surprising isn’t it?” He wiped his mouth. “What do you think Gill, can we take care of a 5 and a half month old?”

Gillian thought about it and smiled. “Sure we can do it, it’d be a lot of fun.”

Her husband thought about it and nodded, smiling slightly. “Yeah you’re right, it will be fun. I’ll tell Johnny we’ll do it.”

“Okay.”

MacGyver uncovered the phone. “Johnny?”

“Yeah I’m here Mac.”

“Don’t worry about next week, Gill and I will be more than happy to take care of Evan.”

The paramedic sighed loudly. “Thanks Mac, this is a really big load off of our minds. We’ll call you at the end of the week.”

Mac nodded. “Okay Johnny, talk to you then, bye.”

He hung up the phone and went back into the living room. He sat back down at the coffee table and smiled at his wife. He reached across the table and took her hand. “Now, where were we?”

It was Friday night and Min and Johnny had brought Evan over to talk to MacGyver and Gillian about taking care of their son. Johnny and Min had written down their son’s usual routine on a piece of paper and were talking to the couple about it. The 4 some were in the living room, Johnny and Min were sitting on the loveseat and MacGyver, Gillian and Evan were on the couch. Gillian was holding Evan on her lap. The little baby boy was in a white bodysuit. MacGyver had his arm slung across the back of the couch, he reached out and touched the little boy’s right hand.

“So he’s normally awake by 7 30?”

Min leaned back in the loveseat and crossed her legs. “Right, between 7 30 and 8.”

MacGyver nodded and looked at Evan. “You’re an early riser?” He leaned close to the baby’s ear. “So am I.”

Johnny smiled. “We gave you his feeding routine, that shouldn’t be a problem he’s a good eater.” He glanced at his wife. “He gets that from his mother.”

Min’s mouth dropped open. “Me? I don’t think so.”

The paramedic grinned widely at his wife and cleared his throat. “Like I said you shouldn’t have any problems.”

Gillian couldn’t help but laugh at the antics of her friends. “What about baths and stuff? Do you give him one every night before bed?”

Evan’s mother was giving her husband a look, one that promised he was going to pay later for his comments. “Yeah, it helps him relax for bedtime.”

MacGyver took Evan from his wife and set the little boy down on his lap. “Do you use anything special for it?”

“We have some bath stuff, don’t worry we just bought a new bottle of it for you guys to use.”

Min hung her head for a moment and took a deep breath. Johnny heard her and picked up her hand and held it. “Yeah so you won’t have to worry about running out. We also just bought a new bag of diapers.”

MacGyver and Gillian looked at each other, they could tell that leaving their son behind was not going to be easy on either one of them. Mac cleared his throat.

“You know, you two aren’t leaving until Monday. I know you were going to leave Evan here this weekend so he’ll get used to us.” He glanced at his wife. “Why don’t you guys stay too? That way you can check to make sure we do everything okay and it’ll be easier for everyone to adjust to this coming week.”

Gillian nodded. “Right, you guys can sort of stay in the background.”

Min lifted her head. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

MacGyver looked at his friend sideways. “No of course we don’t mind. What are we going to do? Deny you the right to be here with your son?”

Johnny sighed. “It would make me feel better if we were here.”

Gillian smiled. “Good, it’s settled then.” She checked her watch, it was almost 7. “Well if you all will excuse me, I better go see what we can have for dinner.”

Mac nodded as he held Evan. “Go ahead Gill I’ll make sure the spare bed is clean and help them get settled in.”

“Okay.” Gillian winked at her husband and got up from the couch.

Gillian had decided to make taco salad, it was big enough to feed 4 people and it was quick and easy to make. She was putting the final touches on it, adding the hamburger meat and sprinkling the salad mixture with shredded cheese.

“Something smells great in here, what are you making?”

Johnny had changed out of his uniform, he was in a blue t-shirt and black shorts. He walked over and stood beside the counter and watched as Gillian mixed the salad together in the large clear bowl.

“Taco salad.”

“So what’s in it?”

Gillian put the lid on it and the bowl and sealed it. “Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, grounded beef, green chilies, black olives, avocado, shredded cheese and tortilla chips.” She turned and handed the bowl to the paramedic. “Can you please put this in the fridge for me?”

Johnny took the bowl from her. “Sure.” He did an about face and opened the fridge, slipping the bowl onto the middle shelf.

Gillian turned on the faucet and started washing her hands. “So where is Mac and Min?” She saw the way her friend was poking around in the fridge. “Johnny if you want a soda or something help yourself. There’s no need to be shy.”

The paramedic got out a soda and closed the fridge. “They’re giving Evan a bath.”

MacGyver was laughing as he wiped some water from his face. He was kneeling beside the bathtub in the master bathroom, Min was sitting on the toilet behind him. She was watching as her friend bathed her son.

Evan was lying in his snow white tub, it had a special sling to prop him up since he was not sitting up on his own yet. The baby boy was grinning as he kicked his legs and splashed the water with his hands. He had gotten his uncle right on the face a few times.

“Hey now I’m not the one getting bathed, you are.”

The baby giggled as he touched his hands to the soap and tried to eat it.

“Now now, don’t eat that, it probably tastes terrible.”

Mac splashed some water on the baby’s hand, rinsing the soap off. He picked up a washcloth and added a few drops of soap to it. He was washing the little boy’s arms and legs with it.

Min smiled as she watched her friend. “Yeah that tends to happen, you are going to end up wetter than he is.”

“I am already I think.”

MacGyver rinsed out the washcloth and picked up the bottle of baby shampoo.  He put a tiny amount in his right hand and began to wash the little boy’s hair. He was smiling at the baby. “This is fun, wet, but fun.” He was being careful not to get any in Evan’s eyes.

“He seems to be having a great time.” Min made a face at her son over her friend’s shoulder. “Splash your uncle again Evan, I don’t think he’s wet enough.” The baby smiled at his mother as he moved around, sloshing the water he was lying in.

“Don’t listen to her Ev, I’m already wet enough to participate in a wet t-shirt contest.” 

MacGyver was telling the truth, his light grey t-shirt was now almost completely soaked down the front of it. He picked up a cup and scooped some water into it and began to rinse the shampoo from Evan’s dark hair. When he felt it was rinsed he carefully put his hand under the baby boy’s back. He put his other hand on his chest and carefully sat him up. He picked up the washcloth and wiped down the back of the 5 month old.  Evan looked down at the hand on him and put his little hand over his uncle’s fingers. He had a look of curiosity on his face.

