Rookie Thanksgiving

Ben tosses his beer bottle in the recycling bin. "It really blows that you have to work on Thanksgiving."

John claps his friend on the arm. "To you, it blows to have to work anytime. But I don't mind. Every year until this one, I had some kind of family Thanksgiving. Sarah is a decent cook and Henry will eat almost anything, anyway. The two of us would veg out and recover from turkey overdoses in front of a football game or two. If we didn't freeze our butts off, we might even throw the ball around a little. This year there won't be any family. Henry will be with Sarah. Lucy and Jackson are on duty too. I might as well be working, keeping other families safe."

"You have me, buddy," Ben points out.

"Yes I do," John agrees. "And when I get off shift, maybe we can have turkey sandwiches or something, and you can give me a pass by pass of the games I missed."

"I can do better than that. A late feast is better than none. Just don't get yourself killed while I'm getting something together."

"Believe me, I'll try my best."

Nolan glances at Bishop. "You look pissed. If you weren't my T.O. would you have to work on Thanksgiving? You have enough seniority to get out of it, don't you?"

"It's not about you, Boot. I'd be working on Thanksgiving anyway. I'm not big on family gatherings. I just wanted to record the games so I could watch them later, and my DVR died this morning. I lost my movies too."

"Hey, I can't do anything about your movies, but my roomie Ben is recording the Falcons and the Saints so we can watch it together tonight. He's got a thing for jazz, so he cheers for New Orleans."

"Since when do you have a roommate? I thought that until recently you and Lucy had a little love nest."

Nolan's hands tighten on the wheel. "Lucy's always had her own place. Even before we broke up, she said she wanted to keep it casual. Ben owns the guest house I stay in. We've been best friends for over 20 years, but he's been traveling, and he just came back. I don't think he'll mind having some company. He always buys way too much food. I can give him a call."

"Boot, is this a bribe? Are you trying to get on my good side? I don't need that."

"Bishop, I'm pretty sure you don't have a good side, except maybe for fathers separated from their little boys. I still want to hug you over that one."

Bishop points threateningly at her taser.

"OK. No hugs. But seriously, all I'm offering is a chance to do what you wanted to do anyway. I'm just having your back like I'm supposed to."

Bishop rolls her eyes. "All right Nolan. Give your pal a call. Oh, sh*t! What's going on there?"

"That's a soup kitchen isn't it?"

"Yeah, a mission. It feeds a lot of people on Thanksgiving, but that fight looks like more than somebody trying to cut the line. We need to break it up."

"There are kids there, Bishop," Nolan notices as they run toward the brawl.

"Welcome to reality, Boot. There are a lot of kids that don't have anything to eat, especially when school's out and they can't get free lunches. Sometimes that's their only meal of the day."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"Just keep your mind on the job, Boot. Watch it! I see a knife."

Nolan keeps his voice as even as he can while he asks what the problem is.

A woman with two children with her is holding tightly to her weapon. As yet she's not making any threatening moves, but he's learned the hard way how deadly women with blades can be, and if she's defending her kids, that will add another layer of risk. "Sonofabitch stole all the socks out of my things." She indicates the boy and girl hanging onto her faded slacks. "Even theirs. Mutherfucker knows how important socks are down here."

Nolan eases the accused thief a couple of feet back while Bishop keeps an eye on the knife wielder. "Did you take the socks?"

"I didn't know they were hers. That stuff was just lying there in the alley."

"The hell it was!" Bishop grabs the knife and holds the woman back as she lunges. "That's our spot. Everyone around here knows that's our spot."

Nolan puts a hand on the man's shoulder. "Listen, those socks aren't going to fit you anyway. Why don't you just give them back to the lady for herself and her children, then you can all have a nice Thanksgiving dinner."

Sock Stealer digs under his shirt for the socks and holds them out. "Why don't you kids take these?" Nolan suggests as he hands the balled up foot coverings to the children.

