Discovered in the Christmas Tree - 22nd December - Ride 'em cowboy by tango65
This was my prompt and here's my response. Merry Christmas everyone!
“Eh, I used to have one of those when I was a kid”. Doyle stumbled as he was dragged back by the arm, to view the object of his partner's attention. They were enjoying a rare afternoon off and had decided to do some Christmas shopping, knowing there was no guarantee that they would get another chance.
Doyle regained his balance as his partner came to an abrupt stop next to the shop they had passed moments before. It was an old-fashioned craft shop, where the goods ranged from quilts to rocking horses, all lovingly hand-made. Doyle's interest was piqued. He quickly brought his attention to where his partner was pointing, the sentimentality virtually oozing from his every pore.
It was a hobby horse. Doyle blinked and confirmed that again, it was a hobby horse. He looked over at his partner, who had leaned over for a closer look. He couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face as he saw the wonder and child-like delight that lit the face of his partner.
“So which were you,” he asked, “the cowboy or the Indian? His partner resumed his full height, a note of indignation in his stance as he snorted before replying, “Cowboy, of course.” In those three short words, Doyle heard every suggestion that he was both dumb and unworthy of even that note of recognition. At that his smile grew into a stifled guffaw.
This drew Bodie's attention away from the hobby horse and to his partner's delight. Realising that he was giving Doyle ammunition to drop him into it in future, he quickly grabbed his arm and started moving. After dragging him to the next block, he dropped his hold and without looking back, continued walking. With a touch of defensiveness in his tone, he muttered loud enough for his partner to hear, “What do you expect for a six-year old with nothing better to do?” Awaiting another snort of amusement, he was surprised to hear nothing at all and turned around just in time to see his partner disappearing back into the store which had displayed his momentary return to childhood.
With a put-upon sigh, he was just about to head back to drag his partner away from the delights to be found within the shop, when his RT went off. Another sigh as he stopped and dug it out from his pocket, his frustration leaching into his voice as he answered the page. “3.7 here and why the heck are you disturbing our afternoon off, we're not even on call!”
“Priority call”, came the tinny voice at the other end, “IRA has notified The Sun, there is a bomb set to go off in Oxford Street.” With that disturbing announcement, Bodie started back to get his partner - urgency in every stride. They were in Oxford Street. It took a moment for him to realise that the operator was awaiting his response. “3.7 to base, we're in Oxford Street. How long have we …....” And with that, the world exploded before him.
Bodie dived into the nearest doorway as building debris showered the street before him. Once he felt clear, he quickly scrambled to his feet and started running to where he had last seen his partner. The shop, which was next door to what appeared to be the the bomb's target, had disappeared under a pile of rubble.
With his heart racing, Bodie still had enough presence of mind, to grab his RT and report in. “3.7 to base, bomb has gone off in Oxford Street. Building is unstable and there are injuries.” He was surprised to realise this, as he had thought himself focused solely on his partner's status. “Send all emergency services to this location.” Before he heard more than a quick acknowledgement of the message, he had pocketed his RT and was already assessing and looking for a way into the building.
“Doyle!”, he called out, stepping gingerly over the first pieces of rubble. “Ray? Can you hear me?” He gradually made his way closer, taking all care in ensuring his actions didn't make things worse.
As he stepped closer, he was slightly relieved to see that the small shop hadn't actually collapsed, it was just engulfed with the debris from its blasted neighbour. With care, he began to remove pieces that blocked his entry. Even as he worked, he continued calling. “Ray - for God's sake mate, answer me.”
The sound of shifting rubble caused him to pause, before he froze at the sight of a single strand of tinsel, which seemed to snake its way out from between the piled up fittings. He picked it up and gave it a gentle tug. “Ray?,” he ventured tentatively.
“Keep pulling,” came the muffled reply. Muffled or not, he knew that voice. Quickly but gently, he grabbed the fine tinsel and started pulling, realising that a heavier cord had been attached to it. Once the cord went taut, he tied it to part of the building structure left exposed by the explosion, but still standing strong. “It's tied off, now what?”