“We have to make sure you are nice and clean.” He wrung out the cloth, letting the soapy water run down his little back.

MacGyver eased the little boy back down and wrung out the cloth again, wiping his little face. “There, I think we are done.” He turned and looked at the little boy’s mother. “What do you think Mom?”

Min leaned over and looked at her son, he looked nice and clean. She looked at her friend and smiled at him. “What do I think? I think one day you are going to make a great dad.”

Mac could feel his face flush at the compliment. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She stood up and opened a white towel. “Okay, let’s get him out of there.”

MacGyver pulled the plug on the bottom of the tub, he carefully lifted Evan out of the water and held him out. Min wrapped the towel around her son. “There.”

Mac cradled the baby to his chest as they walked out of the bathroom.

Gillian and Johnny walked into the master bedroom just in time. Mac had Evan lying in his white towel on top of their bed. He was drying the baby off while his mother went to get a clean diaper for him and his pajamas.

“Looks like someone took the hose to you Mac.”

Her husband was bent over, gently patting the little boy’s head. “In a way I was, but it wasn’t a hose it was a 5 month old.”

“Here you go Mac.”

Min walked back into the room and handed her friend a fresh diaper and a pair of blue pajamas.  The blond man took the diaper and the pajamas. He set the pajamas down and lifted the baby, putting the diaper under him. He could feel three pairs of eyes on him and he turned around.

“Okay what’s with the eyes? Why am I suddenly being gawked at?”

Gillian cleared her throat. “Well I was just curious to see if you knew how to put a diaper on a baby, that’s all.”

Min and Johnny nodded their heads. “So were we.”

Mac sighed and shook his head, he turned back around. “Can you believe this Ev? Suddenly I’m the center of attention.” He folded the diaper over the little boy’s waist and secured it with the tapes.

“There, are you all satisfied?”

Gillian grinned and patted her husband on the back. “Very good Sweetie I had no idea you knew how to do that.”

“Remind me to tell you about the time Jack thought he had a son. That’s how I got to learn all about changing diapers.” MacGyver put the pajamas on Evan and snapped them closed. He picked the baby up and took a comb off of his dresser, he gently combed his hair. “Finished, now you are all ready for that hot date.”

Min smiled and shook her head. “I think he might be a little too young for dating Mac.”

Mac shrugged his shoulders. “Train them while they are young.” He looked down at the baby. “Right Evan?”

The little boy only smiled at his Uncle.

Mac and Gillian had set up the playpen in their bedroom, when 8 o’clock came they gently laid Evan down in it and gave him his bottle. They covered him with a light blanket and quietly left the room, closing the door as they did so. The two couples were hungry and decided to have the taco salad that Gillian had made a little while earlier. Johnny was being served his second helping, his wife only shook her head at him.

“Oh but Evan gets his healthy appetite from me?”

The paramedic only grinned. “Yes he does.”

His wife narrowed her eyes at him and turned to her two friends. “You guys have two spare rooms right?”

Mac was sitting next to the paramedic, he glanced at his friend and shook his head. “Uh oh Johnny, looks like you are in the dog house.”

Johnny only shrugged his shoulders as he started eating his salad. “Oh well, that’s okay, it’ll mean I can have plenty of blanket and room to sleep.”

MacGyver nodded. “You too? And here I though I suffered alone.”

Gillian gasped and her mouth dropped open slightly. “Exactly what are you saying Mac?” She folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

Min leaned in close to the woman sitting next to her. “I think he means you are both a bed and blanket hog Gillian.”

The redhead nodded slowly. “I see… it looks like someone is going to be bunking on the couch since I am so terrible to sleep with.”

Her husband smiled. “I never said you were terrible to sleep with, quite the opposite.”

Johnny looked at his wife. “Right, and neither are you Min.”

The two women looked at each other. “What do you think, are they telling the truth?”

Gillian sighed. “Well, maybe, either that or they are just afraid we’ll make good with our threats and they’ll have to sleep alone.”

Min had a sip of her ice tea. “I don’t know Gill, they could be using their charm on us.” She glanced at her husband. He gave her a crooked grin and it made her heart start beating hard. “He’s awfully cute, I might have to believe him.”

Gillian was looking at MacGyver. “And so is mine, I can never resist that handsome face.”

“So what do we do?”

The young woman with red hair turned and looked at her friend. “Simple, we punish them.” Her dark eyes focused on her husband. “We punish them well.”

Min nodded her head in approval. “You are so right.” She couldn’t wait to get her husband alone.

MacGyver and Johnny turned towards each other, both men just grinned. The evening promised to be an interesting one.

Gillian came into the dining area carrying a brand new pack of playing cards and a black fanny pack. She sat down at the table and unwrapped the cards. She set the deck down and unzipped the fanny pack.

“Okay let’s see what we have in here.” She took out 4 bundles of one dollar bills and started passing them out.

“One for me, one for Min, one for Johnny and at last one for my darling husband.”

Mac picked up his bundle and looked at how thick the stack was. “How much is here Gill?”

“A hundred.”

Min looked down at her bundle. “A hundred? Gill when you said we were going to play poker you didn’t say we were going to play for money.”

Gillian started shuffling the cards. “Well normally we would play for candy kisses.” She lifted her head and looked at her husband. “But someone ate most of them the last time we played poker.”

MacGyver only grinned. “They had almonds, I couldn’t resist.”

Johnny chuckled and shook his head. “But this is a lot of money Gill, are you sure you want to do this?”

She was done shuffling. “Oh come on you guys, will you lighten up and not worry about it? I got these bundles from the bank earlier when I was running errands. It is just some mad money to play with.” She started dealing. “The game we are playing kids is 5 card draw, duces are wild, everyone ante up a buck.”

Everyone sitting at the table opened their bundles and laid a crisp dollar bill down in the center of the dining table.

Gillian looked at her cards. “Let’s see, I’ll open with 2 dollars.” She put her two in the pile and so did everyone else.

MacGyver fanned out his hand and glanced at it. “Okay, I’ll add 3 to that.” He counted out three dollars and put it in the pile.

Johnny nodded as he studied his cards. “I’ll see your 3, raise you 3.”