"What about my knife?" the woman demands. "I need that!" She puts her hands around her kid's shoulders. "To take care of what's theirs, you know?"

"Look," Bishop tells her, "I understand. But I can't give this back to you if I think you might hurt somebody with it. So I'm going to give it to Miss Ruggles who runs the mission. You and your kids eat the turkey and the great stuff that goes with it. Miss Ruggles usually even has cookies for dessert. You stay until everyone is gone and then you can ask Miss Ruggles for your knife back. Do you think you can do that? Otherwise, I'm going to have to take it to the station and lock it up."

"Yeah, I can do that," the woman agrees.

"Good, then we'll go have a talk with Miss Ruggles. Nolan, you stay with the shop in case any other arguments break out."

"Yes, Ma'am." Nolan is behind the wheel when Bishop returns. "Why do I get the feeling that you know this place pretty well?"

Bishop shrugs. "I had some bad times growing up. Miss Ruggles was there for me. She has four sons who used to be cops and two granddaughters who still are. They work with her here on Thanksgiving and other high traffic days. That woman's not getting that knife back unless they're sure she's not going to stick it in someone. In the meantime, Miss Ruggles usually has some inside information on where families can find beds for the night. She may even have a few herself that she keeps open for emergencies. I called her the last time, for that other family, but it was so late she was full up. Hopefully, this will work out better."

"You know Bishop, inside that tough exterior beats a soft heart."

"Nolan, you ever say that again, and you'll be doing every cavity search from now until the end of your Rookie year, or until you wash out, whichever comes first. Are you hearing me?

"Loud and clear!"

"It's been pretty quiet," Nolan notes after a few hours. "I don't think I've ever seen you write a traffic ticket before."

"It's part of the job, Boot if you see some asshole creating a dangerous situation by driving like he owns the road."

"That was a two million dollar car. He just might have owned the road, but …"

The dispatcher's voice fills the shop. "All available units, respond for crowd control at a fire at 9th and Pico."

Nolan picks up the radio. "One Adam 15 responding. That's the fashion district. A lot of those stores opened to shoppers for an early Black Friday. A bunch of people could get hurt."

"We need to keep that from happening, Boot. Move it!"

Nolan can smell the smoke long before he can see the flames. Some firefighters are already there, and the sirens in the distance announce that there will be more. Lucy's and Jackson's units are arriving too, as is Captain Andersen to supervise. Funny, Nolan would have expected her to be home with family. She's hard at work, directing every cop there to the most advantageous position to prevent injuries to the crowd and give the firefighters a clear shot to do their jobs.

A dense haze hangs over the entire district. John's eyes are watering, and there's a rasp in his throat, but he follows Andersen's instructions through the hours it takes to knock down the blaze and make sure everyone is out of the area.

When the Rookies finally deliver their shops back to the garage, they're more tired than hungry. John isn't sure whether to invite Lucy and Jackson to dinner or not. He doesn't even know if Ben will have enough food, but before he can say anything, Lucy swears that if she doesn't pay her holiday visit to her parents, they won't stop nagging her for weeks. On top of that, she is planning to show up covered in ash from the fire just to see their faces. Jackson is sure that his family will be waiting for him to arrive with a report of his day's duty-related activities. Nolan shrugs and looks at Bishop. "I guess it's just you and me - and Ben, partner."

"I told you, Boot, I'm your T.O., not your partner, but fine. That turkey just better be good."

Nolan is starting to relax for the first time in hours. "Knowing Ben, it will be the best - or at least the most expensive. Prepare to be dazzled."

"Are you giving me orders, Boot?"

"No Ma'am."

"Good, then get your ass in gear for your rookie Thanksgiving."

Nolan believes he detects a hint of an upturn on Bishop's lips. Ben told him the turkey would be smoked. After this day, it wouldn't make sense for it to be anything else. He smiles to himself as he finally heads for home.