Camping With Daddy

Part Two: Forts and Fishing

At Dave's request, they took the long way to the fort, past the pit Dylan had fallen into. MacGyver reached over the fence and thumped the doors with a stick, the sound echoing hollowly.

"H-how deep is it?" Dave whispered, holding Dylan tight against his side.

MacGyver shrugged. "The stone I tossed down took a good two seconds to hit bottom; something like fifty, seventy-five feet."

Dave's face was dead white, but Dylan wriggled free of his father's grasp and tugged on his hand. "Come on, Daddy! Come see the fort!"

"Yes…" Dave murmured.

MacGyver watched him closely as he allowed himself to be led away, but in a few minutes his color had returned and he was managing to smile at things the children said.

"Let's go in the back way," MacGyver suggested as they neared the fort.

"But we want to show Daddy the tunnel!"

"You can show him, but I think he'd appreciate not havin' to crawl through it."

"You did," Dylan pouted.

"Yeah, well, I'm usta crawlin' through tight places. 'Sides, it's bound to be muddy after that rain yesterday."

Cindy sighed. "Okay. Come on, Daddy, we'll go around this way."

As they neared the fort, Dylan and Derrick ran ahead of the others to see how much damage had been done by the storm.

"Most of the roof's still on!" Derrick exulted.

"And with Daddy and Mr Mac helping, I bet we can fix it really fast!" Cindy exclaimed. Tossing her backpack aside, she grabbed her father's shoulders to pull herself up.

"Ow!" Dave protested. "What's the idea, Cindy?"

At the very real irritation in his voice, Cindy dropped to the ground and scurried toward MacGyver. "I'm sorry!" she half whimpered.

"You all right, Dave?" MacGyver asked.

"Yeah…I'll live," he replied, rubbing his back.

"You kids gotta remember your father's out of practice roughhousing; you hafta go easy on him at first."

"Sorry, Daddy," Cindy said again.

Dave sighed. "That's all right, Cindy."

"We didn't go easy on you," Dylan said cheekily.

MacGyver grinned wryly. "Nope, ya sure didn't, scamp. But I haven't been sitting behind a desk for ten years, either. C'mon, who wants to climb up and start work on that roof? Dave, think ya can give Cassie a boost?"

"Yes, she's just about my speed," Dave agreed.

"Hey, one at a time!" MacGyver protested as the other three converged on him. "Cindy, up you go."

With the practice everyone had had several days ago, the roof went on more quickly this time, but Derrick scowled up at it when it was finished. "It'll just blow off again in the next big storm," he predicted.

"You need a way to get up there that doesn't involve using people as ladders," Dave pointed out, lifting Cassie over his head to the ground.

"Like what?" Cindy asked.

"Ask Mac; I'm sure he can come up with something."

MacGyver shook his head. "Not this time; you kids are smart enough to come up with something on your own. Just run it by your father first to be sure it's safe."

"And I'll help you as long as I don't have to be the ladder," Dave promised.

"Okay, Daddy!" Cindy agreed; Derrick's wide smile was answer enough.

"Now that that's settled, how about some fishin'?" MacGyver suggested.

"Yeah!" the kids agreed eagerly, scrambling for poles and hooks.

Dave shook his head. "Think I'll just watch."

"Nope; you don't get out of work any more than the kids do."

"Fishing's not work!" Dylan protested in disgust.

"You bet it's not," MacGyver agreed with a grin.

"Daddy, I'll help you if Mr Mac makes you a pole," Cassie said earnestly.

Dave chuckled. "All right, sweetheart. Mac, do you mind?"

"'Course not. Won't take five minutes. C'mon, Cassie, let's go find a pole. You others can get started digging worms."

"What'll we put them in?"

"Figure somethin' out," he tossed over his shoulder with a wink, knowing they were fully capable of it.

"I haven't been fishing in years," Dave remarked when they stood on the bank of the creek with their woodchip floats bobbing in the water.

MacGyver glanced sideways at him. "Sounds like there are a lot of things ya haven't done in years."

"Yeah…funny how you never know how much you miss it until you're doing it again."

MacGyver grinned at him, then spun around as Cindy let out a shriek. Not again…

But it was exultant happiness and excitement in her voice. "A fish! Daddy! Mr Mac! I caught a fish! Help! Mr Mac, what do I do?"

MacGyver chuckled and jammed his fishing rod between two rocks before going to her aid.

"That's a beauty," he said in admiration when he had helped Cindy pull it in, and she beamed with pride. *

"Can we have it for supper, Mr Mac?"

"Yup. We'll need at least two more to feed all of us, though…if your screaming didn't scare them all away."

Cindy managed to look only slightly remorseful. "Sorry."

MacGyver grinned and clapped her on the shoulder. "That's all right. I musta been about five when I caught my first fish, an' I still remember how excited I was. How about you, Dave?"

Dave shook his head. "I never have. Fishing with you was the first time I ever went, and you were reeling them in, but I never did manage to catch anything."

MacGyver shrugged. "That's all right; my grandpa Harry always usta say ya don't fish for fish, ya fish for fishin'."

Dave snorted. "Fine, if you want to enjoy a quiet afternoon by the water, but fishing for fishing isn't much good if you want supper. Hey!" he exclaimed, his face startled as his pole jerked and nearly fell out of his hands.

Cassie clapped her hands, jumping in excitement. "A fish! Daddy, we got a fish!"

"No…I can't have…take it, Mac!"

He held the pole out as if expecting it to bite him, and MacGyver grinned and once more wedged his rod before taking over.

Within an hour, MacGyver was the only one who hadn't caught a fish, and he shrugged philosophically. "Guess maybe I shoulda been usin' a pole like the rest of ya. But four's plenty; c'mon, let's get these beauts back to camp."

Part Two coming next week! (as long as the library doesn't shut down again…)

* Illustration for this scene can be found at

www . deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art [slash] First-Catch-889173480

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!

Please note that I have only minimal internet access, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. (But they are much appreciated, even if you're reading this story long after I originally post it!) If you have questions regarding my MacGyver alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie