Many thanks for the lovely feedback! It never fails to make me smile.

One of my favorite Season 4 moments was Mac and Riley volunteering at the Cub Scouts, so I had to do something with that. Enjoy!

Scouts + Crush + Rock

"Great job! Now that you know what to look for, find a buddy and collect wood for the camp fire. But stay close to the camp!" Mac ordered.

"We'll be right here if you need us," Riley added. Having volunteered at the Cub Scouts a couple of times, she had been thrilled when Mac had asked her to join them on an overnight outing. They were staying in a small camp with two cabins, Mac was in the larger one with six boys and Riley was bunking with the four girls of the group. Much to her amusement she had caught them whispering and giggling about their counsellor more than once, and after a while one of the girls had even gathered up the courage to ask Riley if Mac had a girlfriend. Not wanting to encourage the young girls, she told them that Mac was married to his work – which wasn't a lie, considering that he hadn't been on a single date since he had ended things with Desi.

"You having fun?" Mac asked, as the kids scattered off to collect firewood.

"Yes, thanks again for inviting me."

"Of course, I know how much you like the kids," he replied with a smile.

"And they like you," Riley gave him a knowing look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The girls think you're adorable," she teased.

"What? No…"

"Don't worry, I'll keep them in check. But, I can't say I'm surprised."

Mac hesitated, not sure what to do with the compliment – if it even was one. "Thank you, I think…"

"I just mean, you're good with them," she clarified noticing the discomfort in his voice.

"Riley!" One of the boys came running towards them.

"Jamie, why aren't you with the others?" Mac asked.

"I'd rather help Riley," the kid answered, his hazel eyes wide with expectation.

"Thanks Jamie, but we're not doing anything until you guys come back with the firewood," Riley explained.

"Then I'll just keep you company!" He beamed. "I can protect you from wild animals, it's dangerous out here."

"That is very sweet, but you don't have to worry about that," Mac cut in.

"One of us should!" Jamie glanced at Mac disapprovingly. "Do you want Riley to get eaten by a mountain lion?"

"Of course not, but that's why we need you to collect firewood. If we build a fire, the animals will leave us alone," Mac tried to reason with him.

Jamie thought for a moment before he turned to Riley. "Do you want me to collect firewood for you?"

"I would love that," Riley replied. "And if you do a good job, you can help me tell the ghost story tonight."

"Thanks Riley!" He nodded, grinning from ear to ear as he ran off to find his friends.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who has fans here," Mac laughed, giving Riley a little nudge.

xoxo

"…and that's why we always throw one Marshmallow in the fire," Riley finished, and signaled Jamie to throw a marshmallow that Mac had prepped earlier into the flames. The other kids gasped as it exploded in tiny fireworks – confirming Riley's story about the ghosts of a group of campers, who had died a fiery death without ever tasting a s'more.

"Good job!" She high-fived Jamie.

"That was awesome, can we do it again?" he asked.

"Maybe tomorrow, it's already way past your bedtime," Mac said, giving Jamie a pat on the back, before he addressed the rest of the group.

"Alright everyone, lights out in 15! We have a long day tomorrow," he announced, earning some protest before the kids complied and said their good nights – well, all except Jamie, who needed a little extra coaxing from Riley.

Once all the kids were all in their bunks, Mac and Riley found themselves sitting on the steps of the girls' cabin.

"Am I handling this ok?" Riley asked, a worried tone in her voice.

"It's an innocent crush, he'll meet a cute eleven year old and forget all about you."

"Hey!" she gave him a playful punch in the arm. "I just don't want to make it worse. It really sucks if you like someone who doesn't see you like that. There's a reason they call it a crush."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Me? Please, I was the one breaking hearts," she quickly deflected, inwardly cringing at the irony of Mac talking to her about unrequited love.

"Didn't you once say, you spent most of your teenage years teaching yourself how to hack military grade encryption instead of chasing boys?"

"Says Mr. I don't even want to go to prom 'cause there's a shuttle launch on TV."

"It was live!" he laughed.

"At least Jamie's not afraid to put himself out there," Riley joked. "But we really are the worst people to deal with this."

"We'll figure it out," Mac reassured her.

Riley nodded. "Tomorrow," she got up, and he followed her lead.

"Night Riles," he leaned in for a hug.

"Night," she accepted the gesture, letting herself give in to the hug as he squeezed her lightly.

They exchanged a smile and Riley watched him walk over to the boys' cabin before she went inside. She closed the door, made sure that the girls were in their bunks and got her pajamas out of her bag, when her phone buzzed – a text from Mac, telling her to come outside.

She opened the door and almost bumped into him.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake the girls," he explained.

"Something wrong?"

"Jamie's not in his bunk I've checked the bathrooms and around the cabin… he can't be far," he ran a hand through his hair, a look of panic on his face as he assessed the situation. Jamie must have slipped out while he had been talking to Riley, this meant that he couldn't have gone into the woods as they would have seen him... so he had to be down by the lake.

