Thank you to J0, for a really cool idea that I've referenced here... There will be more 'campfire' moments later on, with all three that you mentioned, I promise!

DiNozzo paced around the small waiting room. He was dying to know what happened out in the woods; it was obvious that the mission had gone south when he'd gotten a brief call from Gibbs ordering him to meet them at the hospital. As McGee snagged the keys to get the car started, Tony had called Ducky, who promised to met them there. The ride had been a strained one, and as they arrived, Tony had to bite back his impatience as Security stopped them before they could park; the road to the parking structure was temporarily blocked because a rescue helicopter was en route. Tony's blood had run cold as the chopper settled to earth on the Helipad outside of the back ER doors and he recognized the agents being helped out by the flight crew. Seeing all three of them on their feet, although Bishop looked worse for the wear, had only slightly reassured them. The hospital staff that took their patients back to Triage had opened up the private waiting room that DiNozzo was now pacing.

"How long is this gonna take?" Tony demanded, pausing for a moment in his travels beside McGee.

"As long as it takes," McGee said with patience he didn't feel. "I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when Gibbs took Bishop along. With the adventures we know both of them had, can you imagine the campfire stories Gibbs and MacGyver could have told?"

"Mac would have had to do all the talking," DiNozzo snorted humorously. "You know what kind of a storyteller Gibbs is!"

McGee grinned as he conceded the point, but he sobered as he remembered where they were. "I can't wait to hear the report. Bishop looked rough, but she walked inside under her own power so she can't be hurt too badly."

Tony swept a gaze around the room that landed on Ducky, who was at the nurses' station chatting with the RN's. "I have a feeling we'll get some information soon."

Ducky noticed Tony's attention, and he came over. "They have been moved to treatment rooms just outside of these doors," he informed the two agents. "I believe Gibbs is in the first room, Ellie is in the second, and a very disgruntled MacGyver is in the third."

"Disgruntled?" McGee repeated, but he trailed off in understanding as a raised voice caught his ear.

"Seriously, I'm okay, you guys! What's the big deal?" MacGyver was complaining, his voice carrying down the hallway.

"You were out in the woods for the better part of two days, there was an incident, and policy dictates that you get checked out," the doctor explained for the third time. "Mr. MacGyver, you of all people should know this… with your experience in post-mission checkups, this shouldn't surprise you."

"We don't do anything this crazy at the Phoenix Foundation," MacGyver protested. "I get patched up if I get hurt, but otherwise, they trust me to know if I'm okay or not!"

"Well, you're not punching the Phoenix Foundation's clock right now; you're on NCIS time, and NCIS' policy states that due to the circumstances, you're getting checked out. What are you so worried about? Is there something that you don't want us to find?"

DiNozzo perked up at that. Having read Mac's mission files, he was curious how the man could have survived so much. Many times each he'd been shot, beaten up, tortured, kicked around, dropped from significant heights, whacked over the head, drugged, and nearly drowned. Some of these adventures had even happened within the last three years… and while MacGyver looked nowhere near it, he was well into his sixties. "I wonder what those X-Rays look like," he muttered to himself.

MacGyver's silence must have meant that he was finally submitting to the examination. A few moments passed, the door opened and MacGyver escaped out into the hallway, breathing a sigh of relief as he jerked his leather jacket back up over his shoulders. "Don't think I'm not grateful for your work," he threw back, "But I told you I'm fine!"

The doctor and nurse followed him out, and while the doctor appeared frustrated with his patient, the nurse was fighting to hide a grin.

"What's going on?" DiNozzo asked as Mac reached his side.

His hand rose and fell in a gesture that was more resignation than petulance. "Oh, I shouldn't complain too much. They have to do their thing. I just hate getting poked and prodded like that. They wanted to make sure that I don't have any open wounds that might get infected and that I didn't pick up any creepy-crawlies out there in the woods that might lead to coming down with the pla…. common cold," Mac amended too quickly, making a determined effort to look casual and failing miserably.

