It was a cool November afternoon. The sky was overcast, the threat of more rain still in 
the air. Thanksgiving was only one day away. The storefronts on Jones Road were decorated 
for the holiday, from paper turkey designs hanging in the windows to "Happy Thanksgiving" 
banners hanging above the doors.
	Chase McDonald was standing outside the Chic-o-rama restaurant, wearing a pilgrim 
costume, complete with a large belt buckle on his wide-brimmed hat. There was no hiding 
the undeniable embarassment on his face. "This is ridiculous, August," he said, adjusting 
his shirt. "I've never been more humiliated in my life."
	"You've never been more embarassed?" his partner replied, a few feet away. "Look at 
me, Mac. Look at me."
	August Brooks was dressed head-to-clawed-toes in a brown turkey costume, handing 
out turkey morels to passersby. His legs even looked chicken-like thanks to the special 
pants, and his arms were concealed in the wings. His face was hidden behind the large 
face of the costume. Only a small slit below the beak aloud him to see out.
	"I'm standing out here on the street dressed like a giant turkey, Mac, and you're 
saying that you've never been more humiliated? First a giant hot dog, then a transvestite 
hooker, and now a giant turkey."
	"Hey, I had to endure the hooker act, too."
	"Yeah, but at least you got to be a clown. Kids love clowns."
	"Not those little pip squeaks I tried to make the giraffe balloon for."
	August turned away, holding the serving platter in one hand. A young woman stopped 
by and helped herself to a sample of turkey. "Mmmm. Tastes good."
	"They've got a wide selection inside," August said. The tone in his voice clearly 
showed he would rather be anywhere else.
	Chase was still struggling to adjust his shirt, then adjusting his hat and his 
sleeves, then his pants; nearly everything. Even the belt felt too tight. He glanced up 
as he heard a car approaching. Across the street, a truck was pulling up to the curb. 
"August. August, look."
	August turned and tried to see through the slit in his costume. "What is it?"
	"I think that's our guy. Across the street, in that truck."
	"Are you sure?"
	"Pretty sure."
	"Okay. When he gets out, approach him."
	"Me? Why not you?"
	"Look at me, Mac. Would you like the idea of being approached by some guy in a 
giant turkey costume?"
	Chase looked his partner up and down, then gave a nod of agreement. "You're right."
	The driver climbed out of the truck and stood with the door open, doing something 
inside. Chase stepped off the curb and walked across the street. "Excuse me," he said as 
he approached.
	The man turned. "What?"
	"Mister David Nelson?"
	"Yeah. Who are you?"
	Chase held up his badge. "L.A.P.D." Before he could finish, the man was shoving him 
back and climbing into the cab. Chase landed on the road. Another woman was just reaching 
for the turkey samples when August saw what had happened and dropped the plate as he 
dashed into the street.
	Chase got to his feet as the truck engine roared to life. As it pulled away from 
the curb, he reached out and grabbed onto the door of the bed, planting his feet on the 
rear bumper. August stopped in the middle of the street as the truck shot by with his 
partner clinging to the back. He threw his arms up. "Mac!?" he yelled.
	Chase just looked back, holding on for dear life. "August!"
	As the truck raced down the road, August turned and headed back up the street to 
where there car was parked. Traffic grinded to a halt as the giant turkey moved through 
the lanes. August was holding his arms out to signal for the cars to stop, since his 
vision was limited. He saw their car was blocked in and groaned, "Ah, jeez," and started 
running down the street.
	Chase pulled himself into the bed just as the truck swerved a corner, throwing him 
forward. He landed on his knees and gritted his teeth. He rolled from side to side in the 
bed as the truck weaved through traffic. Chase felt the hat fly from his head.
	David Nelson flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror.
	Chase was struggling to get to his feet when the truck squealed its brakes. He was 
thrown forward against the back of the cab, doubling over the roof. Chase grabbed the 
roll bar and held on tight, trying to figure out what to do.
	August ran fast, knees pumping hard, making a wide arch through the intersection as 
he turned the corner. Cars blew their horns. "What's the matter?" he yelled to noone in 
particular. "Ain't any of you ever seen a turkey crossing the road?"
