CHAPTER 4

Hutch awoke at around 8:00 AM and went into the kitchen to make breakfast for her as she slept. He tried to be as quiet as possible so he wouldn’t wake her. He hadn’t gotten much sleep through the night as he thought about the conversation she had forced upon him. He was now caught in the middle of something that scared the hell out of him. Was she serious? Maybe she was just toying with him…looking for a reaction. Maybe she really didn’t mean what she said.

He thought about Starsky as he broke a few eggs into a small bowl and began to stir them. Something Starsky had said a few months ago kept plaguing him. The night that he thought he was alone in her hospital room. The night he confessed his love to her as she lay in her coma. Hutch had overheard it. He never told a living soul and felt that it was probably just a desperate
statement. Because he thought that she might be dying…he was out of his head that night and he really didn’t know what he was saying….or did he?

He continued cooking the eggs and put on a pot of coffee as he tried desperately to make sense of it all in the cold light of day. Starsky had made a few comments lately about the fact that he was having such a hard time trying to stay focused with her around. A couple times he had even joked about how she was turning him on. But they were just jokes…nothing more.

The revelation he had received from her last night was what had brought it all to the surface. If she was serious…his partner was in a lot of trouble. Who knows when she’ll decide to test the waters? If Starsky wasn’t very careful…he could end up in a hell of a lot of trouble Cassie awoke to his voice as he touched her lightly on the shoulder and spoke softly to her.

“I made breakfast…you want some?” He asked her.

“Sure…what time is it?” She said as she sat up and rubbed her tired eyes with her fingers.

“Oh about 8:30.” He told her as he grabbed her by the arm to help her stand.

“I smell eggs.” She said with a smile. “You’re so sweet.”

“Well…I have to take care of you don’t I?” He answered her. “At least until Noon… Starsky said he would meet us at the bowling alley.”

“Yeah…after he dumps his date.” She added with sarcasm in her voice as she pulled her robe on over her shoulders.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early in the morning to bear your claws?” He asked her. “She’s a nice lady.”

“You should know.” She said with a mischievous half-smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked her.

“How soon you forget…wasn’t she with you just a couple of months ago?” She asked him…making a statement rather than asking a question.

“Ok…that’s enough.” He told her as he raised his finger in front of her. “I don’t know what your problem is and I really don’t care…but the smart ass comments stop here and now!”

He was serious. What the hell had gotten into her? Jealousy? What ever it was it didn’t become her…and he wasn’t in the mood for it.

“Ok…ok…I’m sorry.” She said softly to him. “It just bothers me that’s all.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Hutch argued. “He doesn’t need your permission…it’s time you understood something.”

“What?” She asked as she stared into his eyes.

“It doesn’t make a difference weather or not you approve…it’s his life.” He told her.

“Well…I for one refuse to be somebody’s one night stand.” She stated sternly as she walked past him into the kitchen.

“So it’s the type of women he dates…not the fact that he dates?” He asked curiously as he followed behind her.

“Exactly….” She told him as she grabbed two plates down from the cabinet and began to place the eggs on them.

“So what do you think he should do? Find someone…fall in love and live happily ever after like in those romance novels you like to read?” He asked her.

“Why not?”

“Well if you think that way…then your not as grown up as I thought you  were.” He told her. “The real world doesn’t work like that.”

“So you’re saying that it’s ok to meet somebody…have sex…and leave in the morning…no love…no feelings…just lust?” She asked him curiously. “Is that the way it works Hutch?”

“For some people I guess…I don’t know Cassie…what do I look like…Doctor Ruth?” He said as he threw one hand in the air in despair and turned his head to look away from her as he thought. Then as he found the words he looked back at her. “All I know is everybody has to make their own decisions…right or wrong…and then they have to try to live with them.”

“So when you take a woman to bed…you let her know from the start that it’s just gonna be wham…bam…and that’s it?” She asked him as she stared into his face.

“CASSIE….Where the hell is this coming from?” He confronted her. “I think this line of questioning has gone as far as it’s gonna go.”

“You can’t answer that one can you?” She smiled at him. “Because the only type of girls that you and Starsky date are the kind that let you.” She concluded. “That’s why you’ll probably be single till your Ninety.”

“So what’s so wrong with that?” He asked now feeling that he had firm ground to stand on.

“Wait till your Seventy-five…and see how many offers you get.” She concluded.

Hutch just shock his head and looked at her…then she began to laugh out loud and so did he. Then he reached out his arms and she walked into them. Laughing as he hugged her.

“You drive me crazy…you know that?” He said as he pulled her away from him and pulled her chin up with his index finger.

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  Chapter 5
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