Tony's blood had run cold as he mentally finished the sentence as 'coming down with the plague.' It was a common enough phrase, but since Tony had nearly died of pneumonic plague almost a decade back, he was more than a little sensitive to that word. Another thought pinged his keen investigator's mind… why would MacGyver backpedal and choose a different ailment like that? He should have had no way of knowing about Tonys' brush with death. He was still trying unsuccessfully to cover his near-gaffe by turning toMcGee and asking him to pull up the satellite tracking from his phone.

Activity from Gibbs' treatment room made Tony shelve that thought for the moment. A tee-shirt clad Gibbs followed his own doctor and nurse out of the room. "Boss! How are you?" DiNozzo asked, knowing Gibbs hated to be fussed over, but wanting to show his concern anyway.

Gibbs was not nearly as grumpy as DiNozzo would have expected him to be. He was examining the angry red line above his elbow with interest as he came to a halt by Tony's side. "I've been cleared to return to work, thanks to Mac's quick thinking."

MacGyver came over to inspect the injury. "Hey, that looks pretty good!"

"Didn't even need stitches," Gibbs nodded. "Who'da thought… pine resin!"

"Nature provides bountifully," MacGyver grinned.

"Now all we're waiting on is Bishop," DiNozzo said, glancing at the only occupied treatment room. As he spoke, the door opened and the doctor emerged. "How is she, Doc?"

The doctor was shaking his head. "Who designed this cast?" he asked, holding up the modified PVC pipe.

MacGyver tentatively raised a hand.

"Should you ever decide to change professions, you could make serious money in the healthcare industry. I've never seen anything like it. It fit her wrist exactly, keeping it completely immobile during your exit from the forest."

Mac shrugged. "Save the Agent, Save the World, I guess."

"She has a deep bone bruise, but her wrist was not broken," the doctor reported, and everyone smiled at the news. "Her head wound is already starting to heal; we are leaving the braids in for a few more days, so she won't need stitches. The wound was cleaned very well, and there is no sign of infection."

Gibbs cuffed MacGyver's shoulder. "Thanks, Mac."

"I'm going to keep Agent Bishop overnight for observation, but she should be ready to go home tomorrow. I'll see her in a day or two, and make the determination then if she's ready to return to duty. I've just been informed that her husband is on his way to stay with her."

"Jethro, I volunteer to stay with Eleanor until Jake's arrival," Ducky inserted as Gibbs moved to claim one of the chairs in the waiting room. "Go, finish the case. I will watch out for her!"

Properly reassured that their injured team member was in good hands, Gibbs gestured for everyone to gather their belongings and head for the door.

"I don't know about you guys, but I could sure eat," MacGyver mentioned as they left the hospital and reached the vehicles in the parking lot.

"You and your stomach!" Gibbs shook his head.

"What?" Mac demanded. "You can't tell me that you're not hungry after our woodland adventure?" At Gibbs' noncommittal shrug, Mac rolled his eyes. "Bishop ate most of our stew last night…" He broke off as he started to chuckle. "Oh, the look on her face was priceless!"

DiNozzo waited for him to continue, but he and Gibbs seemed content to share that joke amongst themselves. "If Gibbs is about to laugh, I have to know what happened!"

"Mac made stew. Bishop ate it," Gibbs answered.

Mac took pity on DiNozzo. "She was less than thrilled to find out that the meal she enjoyed so completely was squirrel. One of these days, I'll have to share my gila lizard recipe with her. That one's always a crowd pleaser!"

"You've eaten gila lizard?" McGee demanded, looking a little awed…and green. "Why?"

Mac shrugged. "When you're that hungry, you'll eat just about anything. I try to keep my diet mostly vegetarian, but there are times a body needs meat protein."

"Remind me not to go to any ethnic restaurants with you," DiNozzo muttered.

"I'll try any vegetable dish they have," Mac agreed, rubbing his stomach in anticipation. "It's when we are out in the field that I have to get creative."

"Remind me to pack my own protein when on field work with MacGyver," McGee added.

Mac rubbed the back of his head, where it was still just a little bit sore yet from where Bishop had clunked him with the cast. "My days of taking newbies out in the woods are numbered. I don't think you have to worry too much."