Christmas Turkey – Dumb luck
A/N: I have no idea if they have turkey farms on Oahu or anything about turkeys either. This is just for fun so if there's anything really wrong just go with it, after all, it's Christmas. Thanks to rewob17 and Cubit2 for all their help with this one, it very nearly didn't happen.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, CBS does. They'd be a great Christmas present though.
Summary: Steve should know better than to take his partner to a turkey farm two days before Christmas.
"Where, exactly, are we going, Steven?" Detective Danny Williams was not impressed with his partner, Commander Steve McGarrett, right now. He'd just seen a sign that read, "Henderson's Turkey Farm".
"I told you, Danny. HPD tracked our suspect to a farm out here, so we're going to go pick him up." Steve sighed as he knew what would come as soon as his partner and best friend found out the nature of the farm. He'd also seen the recent sign. "We have HPD back up just like you always want, so chill, okay?"
"Chill? Did you just tell me to chill?" Danny turned in his seat so he could see his partner's face. "What are you not telling me, huh? I can read you, you are definitely hiding something."
Steve sighed again, "Okay, I didn't tell you that this is a turkey farm, Danny."
"A what?" the detective shouted. "It's two days before Christmas and you know I'm trying to avoid turkeys. After the last three years, there is no way I'm going to a turkey farm. Stop the car; I want to get out."
"No! We're almost there, now come on, everything will be alright. We'll get Brown, go back to the Palace, finish our paperwork early, then you can go home to Grace and Charlie and I'll even give you tomorrow off."
"What? Is that a bribe you are offering there, partner?" Danny fought to keep a straight face. An extra day off with his kids was something he'd truly enjoy, but he wasn't letting his arrogant partner off the hook just yet. "You think you can bribe me to make me go to a turkey farm, the one place I don't want to be at this particular time of year?"
"Well, I could just order you and not give you the day off, Detective," Steve replied, looking sideways at his partner, just before he turned down the road leading to the turkey farm.
"No, I'll take the bribe. An extra day with my kids at Christmas will be great."
"Good, 'cause we're here." Steve pulled to a stop beside an HPD cruiser parked outside the gate that crossed the road.
Both men exited the car and adjusted their vest as they approached the two officers standing by their cruiser.
"Brown still in there?" Steve asked.
"Yes, Commander. He knows we're here though. Just went into that big barn over to the right." The officer indicated a huge barn that Danny had no doubt was full of turkeys.
"Alright, you two go around back, we'll go through the main doors." Steve pulled his gun as one of the officers opened the gate to allow them access to the farm. "Brown is a drug dealer who likes to sample his own product so he could be high. Proceed with extreme caution I want us all to go home for Christmas."
"Ha Ha, very funny," Danny called back over his shoulder as he headed for the main doors to the barn. "If I get hurt again this Christmas, I'm taking next year off and going away. Far away from you!"
Steve opened the door just enough for the two of them to slip into the barn. The smell that hit them was overpowering. Both men put a hand up to cover their nose trying to mitigate the odour of thousands of turkeys in an enclosed space. There were pens on either side of the barn with a pathway running down the middle. But there were turkeys everywhere, Brown obviously letting them out of their pens to slow down anyone pursuing him.
"You go down that side," Steve indicated the left side of the pathway, "I'll take the right."
The two men slowly made their way moving turkeys aside as they went. Brown was nowhere in sight, but there was no doubt he was still in the barn somewhere.
Suddenly there was a commotion further ahead, now the turkeys were becoming more agitated as Brown rushed from one of the pens, kicking birds aside as he went.
"Brown, stop!" Steve yelled as he too surged forward causing, even more, turkeys to try and fly away. Danny also moved further out toward the middle of the pathway to cover his partner.
At Steve's yell, Brown turned and fired at the two men. Both men immediately returned fire and Brown fell and was soon covered by turkeys.
Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw Danny also fall as turkeys flew up around him.
"Danny!" Steve kept one eye on their downed perp as he pushed his way over towards his partner sending turkeys scurrying in all directions.
