A Short MacGyver Fanfiction for Christmas

[MacGyverGirl]

When Christmas dinner at the Santa Luisa Mission looks like it is going to be cancelled, MacGyver uses his ingenuity to put the food on the table and keep the holiday spirit alive.

**********
Since my mom died, Christmas had always been a day that I wished I could fast forward. With Harry gone, the only family I had to speak of was Pete. But since Pete’s glaucoma surgery, his ex-wife, Connie, had come back into his life and he was spending Christmas day with her. They invited me but it felt awkward to be the third wheel. Besides, I can’t say that I was going to miss Christmas potluck dinners with just me and Pete. The fare was never very lucky, even though Pete insisted he could cook.

Last night was festive. My new neighbors gathered every Christmas Eve at my landlord Mel’s house, and I brought over a raw vegetable platter with my homemade hummus dip. It was a bit overwhelming with the chatter and live music, but I was grateful to feel like part of a family. I left around midnight, as I knew I was expected at the homeless shelter run by the Santa Luisa Mission Church by 8 AM to help cook and serve Christmas dinner. I’m not sure how long the party went on, but when I left it was still going strong.

**********
As many tables as could fit were lined up end to end in the mission’s basement. Volunteers the night before had draped them with red and green tablecloths and set up the folding chairs. The lights on the Christmas tree in the corner sparkled and the wrapped gifts overflowed underneath it. Christmas music was playing, but I tried not to listen to it. I would have rather been lounging on my couch watching a Western movie marathon on video, but I knew I was needed here.

“Merry Christmas, MacGyver!” It was Doc, the retired English teacher who had been homeless not too long ago. He had his own small studio apartment and was working as the caretaker at the mission. While he was on good terms with his adult daughter Allison, his ex-wife was not ready to let him back into her life.

“Merry Christmas, Doc! The place looks great”, I returned the greeting.

“Thanks. I wanted our guests to feel welcome. I’m so glad you were able to help us today. We always seem to have more souls who need to be fed than souls to feed them.”

“Rachel’s in the kitchen. She’ll trade your jacket for an apron and put you to work.”

I gave Doc a salute as he scurried off.

Inside the crowded kitchen were about five volunteers in aprons, prepping the holiday meal. Four turkeys were in roasting pans lined up on a center island, all seasoned and ready to go into the ovens. Rachel was busy going to each volunteer giving them their instructions and thanking them for their service.

“I heard you’re giving out aprons here?”, I asked.

Rachel turned and her frazzled face greeted me with a grin. “I sure am! Merry Christmas, MacGyver! Thanks for coming”, Rachel said as she threw her arms around me and kissed me on the cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Rachel. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” Rachel’s grin turned into a frown, sensing that I was here because I had no family to spend Christmas with. She was determined to make me feel like a part of the community.

Rachel grabbed a white chef’s apron and handed it to me as she took my black leather jacket and hung it up.

“How do I look?”

“Perfect.”

“The turkeys are ready. I preheated the oven. I need your muscles to put the turkeys into them so that they can start roasting.” Rachel opened the two oven doors. Each oven was large enough to hold two turkeys. Before I could lift the roasting pans, Rachel motioned me to stop. The ovens had been preheated but there was no warmth coming from them. Rachel raised her hand to me.

“The ovens are turned on, but they don’t seem to have heated up. They worked last night when I was baking the pies. MacGyver, you’re handy with these things. Could you look please?”

“It could be something simple like a tripped circuit breaker. Can you have someone check the breaker panel? I’ll look at the other elements in the meanwhile.”

Rachel asked a young, male volunteer to check the breaker panel as she wrung her hands and bit her lip. She was losing faith that the hall would soon be filled with the aroma of roasting turkeys.

I unplugged the ovens and grabbed an electric knife. When I plugged the knife into the outlet and turned it on, it started to vibrate looking for a turkey to slice. This told me the outlet was good.

“All good with the circuit breaker”, the young man announced upon his return.

“So, is the outlet”, I added. I went ahead to check the ignitor. It was clean but nothing happened except clicking when I turned it on. Mystery solved.

“It looks like it is a faulty ignitor. You don’t happen to have a spare one hanging around?” I asked Rachel.

“We don’t have spares of anything. Can you fix it?”

“No, ma’am. It’s fried.”

Rachel hung her head and sighed. “Thanks’ for trying. I guess I had better put out a sign that dinner is cancelled. I hate turning away people who don’t have anywhere else to eat a Christmas meal.”

There was no way I was going to disappoint Rachel and all our hungry guests. I looked outside the window and watched as some of the children were playing outside. They were wearing light coats and sweaters. It had been a warm December so far, which meant that the ground wasn’t frozen. I had an idea.

“Don’t put that sign up just yet. Do you have four large Dutch ovens? The size that turkeys could fit in?”

“Yes. We use them when we are making large batches of soup.”

“Get them out while I find Doc.”

Doc was setting up the buffet table with plates and silverware.

“Doc, I promise to fill the holes back in if you let me dig them in the backyard.”

“MacGyver, what are you talking about?”

I explained to Doc about the broken ovens and told him about my days in cub scouts. When we made roasted chicken thighs and legs in the campfire in Dutch ovens. I asked if he and his volunteers could dig four deep fire pits, fill them with wood, and light them. It would take a while for the wood to burn to coals, so we needed to get moving. Once the turkeys were in the Dutch ovens, it would take about three hours to roast based up their weight.

