A/N: This is my third year writing a Christmas Turkey story. If you haven't read the other two, that's okay, this story can stand alone. As always, a big thank you to rewob17 for the beta.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but love to play with them. Thanks CBS for giving us this marvelous show.
Summary: Steve and Danny are staking out a murder suspect at a holiday buffet, what could possibly go wrong when turkey is the main buffet item?
"Why are we here, Steven?" Danny shifted, yet again, in his chair at the table for two he shared with his partner.
"You know why we're here, Danno. Will you just relax?" Steve looked every bit the relaxed patron of the popular restaurant serving a holiday buffet dinner.
"It's almost Christmas Eve, I have things to get ready for when Grace and Charlie arrive tomorrow. HPD could handle this." He waved towards the buffet where the chef was carving turkey as people lined up to get their food.
"It's our case. We found out that Chef Watkins is the one who killed his wife." Steve leaned forward, "So we're the ones who will take him down."
"But does it have to be at a turkey buffet?" Danny sighed. "You know how I feel about turkey at Christmas."
"Yeah, after the last two years I understand why you said there would be no turkey this year. But this is different, Danno. It's not you picking up a turkey, so nothing is going to happen. As soon as Eric calls us with the proof that Watkins did it, we'll take him down." Steve looked over at the entry door. "Chin and Kono just arrived, so now we have the backup you always want."
"Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be the third Christmas in a row that something will go wrong? And it will have to do with TURKEY, Steven!" Just then Danny's phone chirped with a text message.
"Okay, Eric has the evidence locked down. How do you want to handle this?" He looked expectantly over at the ex-Navy SEAL.
"You walk over and pretend you're checking out the buffet, while I go around and approach him from behind. Chin and Kono will watch the door, staying out of sight as he knows them."
"That's an awfully big carving knife he has there, not to mention the huge fork thing. We need to clear the people out or he could take a hostage." The blonde looked up at his partner, who had stood ready to move.
"You'll be in front, and can move the people back as I take him down. Now let's move." Steve headed off to circle the restaurant, nodding to Chin and Kono as he went.
Danny shook his head and walked over to the buffet. He had a bad feeling about this. The man had bludgeoned his wife to death and thought he could get away with it. His arrogance had shone through when Chin and Kono had interviewed him, but he'd never met Steve or himself, which led his Neanderthal partner to believe they could take the man with minimal fuss.
Steve was still a good distance behind Watkins when the man glanced up and spotted Chin and Kono over by the doors. They'd stayed there, relatively out of sight, purely as backup. It was bad timing that a woman had moved aside just as the chef looked up.
The man immediately surged around the table, intending what, Danny wasn't sure. But he couldn't wait to find out as he pushed the woman directly in front of the chef aside, and grabbed onto the hand holding the longest carving knife he'd ever seen.
Steve rushed forward, knocking the knife from Watkins' hand, but he was too late to stop the downward trust of the carving fork.
Danny let out a cry of pain as something hit the back of his right shoulder. He staggered a little, but suddenly Kono was there to steady him.
"Don't move, brah."
Chin and Steve had Watkins down and already in cuffs. Steve stood and looked at Danny, his eyes wide.
"Danny?"
"My shoulder hurts, Steven. What did he hit me with?" He tried to look over his shoulder, but Kono stopped him.
"It's okay, Danny. You're going to be fine." Steve moved closer, helping Kono easy Danny down into a chair that appeared out of nowhere.
"Now I know something's wrong." Danny tried to look again. "Steve, tell me!"
"He hit you with the carving fork. It's embedded in your shoulder."
EMT's came rushing in the doors, as Danny once again tried to see behind him. Giving up he looked at his partner. "Didn't I tell you this would go wrong?"
"Yeah, Danno. You told me."
Three hours later Steve was led into the treatment room Danny was in. The fork was gone, a pressure dressing in its place. A nurse was just helping the blonde put on his shirt.
Once the shirt was on she placed his right arm in a sling, strapping it to his body.
"Keep this on, no movement of the shoulder for a couple of days. Come back on the 27th and the doctor will check your wound. Any severe pain or fever, you come back sooner. Okay, detective?"
"Yeah. I got it." Danny sounded down to Steve. He hadn't noticed the SEAL was in the room yet, and his whole demur screamed dejected. He knew instantly that the blonde was worrying about his kids and how he was going to manage Christmas when he could only use one arm.
Steve knew they'd been extremely lucky tonight. He was so thankful that it was the fork Watkins had stuck his partner with, and not the very long, and very sharp, carving knife. The prongs of the fork were thin and long, so the damage was less than they'd first feared. It had hit the scapular, stopping it from going right on through Danny's shoulder. The blonde had two deep holes in his shoulder, but they were not life-threatening and would heal in time.
"Hey, partner." Steve rounded the bed and walked to Danny's side. "I hear they're kicking you out? Ready to go home?"
"I guess so." Danny slid from the bed, with the ex-SEAL's help. "Have to call Rachel on the way, tell her I can't take the kids."
"No. This is partly my fault, so I'll help you with the kids. It's mainly Charlie you need help with anyway. Grace can take care of herself."
"What. No, you have your own plans for Christmas." Danny pushed his feet into his loafers as he spoke.
"My plans were to come over to your place Christmas Day. So, what's the difference if I just come over now and stay until they go home after Christmas?" He steered his friend out of the hospital room as they spoke.
Chin and Kono were waiting, each giving him a gentle hug.
"If you prefer, you can all come stay at my house. What do you say?" Steve carried on, already knowing the answer.
"I say that I'm staying in my own home. If you want to sleep on the couch, it's your back." But he smiled as he said it.
"Charlie has bunk beds. I'll ask him if I can sleep in his room." Steve also smiled. "And don't worry about the food, we can all help cook Christmas dinner. I'm sure Grace and Charlie would love to help."
"Do you have the turkey yet?" Kono asked innocently, with a wink at Steve.
"What! Kono, have you not been listening. There's no Christmas turkey, not this year."
"Aw, brah. You have to have turkey, it's Christmas." Chin joined in. It was so good to have their Haole friend ranting after the scare they'd all had earlier in the evening.
The four teammates walked out of the hospital together, three smiling as the fourth waved his good hand around, telling them how much he hated turkeys at Christmas.
The End
A/N: This is my effort towards a challenge put out by cubit2, after Phoebe Miller innocently said something about putting a fork in it, during one of our writers group discussions.