The sound of sirens behind him drowned out the reply, but he got the gist as fittings started shifting before him, as they were carefully pushed aside. First a young woman, teary and shocky, followed by an older woman, who once clear, wrapped her arms around the former. Then an older man, who Bodie presumed was the shopkeeper and finally his partner.
After a quick assessing glance over the others, noting that shock was the only apparent problem with them, Bodie focused all his attention on his partner. His head was bleeding from a wound on the edge of his damaged cheek and he was covered with dust and grime, but he was still the best thing Bodie had seen all day.
Doyle looked up at his partner, in the midst of trying in vain to brush off the worst of the debris and gave him a small, quick smile. “Thanks mate”, he ventured quietly, before turning to his fellow escapees and checking on their well-being. With a quick ruffle of his partner's hair, which garnered him a “Gedoff” and a shove, Bodie turned and left the shop to check on the progress of emergency services outside. He returned moments later with ambulance officers to deal with the motley group which was only just exiting the shop.
His partner, as usual, was decrying the need for medical intervention. “Leave it out Doyle”, he said with a touch of asperity, “let them have a look, so that we can get done and get out of here.” Doyle gave him a look that promised future retribution, but submitted with his usual lack of grace to the medical attention.
Patched up and cleared by the local authorities but not by Cowley (not until they turned in their report), they went to head back to the office. It didn't take too long this time for Bodie to realise his that his partner wasn't with him again. A quick scan however and he found him, talking to the shopkeeper he had just saved.
Feeling his partner's eyes on him, Doyle quickly finished his conversation and with a nod to the shopkeeper and small smile, rejoined his partner. A quick trip to HQ and their reports were finished and the following day given off due to Doyle's medical requirements (and Bodie's need to watch him for 24 hours - also medically required of course).
Without a word needing to be spoken, they went back to Doyle's, picking up dinner on the way. Doyle pushed his partner ahead of him into the lounge and stopped behind him with a small smile as he saw his partner's face. There in front of the Christmas tree, with a piece of tinsel and a bow wrapped around its neck, was the same hobby horse that had grabbed Bodie's attention only a few short hours earlier.
Doyle was prepared when the shock turned to dismay and he quickly moved to cuddle his partner from behind. “Don't,” he said. Bodie looked up quickly with a guilty expression on his face, before looking away again. “It's not your fault,” Doyle followed up, “and we're both OK.” With that, Bodie turned in his arms and gently touched the wound on his partner's face.
Doyle grabbed his hand and caught his eyes with his own and reiterated “we're both OK.” With that, Bodie gave out a big sigh and drew his partner into a firm embrace, his hold saying everything that he couldn't express in words.
“Now,” Doyle continued, “let's eat, before this food goes cold and then you can tell me all about your cowboy days.” A snort from his partner brought a grin to his face as he brought the food to the table and started spreading it out. Peace reigned as they quickly ate their food, ravenous for the nutrition and the energy they would need for later.
Once all the containers were empty, they turned to each other and Doyle asked the question again with just a look. “I was a kid,” Bodie started reluctantly, knowing his partner would not relent until he was satisfied. “Watching Saturday afternoon cowboy shows, making cowboy hats and using mum's broom for my horse. I think she got sick of never knowing where it was, so for my birthday she got me the hobby horse.” He looked up a bit embarrassed, but saw nothing but interest and affection in his partner's face. “One of the best presents I ever got - at least as a kid,” he qualified.
“Oh?,” Doyle finally spoke up, “and what was the best present you got as an adult?,” he asked with a sly grin on his face. “You, of course” Bodie replied with a matching grin. Doyle quickly moved to straddle his lap and after a languorous kiss, replied in a husky voice “There's only one thing I can say to that.” “And what's that?” Bodie asked, getting distracted by what his partner was doing in his lap. Doyle gently lifted his partner's face, ensuring he had his attention, before whispering his reply in his ear, “Ride 'em cowboy.”