Min was sitting across from her husband. “3, plus 4 more.” She put ten dollars in the pile. She turned and looked at the dealer.

Gillian added her 10 to the pile along. “I call.” She set her cards face down and picked up the deck. “Cards?” She looked to the right at the paramedic. Johnny set two cards face down in front of him.

“Two please.”

Gillian dealt him two cards, she looked at her husband that was sitting directly in front of her. “Mac?”

MacGyver put one card face down. “One, please.”

“Oh, someone thinks he’s got a good hand huh?” She dealt him a card.

Her husband shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe, we’ll see.” He picked up the card and added it to his hand.

“Min?”

The dark haired woman put down three cards. “Three please.”

“Here you go.” She dealt Min three cards. “And two for me.”

Everyone was studying their hands and each other, looking for any hint to how good the cards were that they each were holding.

Min and Johnny were no novices to poker, the two of them played it often with Roy and JoAnne. Min had also been taught all about cards from Uncle Jesse. He had come from a long line of poker players. She cleared her throat.

“Well, I think I’ll start the bidding at 5 bucks.” She picked up 5 dollars and put it in the ever growing pile of ones. Everyone put 5 dollars into the pot.

Johnny nodded and picked up 5 more. “I’ll see your 5, raise you 5 more.”

Gillian and Mac both added 5 more to the pile. Mac licked his lips and pressed them together.

“Okay, I’ll raise you 10.”

His wife added 10 to the pile. “Call, everyone show your hands.”

Johnny put down his cards, he smiled proudly. “Three Queens.”

Mac nodded as he put down his hand. “4 of a kind, all tens.”

Gillian frowned as she laid her cards out. “Damn it! I only have a full house, nines and sevens.”

All eyes turned to Min, so far MacGyver had the winning hand. She looked at all of them and smiled. “5 of a kind…all Kings.” She laid them out, all of them were kings and there was one duce. Everyone groaned as she reached out and started pulling the large pile towards her. “I thank you all for this hefty sum, by my calculations there’s about 130 bucks here.”

Gillian shook her head as she gathered up all the cards and passed them to the paramedic. “Okay Johnny, your turn to shuffle.”

The paramedic picked up the deck and divided it up, he shuffled the card and bridged them. “Okay, the same? 5 card draw?”

“Yeah.” Gillian got up from the table. “Anyone want something to drink?”

“Can I have a cow juice on the rocks Gill?”

“I knew you were going to ask for that Mac.” She looked at her two friends. “Min, Johnny?”

Min looked at her friend that was standing next to her husband. “I’ll have a soda please.”

Johnny nodded and turned his head towards Gillian. “Me too, please.” He started passing out the cards.

“Coming up.” Gillian went to the fridge and got out two sodas and gave them to her friends. She got out small glasses, put ice in them and filled them with milk. She set the glass of milk in front of her husband. “Your cow juice.”

“Thanks.” Mac had a sip of it.

Gillian cleared her throat and stuck her hand out. “Hey, where is my tip?”

“Oh I’m sorry.” He picked up a dollar and put it in her hand.

She turned her hand sideways and the dollar fell from her palm, it drifted back on top of the table. “I don’t think so, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

MacGyver raised an eyebrow. “So what do you want then?”

His wife grinned at him. “How about a kiss?”

“Okay.” He stood up and kissed his wife on the forehead.

The young woman narrowed her eyes at him. “Not a peck Mac, a kiss.”

Mac sighed and took his wife into his arms. “Well if you insist.” He pressed his lips to her, dipping her as he did so.

Min wolf whistled as she watched her two friends. “Go get a room!”

Johnny shook his head, they had been in that position for about 30 seconds. The paramedic turned his attention to his wife. “If I didn’t know better I’d say he was giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”

The couple finally straightened up and MacGyver sighed as he sat back down in his chair. “Are you satisfied now?”

Gillian regained her composure and cleared her throat. She walked behind her husband and hugged him around his neck. “Yes, thank you.” She kissed him on the cheek and stood up. “Okay, now that we got that settled, let’s play some cards.”

“Oh man I am beat.”

Gillian flopped down face first onto the king size bed and sighed. MacGyver came into the room and closed the door behind him, he shushed her. “Hey, remember? Sleeping 5 month old?” He pointed to the playpen and his wife covered her hand with her mouth.

“Oops.”

MacGyver lifted his light grey t-shirt over his head, it was still slightly damp. He wadded it up and tossed it at the hamper and unzipped his jean shorts. “But you’re right, I’m tired too.” He glanced at the clock, it read 12 30.  “It’s a lot later than we usually stay up.”

“Yeah it is.” Gillian shrugged out of her shirt and shorts and put them both in the hamper. She passed the playpen and glanced into it. Evan was sound asleep, his bottle was lying on its side drained of its contents. Gillian reached down and gently touched the baby’s cheek. The baby was lying on his back.

“Sweet baby.” She smiled. “Tonight your parents won some money for your college fund.” She kissed her fingers and touched them to his face. “Night Evan.”

Gillian stepped away from the playpen and opened her dresser. She took out a clean pink nightgown and tossed it on the bed.

MacGyver was tying the drawstring on his dark blue and green checkered pajama bottoms. He yawned widely and peeled back their bed. “It was fun to play cards with Min and Johnny, we should do it more often.” He flopped down on his side of the bed and rubbed his hands over his face.

Gillian finished getting undressed and pulled her nightgown down over her, it was a short gown only going to her knees. She climbed into the bed and leaned her head on her husband’s shoulder. “You’re right it was fun.” She motioned to the lamp on her husband’s side of the bed. It was the only light in the whole room, they didn’t want the overhead one to disturb the baby.

“I think its lights out time Mac.”

MacGyver nodded, he was already falling asleep. He turned and clicked the light off. He laid back down and sighed. He lifted his arm so his wife could curl up closer to him. He put his hand on her back. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“No.” Gillian lifted her head and the couple kissed. “Night Mac.”

“Night Gill.”

They both settled down and went to sleep.

Gillian was walking down the hall, on her way to the spare bedroom Min and Johnny were sharing. Min was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. She insisted on making breakfast since Gillian had been doing all the cooking for the whole weekend.  MacGyver and Johnny had just gotten back from taking Evan to the mall. The two men were looking for a car part for Mac’s Nomad. Evan had fallen asleep on the way back and MacGyver had put the baby boy to bed. The two men had retreated to the garage to work on the Nomad. Min had asked Gillian to get something out of her purse, she wanted some hard candy.