"Slow down, big guy. I do not want to have my tombstone read, 'He was trampled to death by turkeys.' Okay?" Danny's voice came up to Steve from the midst of the panicked birds.
"Danny, you okay?" Steve finally reached his partner's side and pushing birds away he knelt down.
"Yeah, pull me up would you?" The blond detective held out his hand but Steve placed a hand on his chest holding him down.
"No, wait. You're bleeding."
"Not mine, babe." While there was blood on his vest and shirt, he knew it wasn't his own blood but that of a turkey lying next to him. "It belongs to this bird, he flew up just as Brown fired, took a bullet for me."
"Huh," Steve grunted as he pulled his partner up. "That was lucky."
"Dumb luck, Steven. It was dumb luck."
"Brown's dead, Commander." While Steve had been concerned about his partner, the two HPD officer, who had entered the barn from the other direction, checked on Brown.
"That's great. Thanks," Steve called back.
"You sure you're okay, Danny?" He was still checking his partner, concerned he was hurt.
"Apart from a few scratches on my arm from turkey feet, and maybe a bruise from being hit in the chest by a self-sacrificing turkey, I'm fine, Babe." He showed Steve the scratches running across his left arm. They didn't look too deep but would need cleaning.
"Good, then let's get out of here. We'll take the dead bird as evidence so now you have a fresh turkey for dinner, right?"
"Nope. Still not having turkey for dinner." Danny started walking back the way they'd come, pushing birds aside as he went.
"Come on, Danny. The bird saved your life, the least you could do is give it a good ending by cooking it and eating it." Steve grabbed the turkey by its feet and dragged it along with him.
"No, I don't have to do that. You can do that. It's something you'd do. We are having a ham." They were almost out of the barn now.
"I know, I'll cook the bird and bring it with me. How's that sound?"
"That bird is not going in my car, I don't want blood all over the trunk." Danny walked off towards the Camaro, leaving his partner struggling with the bird. "Besides, you are not invited."
Steve decided to leave the bird in favour of catching up with his best friend. "Wrong. Grace and Charlie both invited me, Danno."
"Well, I'm uninviting you." Danny opened the trunk of his car and retrieved a towel. Once he'd removed his vest he rubbed at the blood on his shirt in an attempt to remove the worst of it.
Soon the two partners were on their way back to headquarters, or so the detective thought, but they ended up at McGarrett's home.
"What are we doing here?"
"I need to clean those scratches, and you need a clean shirt, Danny." Steve exited the car taking the keys with him.
"You are such a control freak, we could have done this at headquarters." Danny followed after his partner.
"Yes we could have, but I need a beer, Danno." He walked into his kitchen and retrieved two beers from the fridge. Placing them on the kitchen counter he reached into a high cupboard and pulled out a large medical kit.
"You know it's still the middle of the day? A workday?" Danny took one of the beers and opened it, then hopped up on a counter and waited for his friend to open the kit. "Why are we drinking beer when we should be back at the office filling out paperwork?"
"Because for a second there I thought I'd lost you, Danny." Steve moved over, an antiseptic wipe in his hand. As he gently started to clean the scratched on his partner's arm he continued. "After what happened the last three years I thought it had happened again, and you'd been hurt. You were right, it was just dumb luck that that turkey flew up at exactly the right moment."
"Yeah, it was. But look on the bright side, Steve. This year a turkey saved me, that breaks the unlucky turkey streak."
Steve had finished by now and was sipping his own beer. "How about you go get a clean shirt from upstairs, I know you have some stashed in the spare bedroom. Then we can get back to the office and complete the paperwork."
Danny finished his beer and went to get the shirt. By the time he returned Steve had finished his beer also and was ready to go.
"What time are you coming over Christmas Eve?" Danny asked as they headed to the car.
"I thought I was uninvited?"
"Nah, I guess if my kids want you there at Christmas, then I can put up with you too. Besides, it wouldn't be the same without you there. The kids would miss you." Danny grinned as he got into the car.
"The kids, huh." Steve smiled as he looked at his partner. "I love you too, Danno."
The End