Thanksgiving was never an event for for Dan growing up, especially after his mother passed. His father wasn't exactly what you would call a people person; eating overdone turkey alone with him in their cavernous dining room always felt more like a punishment than a holiday.

Things got better when he was on his own; Dan found out he wasn't much of a cook but he still gave it a shot and if he fouled up too badly he knew he was welcome to crack open a beer with Hollis and listen to the old man complain about the Lions' defense. It wasn't until he met Rorschach that Dan had a guest for Thanksgiving; Dan never was sure how that arrangement came about --- probably he made some offhand offer that Rorschach took seriously, the way he took everything seriously --- but Dan enjoyed the company. His partner wasn't the most talkative of guests, but at the same time he never complained when Dan burned the turkey and he always brought something even though Dan always told him not to, usually a can of gravy or cranberry sauce or something small like that.

Of course all that changed after '75. For a few years Rorschach still came by like before, skulking around the house like a feral cat. As the seventies gave way to the eighties those Thanksgiving visits came later and later, until finally in '84 Dan gave up, left the front door unlocked and went to bed around midnight. He almost had a heart attack when he got up in the middle of the night and found Rorschach hunched over a plate of cold leftovers. "Hello, Daniel. Left door open," he'd said, the only explanation Dan knew he was likely to get. "Dangerous. Should know better." Then a pause. "A little dry, this year."

Dan didn't feel too insulted. After all, Rorschach showing up at all was a sign that his friend was still in there somewhere.

The next time he saw Rorschach was the night the Comedian died.

The first Thanksgiving after...just after, it was just him and Laurie and the cheapest hotel room they could find. He still wasn't much of a cook and Laurie had laughed when he'd asked if she could cook a turkey, so they just got some take-out and watched football. The Lions's defense gave up 50 points.

He left the door unlocked that night. He didn't tell Laurie why.

He never did manage to get to sleep.