Gillian opened the spare room door, much to her surprise she saw the back of Johnny Gage. He turned around and faced her. He was in a pair of dark blue boxer shorts, his jeans in his hands. The two people looked at each other and Gillian gasped loudly and put her hand to her mouth. Johnny looked at her wide eyed as he moved his pants over his boxer shorts.

“Oh my God Johnny I’m so sorry.” She quickly turned around and started to close the door.

Johnny could feel his face burning as he tossed his jeans on the bed and slipped into a pair of shorts. He opened the door and went down the hall after his friend.

“Did you find the candy?” Min was standing at the stove flipping pancakes.

“No, I didn’t.” Gillian wouldn’t look at her friend, she was sure her face was as red as an apple.

“Don’t worry about it then.”

Gillian sat down at the dining table, hoping that her red face would calm down.

Johnny came into the kitchen and saw his wife cooking. “Hi.”

Min smiled at him. “Hey.” She stepped towards him and gave him a kiss. “How was the mall? Did you guys find that part?”

“Yeah and a couple of other things, the next time you see Mac ask him what he brought for our son.”

“Oh with Mac I can just about guess.”

Gillian heard her friend but she was too embarrassed to face him. Johnny walked over to the table and cleared his throat. “Gill, can I see you for a moment?”

“Sure.” She wasn’t looking at her friend as they both went down the hall. When they were far enough away Johnny sighed. “Gillian, it’s okay, you didn’t know I was in there changing.”

Gillian finally turned and looked at her friend. “No I didn’t, I thought you guys were in the garage. I’m sorry Johnny I didn’t mean to just walk in on you like that.” She thought about what she had seen and her cheeks grew warm.

Johnny shook his head. “It’s okay, it could have been worse you know.”

“How?”

The paramedic cleared his throat. “I could have been in briefs, or without anything at all.”

Gillian started laughing. “Yeah that would have been a lot worse than just seeing you in your boxer shorts.”

Johnny nodded. “So don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Okay.”

He glanced at the garage door. “Well I better go back in there and help your husband change that part out.” He put his hand on the door knob and started to turn it.

“I better go help your wife with breakfast, have ever so much fun.”

Johnny smiled at his friend. “Believe it or not, it is. It must be a guy thing.” He opened the garage door and closed it behind him.

Gillian came out of her bedroom wearing her light blue and white hockey jersey with the matching pants.  She was holding Evan in her arms and was followed by her husband. He had put on his blueberry blue jersey, the pants were the same color. He had a small grey bag in his hands as they both stood in front of the spare bedroom door. Mac knocked on it.

“Johnny, Min, you both doing okay? Did the uniforms fit?”

The door opened and Johnny was behind it, he had on MacGyver’s black and white jersey on and black pants. “Yeah, it fits.”

He stepped aside and Min stood up. She had on Gillian’s blueberry blue uniform that had been a gift from her husband. “Yeah so does mine.” She saw that Gillian was holding her son.

“What are we going to do with Evan?”

MacGyver smiled as he walked into the room carrying the bag. “I was just about to get to that.”

He opened the bag and pulled out a tiny hockey uniform, it was baby blue and white with baby blue pants. He turned it over and it had the number 7 on it and the name Evan.

Min saw it and she gasped loudly and started laughing. “Oh my God, where did you find that?”

Johnny shook his head. “That was what I told you to ask him about.”

“You like it?” Mac handed it to Evan’s mother.

The young woman laughed as she looked at it. “That is adorable.”

Gillian gently laid Evan on the bed and stretched out her hand. “Here I’ll put it on him.”

Min handed the uniform to her and she slipped it over the white body suit that Evan had on. The uniform was a little big but it fit him well. “There, don’t you look cute.” She lifted him up and kissed his cheek.

“Yeah he does, but you still didn’t answer me, how are all 4 of us going to play hockey?”

MacGyver left the room and came back in with a baby carrier. “With this Min.” He opened the box and took the light blue harness out. “We’ll just carry him around, that way we can all play and he can enjoy the new experience.”

The paramedic looked at his friend and smiled. “You are insane Mac, only you would take a 5 month old out on the ice.”

“I am not insane.”

Gillian looked at her husband and raised an eyebrow. This made MacGyver move his head a little from side to side. “For the most part.” He looked at the baby. “I just think it would be more fun for us to take him along, that’s all.”

He folded up the carrier and put it back in the box. “We already strapped the car seat from the Land Rover into the Nomad. If you all are ready, let’s go play.”

The Nomad pulled up to the West Covina rink and MacGyver tucked his sunglasses into the visor above his head. “Okay, here we are.”

Johnny was sitting in the front seat beside him, he opened the door and walked around to the back of it. MacGyver unlocked it and the two men each grabbed a bag and took them out. Gillian took Evan out of his car seat and she and Min followed the two men into the building.

“You two do know how to skate right?” Mac sat down on a bench and took off his tennis shoes. He put on his black skates and laced them up.

“Yeah, I just haven’t done it in a while.” Johnny took the seat beside his friend and took off his shoes. He took Mac’s spare set of skates out of the bag and put them on.

Min unzipped the large blue gym bag and took out a pair of white skates that belonged to Gillian. She took off her loafers and slipped the skates onto her feet. “I didn’t know how until Bo and Luke taught me one winter in Hazzard. I’m used to skating on a frozen pond though.”

“It’s not that much different.” Mac stood up and took the baby carrier out of his red gym bag. He took it out of the box and put it over his shoulders. He had been elected to carry Evan first.

Gillian stood behind him and helped him criss cross the straps across his back and fasten them. The carrier was sitting on top of his chest.

“Okay Gill, let’s put Evan in.”

Gillian walked around her husband and lifted the baby high. She carefully slipped him into the carrier, mindful of his legs. Mac had his legs from the bottom and gently pulled them through the holes. Finally Evan was tucked securely into it.

“There!” Mac tried to bend over but discovered he really couldn’t without fear of spilling Evan out of the carrier. “Umm… can someone hand me his little hat please?”

Johnny reached into the bag and took out a tiny blue woolen cap. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” MacGyver put it on the little boy’s head. “So you won’t get cold.”

Gillian sat down on the bench and took out her white skates, she put them on and started lacing them up. “How does he feel? Is he heavy?”

