I would apologize for the mass up-load, but I'm too excited. I had a few days off of work, and an idea stuck. I admit, nothing much on my to-do list got done that glorious three-day weekend, but I completely reworked about twelve pages of this story.
"How long are we going to be out here?" Bishop demanded a few hours later, noticing that the sun was sinking rapidly toward the horizon.
"Until we catch the guy," Gibbs retorted.
Her wide dark eyes swung to MacGyver for clarification. "But… It's getting dark out here. I mean, we won't make it back to the car by the time the sun sets. We're not going deeper into the woods, are we?"
"Why do you think I picked up that extra sleeping bag for you?" MacGyver said with apology in his voice.
She froze, the pleading in her eyes tugging at Mac's heartstrings. "You're not…serious…? Please, tell me this is a joke!"
"No joke," Gibbs informed her. He ignored her gasp as he gazed around the small clearing they stood in. "Whaddya think, Mac? Is this a good place to spend the night?"
Kicking together a small pile of rocks, looking the area over for evenness of terrain and proximity to fuel, MacGyver nodded. "Looks pretty comfortable to me," he agreed. He swung his backpack off his shoulders, feeling his tired muscles protesting as he set it down next to a large boulder and started undoing the straps. "You build the fire, and I'll bust out the rations," he offered to Gibbs.
Bishop stepped forward, determined to make the best of of the situation. "I'll cut firewood," she offered, gesturing for the small hand-axe that Mac pulled out of his bag. Mac's approving grin helped to restore some of her confidence as she accepted the handle he held out for her. "I cut firewood all the time, back at home," she explained. "We had a woodturning stove that we'd light during the winter."
He grinned. "Nothing like a cozy fire to chase away the chills."
"Are we gonna stand here and talk about it, or actually get the fire lit?" Gibbs wanted to know from the tripod he'd set up over the stones ringing their fire pit. As Mac tossed a dismissive wave over his shoulder at him, Gibbs got to his feet and dusted himself off.
Her recent surge of confidence rapidly melting as her body informed her of a new and pressing need, Bishop wrapped her fingers around the handle of the axe, weaving slightly as she shifted her weight from side to side. "Um…?" she started, but fell silent as both Gibbs and MacGyver turned to look at her.
"You got something to say, Bishop?" Gibbs asked when she didn't continue.
Looking horribly uncomfortable, Bishop shook her head. "No, forget it."
Gibbs rolled his eyes, then slipped off into the growing darkness to gather firewood.
When she was sure he was out of earshot, Bishop sidled closer to MacGyver. "This is really embarrassing," she started, lowering the small axe in front of her knees, which were tightly pressed together.
"Go about fifteen paces up that hill there, find a rock to lean against, and dig a small hole. Don't forget your toilet paper," MacGyver instructed, answering the question he knew she was too mortified to ask. When she fled with utmost gratefulness, Mac couldn't help a long, silent bout of laughter.
MacGyver's Voiceover: Man, I felt for that poor girl! She was in way over her head… and the rough part of the night hadn't even started yet!
Mac threw a look over his shoulder as he heard a single twig snap. Gibbs had reappeared and was putting together a bed of kindling before stacking larger twigs and branches over it. When Gibbs noticed Mac's attention, he shot a look at the axe Bishop had abandoned and raised his eyebrows in a question. "Ladies room," Mac answered, and Gibbs nodded. "I'm going shopping… be right back!" Mac continued, picking up a few small stones and heading off in the direction of a rustling branch he'd noticed. He gave a friendly and reassuring nod to Bishop as she returned from her errand to scoop up the axe.
By the time Bishop returned with her last load, the fire was crackling merrily in the dark twilight, and beautiful aromas were swirling out of Mac's battered silver kettle. Gibbs was drinking something hot out of a tin cup while Mac sipped water out of a canteen. "Hungry?" Mac asked, passing over a plate with a helping of fresh salad on it. "There's stew, too, when it's done cooking," he added, stirring the aromatic contents in the kettle.
Bishop accepted the plate. "I usually don't eat salad without dressing, but this is amazing," she said after tucking into the mound of what looked like leaves and flowers. "This is so fresh; there's no way you could have packed this," she realized around a mouthful of greenery.
Mac looked up from stirring the meat to grin at her. "If I had access to a forest like this, I could eat like a king for an entire summer without once going to a grocery store; paying nearly three dollars for a few stalks of kale just kills me. Granted, you have to know what you're looking for… some of these plants have bits you shouldn't eat, and some look like a poisonous relative so an untrained eye could get confused. I've spent enough time roughing it in my life that I can pick out the edible plants easily."
Bishop saved one of the sweet flowers as she finished her salad and handed her plate back to MacGyver. "Who would have thought; something so pretty could be so delicious! Gibbs, did you try these?"
Gibbs nodded, glancing at his own polished plate. "Mac spoiled me years ago. His are the only salads I'll eat without complaining."