"I'll help you look!"

"No, take the girls over to the boys cabin – and stay with them, we don't want to lose another one.

"Got it." she replied as Mac headed to the lake.

xoxo

"Jamie!" He called out, using his flashlight to scan the lake, letting out a breath of relief when he spotted Jamie on the camp's small boat.

"Jamie, are you ok?" Mac stepped out onto the dock, to get a better look at Jamie.

"Leave me alone!" the boy replied, his voice trembling.

"Just come back here."

"I can't," Jamie admitted.

"Of course..." Mac said under his breath, noticing the paddles floating in the water. "Sit tight," he took off his shoes, put his phone down on the dock and jumped into the water. Jamie hadn't gotten far, so he could reach him with a few strokes, and collect the lost paddles on his way.

"Hold on," water sloshed into the boat as Mac pulled himself inside, trying his best to prevent the small boat from tipping over.

"I don't want your help," Jamie pouted, as Mac took a seat across from him.

"Come on, what happened? Did one of the other boys, do something?"

"You did!" Jamie blurted out.

"What?" Mac gave him a confused look.

"I saw you with Riley," he wiped a tear from his eye before it could fall down.

"Oh..." it dawned on him. "Jamie, we were just saying good night, and you weren't even supposed to be outside."

"I wanted to give this to Riley..." he pulled a heart shaped rock out of his pocket. "I found it and thought it would make her like me. But it's pointless, she'll never look at me the way she looks at you…"

"Jamie…" Jamie's observation had rendered Mac speechless.

"You know how she has those gold flecks in her eyes?"

Mac nodded.

"They sparkle whenever she looks at you..." he shrugged. "But she also always looks a little sad, when she thinks no one can see. I thought it's because you don't like her back, but then you hugged her, and smelled her hair.…"

"You saw that," Mac was stunned. This was a lot to unpack, but the kid wasn't wrong.

"It was stupid to think I ever had a chance…" Jamie wanted to throw the rock into the lake, but Mac stopped him.

"Following your heart is never stupid. In fact, I could learn a few things from you…"

"Really?"

"Yes," Mac gave him a reassuring smile. "You're a great kid, and one day you'll meet a girl who looks at you the same way Riley looks at me. But unlike me, you won't be too blind to see it."

"You think so?"

"I know so. So keep it."

"Hmm," Jamie, looked at the tiny rock in his hand, "I got it for Riley, but you can give it to her," he handed it to Mac.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but if she changes her mind…"

"You'll be the first to know," Mac laughed, and thanked Jamie.

"I'm sorry, that I ran away and that you had to rescue me, " Jamie said, a sheepish look on his face.

"Just don't do it again."

"Promise."

"Where did you wanna go, anyway?"

"Home?"

"And you thought the lake would take you there?"

"I'm only eleven, I can't be good at everything!" Jamie defended himself, as Mac rowed them back to shore.

xoxo

When they arrived back at the cabins, they were greeted by Riley and the nine other kids, who were gathered in front of the boy's cabin. Noticing the state of Mac's clothing from afar, Riley quickly ran inside to grab him a towel.

"Here," she handed it to him.

"Thanks,"he tried to dry himself off but quickly gave up and just draped the towel over his shoulders, as the kids rallied around Jamie.

"We were so worried!" Maya, a blond girl with pigtails, exclaimed and threw her arms around the returned runaway.

Mac smiled at the scene and gave Jamie a look of approval.

"What happened?" One of the boys asked.

"Just a little misunderstanding," Mac explained.

"You gave us quite a scare, " Riley cut in.

"I'm sorry Riley," Jamie apologized.

"I'm just glad you're ok," she told him, while Mac convinced the other kids to go back to bed.

"Mac," Jamie tugged on Mac's towel.

"What is it?" Mac bent down to let Jamie whisper something in his ear. "Seriously, man?" he replied, trying not to laugh about Jamie's request.

"Did you see how she hugged me?"

"Alright," Mac returned Jamie's rock to him. "Use it wisely."

"Thanks, Maya will love it!" He smirked, said good night and followed his friends.

"I feel like I missed something," Riley said.

"That makes two of us," Mac replied, studying her expression. "But he's gonna be ok."

"That's great."

"And I'm sorry, Riles."

"For what?" she gave him a questioning look.

"Not noticing," he met her eyes. They really did sparkle.

She cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out what had transpired between Mac and Jamie, but then Mac decided that it would have to wait until tomorrow.

"Good night," he said with a warm smile, taking her hand and squeezing it once before letting go.

"Night…" she replied, her eyes mirroring his smile as she returned to the girls' cabin, thinking that she would get even less sleep than her preteen bunkmates – but she didn't mind one bit.

Thanks for reading! Reviews (and suggestions) are always appreciated!

Love Laura