MacGyver felt like he had a bowling ball strapped to his chest. “No I wouldn’t say that he is heavy, it’s just a weird sensation having this weight right in front.”

Min stood up and stomped her feet a little, making sure her skates were tight enough.  “Now you know how I felt when I was 9 months pregnant.”

Johnny took 4 helmets out of the red gym bag and passed them out. “Here is everyone’s brain bucket.”

“Brain bucket? Is that paramedic humor?” MacGyver put his helmet on and fastened it under his chin.

“Nah, just Gage humor.”

Mac pointed to the other bag. “The sticks are in there. The one with the black handle is mine.”

Gillian got the sticks out and shook her head as she handed the one with the black handle to her husband. “Here you go Mr. Over Protective About your Precious Stick.”

“Thank you.” He took his stick from his wife and looked at it.

His wife shook her head and grabbed his wrist. “Oh will you stop it already? Come on let’s play.”

The two couples walked around to the side door of the rink and stepped out onto the ice.

The two couples had divided into two teams, the Gage’s against the MacGyver’s.  They were going to play a simple game and see who could score the most goals. However this changed, because Evan was strapped to MacGyver’s chest the foursome had decided to make it a very easy going game. They were just skating around the icy gently passing the puck back and forth to each other.

MacGyver had the puck, he passed it to Johnny.  He was watching the fireman skate. “You know you skate really well Johnny, who taught you?”

Johnny was using his stick to keep the puck with him, he looked at his friend. “My father, he took me out on a frozen pond when I was about 8 and showed me how to skate.”

The two women were behind the men, Gillian skated around them and tapped her stick against the ice. “Pass it here Johnny.”

The paramedic complied, passing the puck over to her. Gillian took it and passed it to Min.

“You know I never understood how to play hockey.” Min had her stick and hit it, passing the puck back to Gillian.

“Nice shot! Believe me I don’t know much about it either, but I’m learning.” Gillian pointed to the goal. “Come on let’s see how well you can score.”

MacGyver watched as Gillian and Min started racing towards the other goal. He looked down at his passenger and saw the little boy was asleep. “I guess he’s too young to appreciate the game.”

Johnny laughed. “Yeah he is a little young.”

The two men skated towards the goal to be with the women.

Min wiped her eyes as she picked up her son and hugged him to her chest. “You be a good boy now Evan, don’t give your Uncle and Aunt a hard time.” She looked at his little face, she sighed as she touched it. “I’m going to miss you.” She gave him a kiss and passed Evan to his father.

Johnny hugged his son, closing his eyes as he did so. “We’ll be back at the end of the week, okay?”

Gillian and MacGyver were standing in the living room, watching the parents say goodbye to their son. It was not an easy thing to watch.

Min took a shuddering breath and looked at her friends. “I’m sorry, I know you must think I’m a big wimp.”

MacGyver and Gillian shook her heads. “Of course we don’t.”

“We know how hard this must be for you.” Gillian gave the mother a small smile.

Johnny kissed his son on the head and passed him to Gillian. His dark eyes looked very sad as he touched the little boy’s hands. He checked his watch and turned to his wife. “We better go Min, we have to get up early.”

Min started getting upset again and nodded her head. “Yeah I know.” She looked at her two friends and sighed. “Well we better go.”

“Yeah you better.” Gillian gave Evan to Mac and hugged Min tightly. “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him, okay?”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Johnny and Mac shook hands and hugged briefly. “You have a safe trip Johnny.”

“I will Mac, thanks for looking after Evan for us.”

Min and Gillian ended their hug and the red haired woman hugged the fireman. “Take care of yourself Johnny, have fun in Vegas.”

The paramedic hugged his friend. “I’ll try.”

They let go of each other and Gillian took the baby from MacGyver.  He saw how upset his friend was and he smiled at her.

“Come here Min.”

MacGyver put his arms around the young mother and hugged her. “Come on now it’s going to be okay.”

Min sighed as she put her arms around her friend. “I know I know, enough with the water works right?”

Mac pulled back from her and wiped her face. “Now did I say that?”

The young woman started laughing. “No you didn’t.”

“That’s right I didn’t.” He smiled at her. “Now go on, it’ll be okay.”

Min took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She touched one of her son’s hands and kissed it. “Bye Sweetheart, we’ll see you soon.”

Johnny reached out and touched his son on his head gently. “Bye Evan, be good.”

Min and Johnny picked up their bag and turned around, they opened the front door and walked out of it. MacGyver and Gillian stood in the doorway and watched as they walked down the driveway. They both turned back around and waved as they got into the Land Rover. The white vehicle started up and pulled away, Mac and Gillian waved at it as it disappeared around the corner.

“So what do you want for breakfast?”

MacGyver was in his pajama bottoms, he had the fridge open and was looking into it. It was his turn to make breakfast.

Gillian was sitting at the dining table, she had on her pink nightgown and was stirring a bowl of baby cereal. It was her turn to make Evan breakfast. She and her husband had been taking turns all week feeding the baby.

“Whatever is fine.” She unscrewed the cap to Evan’s bottle and poured more of his formula into the bowl.

“How about some scrambled eggs?”  Mac took out a carton of eggs and set them down on the counter.

“Eggs are good.”

Evan was sitting in his high chair, he had his teething keys and was waving them in the air. The baby was babbling as he watched the two adults.

“There Ev, I think we finally got the consistency right.” Gillian sniffed the contents of the bright yellow bowl. “Smells good, smells just like bananas.” She scooped some in the baby spoon and fed it to the baby. Evan started smacking his lips together as he ate the cereal, this made the young woman smile. “It’s good huh?”

MacGyver went and put a t-shirt on, he took out the cooking spray from the cabinet above his head and gave the skillet a coating of it. “Johnny was right, he’s a good eater.”

Gillian gave the baby another spoonful. “Yeah he is.” She gasped loudly at the baby and touched him on the end of his nose. Evan giggled and reached out trying to grab Gillian’s finger. She let him and he tried to put it in his mouth. This made the young woman laugh.

“Hey that’s my finger! I need that.”

“Maybe you aren’t feeding him fast enough.” Mac had the fire turned on, he was waiting for the skillet to get hot enough so he could crack the eggs into it.

“Maybe, or maybe he’s part cannibal.” Gillian fed Evan two more bites of cereal, he ate them and shook his keys. “He likes those keys.” The baby stuck them in his mouth and was chewing on them.

MacGyver cracked 4 eggs into a bowl and had a fork, he was stirring them around. “Yeah he does, it looks like they’re tasty too.”

“It’s probably his teeth. Min left us some teething pills to put in his formula if they really start bothering him.” She gently took the keys from Evan’s mouth and fed him more of his cereal. “Here you go Baby this is a lot tastier than those keys.”

There was a sound of muffled sizzling. Gillian turned around and saw her husband had poured his bowl of eggs into the skillet. It was a strange sound that even got the attention of the baby.  Mac added seasoning to the eggs, he looked up and saw two pairs of eyes on him.

“What?”

Gillian blinked at her husband. “Your eggs sounded really weird.” She saw that Evan was also watching him. “See, Evan is wondering what that was too.”

Mac looked at the little dark eyed baby. “It’s only eggs Ev, that’s all.”

At the mention of his name, the little boy smiled widely and laughed.

Gillian scooped more of his cereal out of the bowl and gave it to him. “It still sounded weird Mac.”

“So what are we going to do today?” He had a spatula in his hand and was stirring the eggs.

“Oh I don’t know, we could go to the Foundation and double check to make sure everything is still all right for Egypt.”

“Nah, if we go anywhere near that building we’ll get sucked into it and end up working. How about we take him swimming?”

“Yeah that sounds like fun.” Gillian fed Evan the last of his cereal; she shook her head and showed the baby the empty bowl. “Look at this! You ate all of that cereal! My goodness you must have been hungry.”

“Well he got up pretty early.”

The eggs were done and Mac scooped some on a plate along with a piece of buttered toast and walked it over to the table and set it down in front of his wife. “Here you go.”

Gillian stood up. “Thank you Sweets.”

She started to walk around him to go put the baby bowl into the sink. MacGyver grabbed her by the arm. “Wait a second that is going to cost you.”

Gillian smiled. “Oh? And what exactly is the going price for breakfast these days?”

“Well according to my price list, one kiss.”

She hissed through her teeth. “That’s kind of steep.”

Mac put his hands on his hips. “Oh? After I went through all the trouble of making it for you you’re not going to pay my price?”

Gillian sighed. “Well, since you did make it.” She had the bowl in her hands, she set it down on the table and put her arms around her husband’s neck, kissing him.

Evan was watching the two adults that were standing close to him, he reached out and curled his little fingers around Gillian’s nightgown.

MacGyver was hugging his wife, he looked at saw Evan holding onto her. “Hey little one, this girl belongs to me, go get your own.”

Gillian saw him with her nightgown in his hand, she started laughing. “What can I say, he has good taste.”

“Come on now let your Aunt Gill go so she can eat her breakfast.” Mac gently touched Evan’s hand and the baby finally let go of her nightgown.  “Thank you.” He kissed the little boy’s hand and picked up his bowl from the table. “I’ll put this in the sink Gill, go ahead and eat.”

Gillian sat down and started eating her breakfast. “What about you? Aren’t you going to eat?”

MacGyver put the bowl in the sink and turned on the water, filling it. He turned off the faucet. “Yeah I’m coming.” He got a clean plate out of the drain board and put the rest of the eggs from the skillet onto the plate. He sat down next to his wife and started eating his breakfast.

Gillian and MacGyver had packed Evan up in his light beige and tan stroller. The nearest pool from their house was 4 blocks away. The couple had decided to walk. The Veterans Park pool was a massive dark grey building with bright orange trim that could no doubt be seen for miles. For the small sum of one dollar, a person could swim all day. They had bought Evan a baby float, it was a bright yellow inner tube that had a smaller tube with two leg holes.

The pool was Olympic size, made of bright white and blue checkered tile. There were two walls of the building that opened up, allowing air to circulate. This also cut down on the echo that every little noise seemed to cause. MacGyver had on a pair of black trunks, he pulled his white t-shirt over his head. There was a silver handrail and steps. He stepped down into the pool, sighing as he did so. Gillian carefully laid Evan down on her towel and changed him into a bright blue swimming diaper.

“Warm?”

Mac was up to his waist. He rubbed his arms with the water. “Yeah, it’s nice, sort of like a Jacuzzi.”

“Oh good.” Gillian picked Evan up from the bench and tossed her husband the baby float. She walked over to the edge of the pool and handed the baby to him.

“Here hold him a second.”

Gillian had on a big baggy t-shirt that went down to her knees, it had a picture of a cartoon cat on it. She stepped back and lifted it over her head. She had on a dark blue bathing suit, her hair put in a ponytail.

MacGyver watched her, he was disappointed. “What no bikini?”

“No, not today.” She took a hold of the handrail and stepped into the water. “It is nice and warm.” She walked down the steps and took a hold of the baby float. “Okay, I have a hold of this thing, put him in.”

Mac lifted Evan high and gently lowered him into the float. Gillian guided his legs through the holes.

“There, how’s that?”

The little baby wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He looked at the bright yellow plastic curiously. He looked at Mac and Gillian with questioning eyes.

“I don’t think he likes it.”

Gillian shrugged. “Well this is all something new to him, I don’t think he’s ever seen a pool before.”

Mac put his hands on the tube and started moving it around. “See Ev, this is a pool. It’s kind of like your bathtub only bigger.” He splashed some of the water onto the tube. “See? Remember how you like to splash?” He held out one of Evan’s hands and splashed it in the water.

This made the baby’s eyes get big, he smiled as he splashed the water himself.

“There you go.”

Gillian smiled. “See isn’t it fun, watch.” She moved so she was directly in front of the baby, she took a big breath and dunked her head into the water, wetting her hair. She popped out of the water and this made the baby laugh.

MacGyver held his breath and ducked his head under, he surfaced and smoothed his hair back. “You know Gill, what we need is our own pool.”

Gillian was moving the tube around. “Think so?”

“Yeah I do, I mean we both love to swim and this pool is the only one nearby. The backyard is big enough why don’t we think about it?”

“We can look into what it would take, it’s probably going to cost at least 25 thousand to get a pool put in.”

Mac moved close to her. “I know but we had a lot of fun when we went to see Bill and Laura. They had a really nice pool that we enjoyed, didn’t they?”

Gillian nodded as she put her arms around her husband’s neck. She smiled and gave him a small kiss. “Especially that one night when we went for a midnight swim.”

