Marigold loved games, and hide and seek was one of her favorites, but she was never very good at it. Giggling fits always gave her away. Sometimes grownups played tricks on her, told jokes or said funny things to get her to give away her hiding place. This time it was Luke. Just Luke. Having a hiding partner made the game more exciting and more funny.
The boxes were high enough that she didn't need to crouch down in order to be hidden. Tiny hands covered her mouth to try and smother her laughter as she nodded. “Okay. I'ma yell 'surprise' real loud!” She said in a loud whisper.
Leah came around the corner a few moments later, peeking into the few open rooms she passed. Panic was beginning to gnaw at her the closer she got to the Quarantine cells. The doors were locked, true, but the corridor itself wasn't blocked off well enough to prevent a five-year-old from wandering down that way. As far as she knew, there were only one or two people locked up in Quarantine, but that still meant there was a chance one of them could be infected. And if Marigold got near them...
“Marigold!” She called again, passing by Luke's and her daughter's hiding place without bothering to glance off to the side.
The little blonde took the given opportunity to leap out and make a grab for her mom's leg, effectively startling the woman with a “boo!” and a “surprise!”
Relief flooded out of Leah in a loud breath. She rolled her eyes to tamp down her annoyance, before resting her hand on Marigold's head and tilting forward slightly to make sure she had the girl's attention. “What have I told you about running off like that? Especially around here.”
Her attention went to Luke. She didn't always understand why he did the things he did, but she didn't believe he'd put Marigold in danger on purpose. Which was why she went for gratitude instead of an accusation. “Thanks for finding her. We were playing and she ran off.”
She knew why Luke was there. Because of April, his twin. She knew what that worry was like, whenever Lilah found herself in the infirmary. “How's your sister?”