Camping With Daddy

Part Three: Camp Cooking

"Remember what you used to do with fish and wild mushrooms, Mac?" Dave reflected as MacGyver cleaned the fish with his knife.

"Yup. I did see a patch not far from here…"

"Ma says you should never eat wild mushrooms!" Dylan declared.

"Yeah, she says they'll kill us."

"Some will," MacGyver agreed seriously. "So she's right; you should never eat any unless someone who knows how to tell the difference says it's all right. And I hate to tell ya, but your father's not one of those people."

"You really saved my life that time, didn't you, Mac?" Dave reflected.

"Yup, though you weren't too sure at the time!"

"What happened, Daddy?" "Yeah, what happened?"

Dave shook his head. "If I told you, I'd lose my appetite. Let's just say I didn't even realize I'd poisoned myself, and for a while Mac's treatment seemed worse than the disease."

"I can't believe you even still like mushrooms," MacGyver commented.

"I can't stomach them raw," Dave admitted, "but I still think cooked ones are pretty tasty."

"Which I guess is supposed to be a hint," MacGyver sighed. "All right, kids, hands where I can see 'em; promise me ya won't ever try gatherin' mushrooms on your own."

"Why do we have to show our hands every time?" Cindy burst out.

MacGyver raised an eyebrow. "How else am I gonna be able to know when I can trust your promise to mean anything, Cindy?"

Cindy bit her lip, looking away in silent recognition of the truth of his statement.

"I know!" Dylan exclaimed. "Mr Mac, I'll never cross my fingers again," he promised, holding his hands out with fingers spread.

Cindy looked at MacGyver hopefully. "Me, neither!" she agreed.

MacGyver grinned. "Good enough. Derrick, Cassie, that go for you, too?"

Derrick nodded, holding out his hands, and after a glance at her brother, Cassie did likewise. *

"What was that all about?" Dave questioned.

"Just some unfinished business," MacGyver replied lightly, winking at Cindy.

She grinned, understanding that Mr Mac was still no tattletale and it was up to them if they wanted to tell him.

"So, we can go gather mushrooms if you all promise never to eat mushrooms — or anythin' else you find growin' in the wild — unless an adult tells ya it's all right," MacGyver returned to the original conversation.

"We promise!" they chorused eagerly, wiggling their fingers for good measure.

"Then let's get the fish cookin', and we'll go. Who wants to bring me some of that clay mud from beside the stream?"

"We do!" Cassie and Dylan cried. They ran off giggling, eager to get their hands dirty, and returned with cupped hands brimming with sticky clay.

"Thanks," MacGyver told them, quickly plastering each fish in a thick layer and laying them on the hot coals.

Cindy wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I want to eat mud."

"And don't you have to skin them?" Derrick added.

MacGyver grinned. "They call this the lazy man's way; once that mud bakes hard, it'll crack right off, and the skin'll come with it. C'mon, you two; let's wash this clay off, and then we'll go find some mushrooms."

He rinsed off the fishy blade of his knife as well, wiping it dry on his pants before snapping it closed and dropping it into his pocket. "Wanna come, Dave?"

Dave shook his head ruefully. "I'd be afraid to eat anything I picked."

"Right. Start some water boiling, then; we can steam the mushrooms an' they'll taste better than roasted. C'mon, kiddos."

"I know where the mushrooms are!" Cindy declared, scrambling ahead through the woods. The patch wasn't far away, and she had picked one and was looking at it thoughtfully when MacGyver and the others came up. "I never knew you could eat these," she remarked thoughtfully. "How can you tell?"

MacGyver shook his head. "I'm not even gonna tell ya; I don't want ya thinkin' ya know which ones are safe. An' remember, don't ever eat any on your own, even if you think they look just like these."

"We won't," Derrick promised again.

In a short time they had picked plenty of the spongy brown mushrooms and were heading back to camp. There, MacGyver skewered the mushrooms on thin sticks and balanced them over the steaming water. "There. Give that about five or ten minutes, and the fish should be done at the same time. Now, how about some seasoning?" He pulled a handful of green stems and leaves out of his pocket. "Pine nuts would be really good, but it's too early to find any, so this will have to do," he remarked, setting the greens on a rock and quickly chopping them with his knife. He paused to sniff his fingers. "Yeah…not bad."

Soon he was handing out plates piled high with chunks of flaky white fish and steaming mushrooms, sprinkled appetizingly with green flecks of herbs. "Just be careful of bones," he warned, sitting crosslegged beside the fire with his own plate.

"See, what'd I tell you?" Dave remarked. "Put MacGyver in the woods, and he'll make you a feast out of nothing!"

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

* Illustration for this scene can be found at deviantart . com [slash] femalechauvinist [slash] art [slash] Show-of-Hands-890563898

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