	Chase finished buckling his belt around the top of the rollbar and, holding it 
tight in one hand, climbed up on top of the roof and hung partially over the side. He 
reached down and opened the door. The driver yelped in surprise as Chase dropped onto the 
running board and threw a punch, knocking him over onto the passenger seat. Releasing the 
belt, he climbed the rest of the way inside, shoving David over and taking his place 
behind the wheel.
	David sat up and came at him, grappling at the wheel and making the truck dart 
across the road. Chase snapped his elbow into the man's face and yanked back on the 
wheel. The truck cut back across the road too sharply and lifted on it's passenger-side 
wheels, then rolled over. Both men screamed as the vehicle rolled several times, finally 
coming to a stop alongside the curb.
	Moments later, August came running down the street with his gun drawn. It was a 
particularly funny image, a giant turkey running with a gun in one feathered hand. "Mac!" 
he yelled. "Mac!"
	The driver's door opened, and Chase pulled himself out, standing up against the side 
of the overturned truck.
	"You okay?" August asked, coming up.
	"Yeah. I'm fine. I don't think he is, though." He gestured inside, where Nelson was 
lying unconscious.
	"Were you out of your mind, Chase? You know, I hate it when you jump onto a speeding 
vehicle and leave me behind. You always get my blood racing with anxiety, and--and--"
	"Jeez," Chase said. "What ruffled your feathers?"
	August just stared at his partner for a moment, then turned on his heel and stalked 
away.
	"What?" Chase called after him. "What'd I say?"



"Go, go, go!" August yelled from the couch.
	Beside him, Chase was shouting, "Come on, come on! Go!"
	Sitting in Chase's living room, they were watching the second game of the day, 
Denver at Dallas. The Dallas wide receiver was running with the ball, making for the end 
zone. "Come on!" August hollered.
	Just several yards from the zone, the receiver was tackled by a guy from Denver, 
and the two detectives replied with a simultaneous, "Aaahh!!"
	"Damn. So close," August said, scooting forward to get his glass from the coffee 
table as the game went to a commercial. He went to take a drink, but saw there wasn't 
much left.
	Chase got up for the kitchen. "You want some more?"
	"Nah, I'll just wait until we eat."
	Alex Clairmont and Kendra were in the kitchen. Chase sniffed the air as he came in. 
"Mmmm. What's cooking? Smells good, whatever it is." He sniffed again, letting his nose 
lead him to Alex. "Ah, here's the source," he said with a smile, and kissed her on the 
next as she laughed.
	"Chase, cut it out," she said, playfully swinging at him with a wooden spoon. "Not 
in front of company."
	"Can I give you girls a hand with anything?"
	"As a matter of fact, you can," Alex said. "Do you have one of those strainer 
things?"
	"Yeah. Somewhere." He started looking through the cabinets beside the stove. "Here 
we go." He jokingly used the strainer to cover Alex's face, and she playfully pushed it 
away. He then used it to fan her, saying, "You are just too hot."
	Kendra watched them silently. As she had remarked to August on a few occasions, she 
was glad to finally see Chase so happy with someone after the Nicole Stockman/Bobby Cole 
incident. Hearing from her husband how Chase was feeling about getting involved with 
someone again, the details of which he divulged mostly to just Judith Sands, she was 
worried that he would never let himself look for a steady relationship. But she was glad 
that he was finally getting back to being his old self, in some ways, and was seeing a 
great girl and taking things in stride.
	The doorbell rang, and she heard August said, "I'll get it."
	When Chase came out of the kitchen, August was walking back down the stairs with 
James Harris and Jennifer Brennan. "Hey, guys."
	"Hey, Chase," James said, taking of his bomber jacket. "How you doing?"
	"Pretty good. Hi, Jennifer."
	She smiled. "Hi, Chase."
	James saw the game on the TV as they came into the living room. "How's the game?"
	August made a dismissive wave. "Ah. It's so sad."
	Jennifer laughed. "So where're the girls?"
	Chase gestured into the kitchen. "In there."