“I’ve never done that before”, Doc said warily.

“Well, neither have I but right now that is the only way I can think of to put this meal on the table.”

“I need every man who can manage a shovel, outside now” Doc ordered.

I patted Doc on the back and followed him outside to the shed. He handed out shovels and me and the volunteers began digging four deep holes in the yard, three feet in diameter. The children playing came over and wanted to know why we were digging holes.

“We are going to have campfire turkey and I need your help. Can you gather all the fallen branches in the yard and bring them over to the fire pits?” They all nodded and soon were running around the yard picking up branches and twigs. Even the littlest ones were helping. I believe in letting kids help by doing what they can. They are so eager. Too many times have I seen adults shoo them away because they think they will be a hindrance rather than a help.

Before long, the holes were dug and the fires lit. I showed the volunteers how to rake the coals. Time to bring out the turkeys!

I picked up a Dutch oven and told Rachel the others needed to be brought outside.

“I’m not being ungrateful. I’m sure the turkeys will be delicious, but we won’t have any mashed sweet potatoes or cooked broccoli,” Rachel sighed.

“Do you have foil? “I asked.

Rachel nodded yes.

“Let’s wrap those potatoes in foil and bury them in the coals. When they are cooked, we can scoop out the flesh and mash them.”

“Wonderful! But what about the broccoli?"

That was a tough one. But I had a solution. Who says broccoli needs to be cooked? I ran into the pantry and moved some cans around. Rachel had said they make soup. I bet they have…

“Rachel, can I use these cans of chickpeas? And do you have a high-speed blender?”

“Yes, to both, but what do you have in mind, MacGyver?”, Rachel asked.

“Raw broccoli and my homemade hummus dip!”, I announced.

Rachel didn’t immediately reciprocate my excitement. I knew she would come around.

All the volunteers worked together to bring the feast to the table. Soon the doors opened, and our guests were filtering in. Heads turned when the Dutch oven turkeys were paraded into the hall. When the lids were lifted, the aroma was heavenly.

I didn’t sit until the last guest was served. Rachel came over with a plate piled high with turkey and trimmings. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I was a vegetarian, so I took her offering and sat down next to a five- or six-year-old girl who was with her parents. She had finished everything on her plate except the broccoli and hummus. “Don’t you like broccoli?”, I asked the little girl.

“Not like this. It looks like trees.”

I smiled and laughed at her description of the vegetable. “Try dipping it in the sauce. I made it myself. It’s quite tasty, if I don’t say so myself”, trying to encourage her to eat the broccoli. I watched as she hesitantly dipped the floret in my hummus and took the tiniest bite. She looked at the broccoli and then at me. She put the broccoli back onto her plate. She pushed her plate towards me.

‘You seem to like it more than me. You can have it. I’d rather have a piece of pie.” The little girl got up and ran over to the pies lined up on the buffet table.

I looked at the plate of broccoli and hummus and then over at the pies. We can eat vegetables any day. Today is Christmas. I’m going to eat pie.

[LTTPlits]

Wonderful story, MacGyverGirl! So well-written. Thank you for putting it up here! Though I am relatively new to MacGyver , it seems to me that you captured the voice and personality of Mac perfectly, the ambience of his world and the characters in it, and the nature of his relationships with them. Loved the MacGyverism you created!

I think Jack would heartily agree with the Mac's decision to eat pie!! (Well, especially Jack, unless, of course, there was cake! He might then have both! )

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MacGyverGirl!!

[MacGyverGirl]

JP,

Thank you!

I added the pie comment for the Jack fans! It wasn't so much a Mac choice!

[bluegirl]

Cute little story! Very well written! I enjoyed it very much!

[MacGyverGirl]

Thank you, Bluegirl.

While I am not in your league, you did inspire me to write and post!

[bluegirl]

Thank you, Bluegirl.

While I am not in your league, you did inspire me to write and post!

My league...? I didn't know I had a league of my own

But thanks so much for the praise... I'm happy to hear that I inspired you - which of my stories If I may ask?

[MacGyverGirl]

Thank you, Bluegirl.

While I am not in your league, you did inspire me to write and post!

My league...? I didn't know I had a league of my own

But thanks so much for the praise... I'm happy to hear that I inspired you - which of my stories If I may ask?

I have only read Starting Point and Breaking Point, and so far I prefer Starting Point because it fills in the backstory and I love to see Pete being active. Pete being active adds a whole new dimension to him. I also enjoyed the way you worked in the camel explanantion. I look forward to reading your other stories on fanfiction.net!

[bluegirl]

Thank you, Bluegirl.

While I am not in your league, you did inspire me to write and post!

My league...? I didn't know I had a league of my own

But thanks so much for the praise... I'm happy to hear that I inspired you - which of my stories If I may ask?

I have only read Starting Point and Breaking Point, and so far I prefer Starting Point because it fills in the backstory and I love to see Pete being active. Pete being active adds a whole new dimension to him. I also enjoyed the way you worked in the camel explanantion. I look forward to reading your other stories on fanfiction.net!

You might want to try reading on AO3 - I think, it's more comfortable there - archiveofourown.org , author's name is MacsBluegirl