"High praise indeed from such a dedicated carnivore," Mac ribbed him. "Speaking of, the stew's done." He ladled a spoonful on Ellie's dish and passed it back.
She attacked it eagerly, using the accompanying metal camping spork to shovel the chunks of meat into her mouth. "Mmmm, this is good! Thanks!"
"You're welcome," Mac grinned as he dished out stew for himself and Gibbs. "Eat up… you're going to need your energy for tomorrow's hike."
She accepted another spoonful from him, using a hard roll that Gibbs tossed her to soak up the gravy. "I was starving! Are we going to eat like this for breakfast too? I mean, if I have to be out here in the forgotten reaches of nowhere, I'm glad the food is so good!"
Mac wiped gravy from his chin and swallowed before answering. "I'm glad you like it," he replied, unable to help tossing a conspiratorial grin at Gibbs. "We might not have this exact recipe again, but I'm sure I can make our meals out at least edible."
"Your backpack isn't that big," Bishop realized, swallowing the last of her stew. "And, like the salad, this tastes too fresh to have been packed. How did you manage such a fantastic meal?" She nodded gratefully as Mac offered her the last bit from the kettle.
Mac and Gibbs shared a look that was heavy with humor. After Bishop ran her finger around the rim of the plate and stuck it in her mouth, she prodded him to answer her question. "Oh, I'm full of surprises," Mac replied after a few moments.
"Your aim is still as good as ever. For a man who won't handle a gun, you're still deadly with a rock," Gibbs complimented his old buddy.
Bishop tugged a moist towelette from her pack and cleaned her fingers and chin. "What do you mean?"
Mac looked as if he really didn't want to answer that question. "I never hunt for sport," he started. "Just for what I need to eat at the time."
"Okay…?"
"And Gibbs is right… I don't do guns. So, if I want protein, I've got to come up with other ways of finding it. We're too far from a stream for me to fish…"
Bishop realized he was stalling, and even in the flickering fire light, they could see the color draining from her face. "What did I just eat?"
Mac held a hand out to placate her. "Remember, I didn't feed you anything we didn't eat ourselves." When she was not satisfied with that answer, he sent a questioning glance to Gibbs, who merely shrugged in return. "Keep in mind how much you enjoyed it," he tried again. "I'm no master chef, but I do have a few good squirrel recipes…"
"Oh, God!" Bishop moaned, dropping her plate and covering her mouth.
"You'll survive," Gibbs informed her without pity. "C'mon… time to rack out. Long day ahead of us."
Mac allowed Bishop a few moments to compose herself while he cleaned up the food and repacked the bags. Gibbs was spreading out the bed rolls, side by side and close enough to the fire to enjoy the warmth, but out of reach of the flames and smoke. Without ceremony, Gibbs unzipped the flap on the one on the end and crawled in. Rolling on his side, he heaved a long sigh and closed his eyes.
Bishop had managed to keep her dinner down, but she still looked a little pasty. "I can't believe I ate squirrel!"
"And liked it," Mac reminded her helpfully, earning a reproachful glare that he laughed off. "C'mon, it's gonna get cold, now that the sun's gone down. Crawl in," he said, pointing to the center bed roll.
She scrunched her eyes up, unwilling to believe what she heard. "What, now?" she demanded, realizing that there wasn't much room between the three bags; if Gibbs was on the outside and Mac was pointing her towards the center, then she'd be sandwiched between her Boss and a near stranger all night long. Continuing to hesitate, she debated on picking up the sleeping bag up so she could move it.
Mac seemed to sense what she was thinking, and he shook his head. "You're gonna appreciate the body heat in about a half an hour. The smoke from the fire won't bother you here, and I think you'd be a little uneasy with what might be crawling around once it gets really dark."
She very nearly whimpered. "You have got to be kidding!"
Mac held up a hand. "Look, I promise to be a perfect…"
"Gentleman?" Gibbs filled in from ground level, his sleepy voice thick with humor.
"Always!" Mac retorted instantly. "I was going to say, 'chaperone!' Nothing will happen to compromise your reputation… Oww!" he complained as Gibbs lobbed a pinecone at his head.
"Bishop, quit messing around," Gibbs ordered, pulling the edge of his bag back up to his chin and rolling over. Pillowing his head on his folded arms, he dropped back off to sleep.
Mac was done waiting for her to move, so he slid into his own bag, curled up and closed his eyes.
Moving gingerly, Bishop shimmied between the layers of her own bag, grunting a little at the spots of hard ground she encountered. She could feel Gibbs shifting to avoid catching her knee in his kidney, so she tried to roll her weight back a little…only to hear a muffled, 'oof!' from MacGyver as her elbow found his shoulder blade. The ground was bumpy under her head, so she dove deeper into the bag and tried to fold the end to create some kind of cushion. Once she was firmly inside, she tried to get settled… only to realize that with the way the two guys had dropped off to sleep, if she wanted to get comfortable, she'd have to spoon one of them.
"I hate you both!" she hissed into the frosty air.
By the way, keep an eye on the chapter titles...