	As she went into the kitchen, the guys went and sat around the TV. "So what did you 
guys do with those undercover outfits?" James asked with a smirk.
	August shot him a glance, and Chase said, "August is saving his for Halloween next 
year, right?"
	"Ha ha, Mac."
	"Think of it this way, August. Nobody saw your face. You were all enclosed. Chase 
was the one everyone could see, so he may get some snickers and fingers pointed at him 
next time he goes out."
	That seemed to make August smile. "That's right," he said slowly. "Well, now I don't 
feel so bad anymore."
	Chase seemed to realize what James had said, even though it was said as a joke.
	In the kitchen, Alex had the oven open and was basting the turkey. "Just about done," 
she said, sliding it back in and closing the oven door. She stood and tossed the oven mit 
onto the counter.
	Jennifer was standing by the door with a drink. "It seems like things are pretty 
good between you and Chase," she said.
	"Yeah." Alex looked out into the living room, where Chase and the others were 
cheering loudly as they watched the game. "He's a great guy."
	Kendra said, "I can't tell you who happy August and I are for you two. We're so glad 
Chase finally met someone great."
	"Thanks. I know he went through some rough times a couple years ago, but he seems 
to have recovered pretty well."
	"He has," Kendra said. "He went through a long depression after Nicole was killed 
before things started getting better. I'm sure he still hurts occasionally when he thinks 
about it, but he recovered well afterwards."
	The timer went off, and Alex turned. "Well, I guess it's done." She put on the oven 
mit and opened the door, pulling the turkey out on its sliding shelf. The thermometer in 
it had popped out. "Yup, it's done." She gripped the pan and set it on the wooden carving 
block on the counter. Kendra and Jennifer were getting some things from the refrigerator.
	As Alex carried the turkey into the dining room, she called, "Come on, guys. The 
food's ready."



Within moments they were all seated around the dining room table. The turkey sat on its 
plate in the center, surrounded by mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, gravy, cornbread, 
cranberries, and slices of wheat bread. "Okay," Kendra said. "Before we eat, I think we 
should all go around the table and say what we're most thankful for. August, you can 
start."
	He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm thankful that I haven't been shot by some scumbag 
out on the streets." They all laughed. "Seriously, though, I'm thankful that I've had a 
pretty good life. Having been in Vietnam, I know things could have turned out very 
different for me. I see those guys all the time and I can't even begin to think of what 
it must be like to be in their position. So I'm thankful that my life has turned out to 
be a good one, and I'm thankful that I'm married to the greatest girl in the world."
	The others all "aaahhhed" as he gave Kendra a kiss.
	"Okay, okay," he said as they laughed. "Honey, your turn."
	"Okay." Kendra thought for a moment, then said, "I'm also thankful to have had a 
great life, especially with recent developments." She put a hand on her belly, and the 
others smiled.
	James was next. "Well, if I can sound like a broken record for a moment, I'm also 
thankful to have a pretty good life." They all laughed. "I think we'll all be thankful 
for that. As some of you know, I had a bit of a rough time at the beginning of the year, 
with a long marriage coming to an end and all. I thought things would be worse, but I've 
been pretty surprised at how well things have turned out. And that I've now found a new 
special someone."
	Jennifer smiled and took hold of his hand. "I'm thankful that James came along when 
he did. Just several months ago, things were starting to get bad, but James helped me out 
and I'm thankful for that."
	August said, "Alex? How about you?"
	"Hmmm." She thought for a moment, then laughed. "It's already been said by everyone 
else."
	"Well, I know what I'm thankful of," Chase said.
	"Go ahead, Mac," his partner said.
	"I'm thankful that I have the best friends in the world. Over two years ago, I went 
through the worst moment of my life since my dad died. I lost a great girl. I had a tough 
time recovering from that, physically and emotionally. But I had my two best friends, 
August and Kendra, to help me get better. They showed me love, friendship, compassion, 
and I don't think I can ever repay them for it. Thanks, guys."
	Kendra smiled, and August gave a nod. "You're welcome, Mac."
	Chase smiled. "Okay, with that, let's dig in."
	August starting dealing out slices of turkey as the chatter of talking and laughing 
arose.