Mac grinned and kissed his wife. “And did everything but.”

Evan was watching the two adults, he babbled at them and they both looked at him. MacGyver started laughing as he brought the tube closer.

“What’s the matter little man? Feeling left out? Well let’s see what we can do about that.” He lifted the little boy out of his tube and held him.

Gillian splashed some water on him. “Aha I got you!”

MacGyver gasped and looked down at the baby. “Did you see that? She splashed us! Let’s get her.”

He had a hold of one of Evan’s little hands. He slapped at the water hitting his wife in the face. “Nice shot!”

Gillian wiped her face. “Hey no fair! Two against one!” She splashed them again and swam away. The two men chased after her.

Evan was very tired and cranky by the time they got back to the house. It was late afternoon and time for the little boy’s nap. Gillian was carrying him as they walked into the house.

“Here Mac, why don’t you check his diaper while I make him a bottle.”

MacGyver was pretty worn out himself, they had stayed for over two hours at the pool. He yawned as he took the little boy from his wife. “Come on Ev, let’s get you ready for your nap.”

Mac walked down the hall into the master bedroom, he took the towel from around his neck and spread it out on the bed. He carefully laid the baby down on it.

“Let’s see what we got here.”

He opened the tapes and pulled down the diaper. The diaper was messy, he sighed and stood up. 

“I see, well that certainly explains the smell.”

He looked around for the container of baby wipes and the diapers, they were over on top of his wife’s dresser. “Okay, stay right here, don’t move.” He quickly came back with a clean diaper and the container of wipes. He opened it and started cleaning the little boy up.

Gillian was also feeling the effects of too much swimming. She yawned widely as she got out Evan’s can of formula and one of his bottles. She filled the 4 ounce bottle with water and put two scoops of formula into it. She put the nipple on it and started shaking it up.

“There, all clean.” MacGyver put the dirty wipes inside the messy diaper and folded it up. There was a small wastebasket on the other side of the playpen. He tossed the diaper into it and smiled.

“Two points for me Evan.” He picked up the little boy and kissed his cheek.

Evan yawned widely and laid his head down on MacGyver’s shoulder.

“I know you’re tired but we’ll give you a bottle and put you to bed.” He put his hand on the back of the little boy’s head and hugged him.

Gillian was still shaking the bottle as she came into the bedroom. She saw the way Evan was laying against her husband. “Aww, poor Baby.” She smiled and rubbed his back gently. “Here Mac, put him down.” She handed the bottle to her husband.

MacGyver walked over to the playpen and laid the little baby down into it. Evan was on his side and Mac took a folded up receiving blanket and tucked it under his back so he could drink his bottle.

“He looks really tired, it’ll take no time at all for him to fall asleep.”

Gillian took another blanket and gently covered the baby up with it. “Yeah, I’m pretty pooped.”

“Me too.”

The couple left the room and quietly closed the door behind them. They decided to go lay down in the spare room and try to catch a few winks themselves.

“What time is Min and Johnny coming in tonight?” Gillian had her towel around her waist, she undid it and let it fall to the floor.

MacGyver laid down on the bed and sighed. He was to tired to even take off his t-shirt. “When I talked to Johnny on Wednesday he said he gets in at 9 and Min gets in at 9 30.” He turned and looked at his wife as she climbed into the bed. “Is that what I told you or what it the other way around?”

“I think that’s what you said.” Gillian sighed and scooted closer to her husband; turning on her side to talk to him “Man I’m beat, why is it that swimming always wears you out?”

MacGyver yawned and closed his eyes. “It’s the water. We can’t sleep too long, it’s after 5. We have to make sure Evan is all packed and stuff when we wake up.”

Gillian rubbed her hand across her eyes. “I’m going to miss him, it’s been a very interesting week having him here.”

“Yeah it has.” MacGyver turned on his side and looked at his wife. “I’m going to miss him too, he’s a good kid.”

The couple was facing each other, within a matter of minutes the conversation was over as they both drifted off to sleep.

The sun had gone down at little after 7, the sky was rapidly going from the bright coppery colors of sunset to the dark blues and grays of night. MacGyver was deep in sleep. He had his arm draped across his wife’s waist. Gillian was restless beside him, she was squeezing her eyes and gently touching her stomach. Her hand accidentally bumped against her husband’s as she moved around.

MacGyver opened his eyes, he looked down at his wife and saw how pained her face was. She was groaning softly in her sleep.

“Gill?” Mac gently touched her face, his fingers patting her cheek.

The young woman gasped loudly and opened her eyes, she hissed through her teeth as she rubbed her stomach.

“Bad dream?”

Gillian was breathing fast. “I…I don’t know. I can’t remember.” She got another pain and she bit her lip against it.

MacGyver licked his lips and pressed them together. “Your stomach?”

“Yeah, feels like it’s full of razor blades.”

“A warning?”

“Maybe.”

Gillian was still feeling the effects of the dream she had, she wished she could remember what it was about. She turned and looked at her husband, the moment her eyes focused on his face she got a pain in her upper chest area. She started rubbing the area just under her collarbone.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know, it burns.” Gillian closed her eyes briefly. “I don’t like this Mac, my stomach hurts and now this area hurts and I don’t know why.”

MacGyver knew better than to doubt his wife or her abilities. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Come on, I think we should get dressed.”

He walked around the side of the bed and helped his wife to her feet. The moment she stood she cried out in pain and doubled over. Mac helped his wife take a few steps out into the hall.

There was a hissing sound, the soft whooshing noise was coming from the front door. They both turned and looked at it. There was a strange blue glow they could see underneath it. MacGyver instantly recognized what it was, he grabbed his wife by the arm and pulled her into their bedroom.

“Mac what is it?”

He closed the door and locked the knob.  He went over to his wife’s nightstand and picked up the phone. He put it to his ear and started to dial for the police. The line was dead. He swallowed hard as he put it back down. “It’s dead.”

Gillian’s stomach pains were getting worse, her face had drained of its normal color and had turned a sickly shade of white. “Mac.”

He looked around frantically. “I know, I need something to block the door with.”

 “My dresser.”

“Good idea.” Mac grabbed the corners of it with his hands and had just started pulling it out from against the wall when he heard the sound of loud clanging. He froze and listened, it was followed by the unmistakable sound of the wooden door being kicked in. MacGyver stopped what he was doing, he went over to the playpen. “Gill, put on a robe.”

