No Fool like an April Fool
The house the team was currently residing in was quiet and peaceful. That is, until exactly 8 am. At that time, Murdock went bounding from room to room, cheerfully flinging open doors and wishing everyone a good morning. Then, before any of them could respond further, he went bounding back downstairs, calling out in a sing-song.
"Breeeeeeeeeeakfast is reeeeeeeeeeeady! All yummy goodness. Waffles! Who doesn't like waffles? Waffles are like Easter bunnies! Everyone loves 'em!"
Face was groaning as he stuck his head out of the door. He was never, ever, ever going to drink scotch and tequila on the same night again. Maybe not even in the same week.
"What's up with Murdock? It's too early to be that cheerful."
There was a thoughtful scowl on B.A.'s face as he looked toward the stairs.
"Bet he's got a prank up his sleeve. This is his day."
Hannibal stuck his head out of his room then.
"His day, B.A.? It's not Murdock's birthday."
"Ought t' be. He's a Fool - this is the first of April."
"Ah yes. April Fools Day."
Hannibal nodded after saying that, then headed downstairs. He'd already been awake and had just been listening to the morning news on the radio.
"B.A.? You don't think Murdock would have mucked with the food, do you?"
Snorting, B.A. shrugged.
"The way that Fool cooks anyway? How would we know the difference?"
The table was laid for four and waffles were on every plate with a platter in the middle heaped with scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon. Face noticed that Hannibal was eating. He also noticed that Hannibal was being a much daintier eater than usual. The only one that dug right in was Murdock. The food was all delicious though. Better than usual actually.
The pattern stayed that way all day. They'd lose track of Murdock and suddenly, he'd have something new that he'd made for them to try. Lemonade. Iced tea. Cupcakes. Sandwiches. And all of them done normally - none of them even had Murdock's regular 'secret' ingredients. With every new item, Face was getting twitchier, just knowing that this was the buildup to being served something absolutely vile. Finally, Face went to Hannibal.
"Murdock's making me a nervous wreck. Everything's been fine - so far. It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Only it feels more like waiting for the other shoe to be thrown."
"I know, Face. I feel the same way myself. But all we can do is keep going like we're going and try not to let him catch us off-guard."
Dinner that night was fried chicken - something Murdock had never even attempted to make before. B.A. was frowning at it though, so Face and Hannibal both waited until their strong man took the first taste.
B.A. took a healthy bite, then paused. He chewed very, very slowly, then suddenly jumped up from the table and headed for where the pilot was standing.
"Murdock!"
The surprising thing was that Murdock just grinned and never moved from his spot by the kitchen door until B.A. was a little closer. Then he opened the door with a flourish and revealed the smiling face of Mother Baracus.
"Happy April Fools!"
Face blinked as did Hannibal. B.A. just swept his mom off of her feet.
"I knew it! I knew the second I smelled that chicken that you hadda be here. Ain't nobody nowhere does chicken like you do, Momma."
"Well, when Baby here told me what he wanted to do for April Fool's Day, I couldn't say no."
"You mean Mrs. Baracus has been doing all of this cooking all day?"
Laughing merrily, Murdock nodded in answer to Hannibal.
"Man o man - you should have seen the looks on your faces all day. All those little teensy bites and teensier sips."
Incredulous, Face looked down at his plate.
"Murdock - how is that a joke?"
"It's not a joke, bestest best buddy. This is April Fool's Day and I fooled you. That's how it works, right, Momma?"
"I think you fooled them all real well, Baby."
"Any holiday that means I get to eat the world's best fried chicken is a holiday that's alright in my book."
They all agreed with that and sat down with Mother Baracus to enjoy. And if Momma snuck a few extra spicy spices into some random pieces of chicken?
Well, she liked a good April Fool's Day prank herself.