Gillian made her way over to the closet and pulled out her white robe. She wrapped it around her, tying it at her waist.

MacGyver reached down and gently picked the sleeping Evan up and wrapped him in a nearby blanket. “Here, take Evan and get out of here.”

Gillian was still in a lot of pain but she managed to take the baby from her husband and hold him to her chest. Mac went over to their window and pulled up the blinds. He unlocked it and started opening it.

Someone was on the other side of the bedroom door. The knob started jiggling. MacGyver and Gillian froze in their tracks and looked at each other. 

Gillian could feel her heart racing in her chest as the sound of a shoulder being thumped against the door rang out. The heavy thudding was loud, it woke up Evan who started crying loudly.

“Shh Baby, I know, it’s okay.” She cradled him to her chest.

MacGyver finally got the window open, he looked at his wife. “Take Evan and go next door to the Johnson’s and use their phone to call the police.”

The thumping was getting heavier, Gillian looked at the door. The thudding suddenly stopped and she heard the distinct click of a gun. Mac heard it too and touched his wife on the shoulders. “Go Gill, I’ll be okay.”

The last thing Gillian wanted to do was leave her husband, but for the sake of the baby she had to. She hugged Mac with one arm and gave him a kiss. “Watch yourself okay?”

“You too.” He touched his forehead to hers and took her arm, he helped her carefully climb out the window.  Gillian landed on the ground and looked up at her husband, he raised his hand to her. The young woman ran around the side of the house just as the sound of a machine gun firing rang out.

MacGyver hit the deck, the door was rapidly turning into Swiss cheese. He crawled along the floor, stopping in front of his wife’s dresser. Whoever was behind the door stopped to reload, Mac used this opportunity. He got to his knees and grabbed the dresser around the middle. He pushed it front of the shredded remains of their bedroom door.

Gillian rounded the corner to the front of the house, she was holding Evan to her as she did so. The baby was crying and she did her best to comfort him. There was a huge black van parked in front of their house. Gillian was not about to get close to it, she started to run in the other direction. She ran over to the Castilla’s house, it was a red brick. She ran up the sidewalks and started pounding on their door.

“Angel! Lupe! Let me in! It’s me Gillian! It’s an emergency!”

The fancy wooden door slowly opened, a man in a blue ski mask was there to greet her. Gillian gasped, she stepped back and turned to run but it did no good. The big man grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the house. The last thing that could be heard as the heavy wooden door closed was the sound of Gillian screaming.

MacGyver heard the scream, he stood up and ran over to the window.

“Gillian?”

The machine gun started up again and Mac once more dropped to the floor. The bedroom door was gone. A big heavy booted leg shot through the splintered wood and kicked the dresser over. There were two men with black ski masks that came into the room. MacGyver got slowly to his feet. He licked his lips and pressed them together.

“Uhh… hi, something I can help you boys with?”

The two men in dark clothing were standing over him, they didn’t say a word. MacGyver looked around for something to use to defend himself, the only thing close to him was his nightstand.

Mac sighed. “Guess not.”

The two men tried to grab him. Mac grabbed his lamp, he knocked off the shade and pulled the plug from the wall. He swung at it and hit one man in the head with it; the ceramic lamp disintegrating in his hands. The other man looked down at his fallen cohort. He lunged at Mac but the blond man jumped onto his bed. It bounced as he ran across it, heading for the door. The big man rounded the bed, he grabbed Mac by the waistband of his trunks as he jumped down from the bed. He grabbed the back of Mac’s head and threw him down to the ground.

MacGyver got the wind knocked out of him, he was coughing hard. The big man grabbed him by the arms and picked him up. He wrapped his arm around Mac’s throat, putting him in a headlock. 

MacGyver was struggling against the hold. The arm was squeezing his neck; his air supply was running out. He was reaching behind him trying to grab at the man. He felt the ski mask and pulled it off of his head. His air was quickly disappearing and Mac couldn’t take another breath. He grabbed his attacker, his fingers digging into his face and neck. The big man was watching his victim’s face grow red. He did not let up on the amount of strength he was using to choke out his air. MacGyver could feel the darkness of unconsciousness start to invade his senses. He had both of his hands around the man’s neck, making one last effort to free himself. It was in vain, the blond man stopped struggling and went limp. His assaulter only smiled as he took his arm from around Mac’s neck. The unconscious man keeled over onto his side, hitting the floor with a distinctive thump. The man sighed, he picked up his ski mask and slipped it back over his face. He stepped over MacGyver and left the room.

MacGyver slowly opened his eyes, his head was throbbing and his neck was burning. He rubbed it gently; wondering if it was bruised. His whole body felt like it was made of lead as he rolled over on his back. He groaned as he slowly got up and looked around. He climbed over the dresser and stumbled down the hall. He made his way outside, the front doors were lying on the lawn. There was a heavy chain wrapped around the wrought iron door.

The commotion had the whole neighborhood hopping, his neighbors were coming out of their houses.

Arnold Johnson was a middle aged man in his late 30s, he was a heavy set guy with thinning black hair. He had on his white work shirt and black pants, he spotted his neighbor and ran over to him.

“MacGyver what happened?”

“Some guys broke in…have you seen Gillian?”

Arnold put his hand on his friend’s arm. “No I haven’t. We called the police, they’re on their way.”

Mac closed his eyes briefly, his head was pounding. “We have to find Gillian and Evan.”

There was some commotion coming from the other side of the street. Mac and Arnold turned towards it and what Mac saw made his blood run cold. Gillian was walking down the sidewalk coming towards him. The front of her white robe was stained with blood. The source was a large cut on the left side of her head.

“Gillian…” MacGyver started walking towards her.

The young woman was trying to keep her eyes open. Her legs felt like they were made of rubber. She reached her hand out to her husband.

“Mac...”

MacGyver grabbed his wife just as she started to fall. “What happened?”

Gillian was looking up at her husband. “A man and a woman, they were in the Castilla’s house.” She closed her eyes briefly. “They…they jumped me.”

Mac nodded and swallowed hard. “Gillian, where’s Evan?”

The young woman broke down, she started crying hard. “They took him!” She shook her head slowly. “I tried…I tried to stop them.”

“I know you tried.” Mac hugged Gillian to him, the young woman was sobbing. He only closed his eyes and held his wife tightly.  

Continued in Part II