FULL CIRCLE...
By Judith
Chapter
One.
The
funeral had been a tremendous strain on both of their emotions and Starsky and
Hutch had stood at the graveside lost in their own thoughts. The traditional
gathering back at the cottage was proving even harder for them both. For Hutch
the day had been a long one, having stood in the church and spoken of his
former Captain. Edith had asked him the day after her husband had died and
Hutch had felt hard pressed to say no. He had tried to keep his speech short
and light but there were many people at the service who had known Dobey for
many years, including those spent in the force, so it was almost inevitable
that instances from this time were brought to the fore. He had had a hard job
keeping his emotions in check and was glad when his speech was over and he
could rejoin his partner in the seats directly behind the Dobey family.
Starsky
was hurting inside. He had tried, for the sake of Rosie, to smother his
emotions but he was finding it more and more difficult. They were mixed
emotions of guilt, regret, sadness and, strangely Starsky thought, thankfulness
and relief. Starsky desperately wanted to talk them through with someone but he
couldn’t. The only two who would understand were Hutch, who was caught up in
his own feelings of loss, and Kelly, who was too far away. He had thought about
phoning her but decided against it as being unfair, she had enough to do
looking after Kenneth and Rachael. He had finally settled for a solitary walk
around the lake to try and get his head straight but he was already on his
second lap and things were no clearer.
He
had stopped for a moment to take in the view of the mountains behind him when
he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Half turning he was surprised to see
Cal Dobey walking up towards him.
“Lovely
view isn’t it? It was my Dads favourite. He used to go to sleep at night
looking at it.”
Starsky
nodded his agreement and made as if to continue. Cal came up next to him. “Mind
if I join you for a while? I need to get away from the ‘mean wellers’.”
Starsky
looked at him frowning as he did so and Cal laughed.
“The
crowd of Aunts and Uncles back there, all the people who ‘mean well’. I’ll be
glad when they’ve all gone and we can be on our own again, just Mum, Rosie, Me
and you and Hutch. The family. At least what we feel is true, not some put on
emotion that can be switched on and off at the flick of a switch. We’re the
ones who will really miss him, not just today or tomorrow or next week, but for
always.” Cal looked directly at Starsky. “I’m glad you came Dave, somehow it
wouldn’t have been right without you here. You and Hutch were like older
brothers to Rosie and me. Dad loved you both you know.”
“Yeh,
I know, he told me that night, before he died. Hutch and I loved him too.
Sometimes we had a strange way of showing it but we did. I wish now I could go
back Cal… change things… not leaving, but going the way I did. I should have
said something to him but I was scared he would talk me out of it and that
wouldn’t have been right. For all our sakes I had to get away, but especially
for Hutch.” Starsky was still looking at the mountains as he spoke, his
emotions threatening to boil over. “Why do I get the feeling he was hanging on
for us Cal? It was almost as though he had waited for us to arrive.”
“Probably
because he did Dave.”
Starsky
had abruptly turned to face him at this, his mouth open and eyes wide.
“Don’t
look so surprised. We all knew it was only a matter of time. The doctors were
amazed he had held on so long. We almost lost him about a week ago but Mum told
him about her letter to you. She told him that he had to fight, hang on for you
both to say goodbye. He did too and we were blessed with his presence for a
little while longer. I don’t think he could have held on much longer though
Dave, his breathing was getting harder all the time and he hadn’t eaten for
days.” Cal continued to watch Starsky as they walked together. “There’s
something else though isn’t there Dave? Let me guess, guilt, regret, right! Let
me tell you Dave you have nothing to feel guilty about, nothing to regret. Dad
knew why you left and he accepted it. He knew too that you’d come back when you
were ready and he was right wasn’t he? You’re here and for now that’s all that
matters.”
Starsky
shook his head at the young man by his side. He wondered how such a young head
could be so wise and it took his thoughts back across the years to when he and
Hutch had started out together. They had been young and full of grand schemes
to make the world a better place. Sadly most of them had soon been knocked away
once they came into contact with the streets. They had quickly learnt to depend
on no one but each other. Once he had been unable to get to Hutch in time and
he had been shot in the leg. Starsky had kept apologising for not being there
until Hutch had simply said, “It doesn’t matter you here now and that’s what
matters.”
Suddenly
Starsky felt every one of his fifty plus years and he wondered where the years
had flown. Then he remembered he had much to be grateful for, a wife who loved
him and two beautiful children that he missed. He had a sudden longing to leave
and get back to them. Lengthening his stride to catch up with Cal the duo
continued their walk around the lake in companionable silence.
Chapter
Two.
It
was two days later that they were both on their way home. They had spent the
time fondly reminiscing of times long past, Rosie and Cal enjoying hearing
about the various pranks that Starsky and Hutch had pulled on their
unsuspecting father. Edith had enjoyed the memories too although she had heard
all about the pranks as they occurred, had laughed with her husband as he told
each detail. She had secretly thanked the duo for having provided some light
relief in her husband’s day.
The nights had been the most difficult for them. It had given Edith time to realise the enormous hole that would exist in her life from now on. Starsky had been of great comfort to her. Knowing from experience the pain of losing someone so close, he had sat talking with her until the early hours of the morning. It had taken its toll on him though, both physically and mentally. His body cried out for rest but his mind would not let him. The nightmares were returning and he felt unable to tell Hutch in front of the others so instead he had forced himself to remain awake. As a result he had found himself becoming more and more uncomfortable around his friends and he longed to be back with his family.
Hutch,
aware of Starskys unease, finally decided that it was time to leave. With
promises to return soon they had loaded up the car and left in the early hours
of the morning. Hutch was driving once again and Starsky was desperately trying
to keep his eyes open. He talked constantly until he had run out of things to
say and then he had turned on the radio and started to join in with all the
songs as they were played. He constantly urged Hutch to join in with him until
Hutch could finally stand it no longer and, glaring at Starsky, he made to turn
the radio off. Starskys hand stopped him at the switch and Hutch realised that
he was no longer singing. Instead he was staring at the radio, his eyes
unmoving and his face a deathly white. Hutch quickly switched his attention to
the song being played and he realised it was one he had not heard for a long,
long time.
His
memories instantly swam back to the nights following Terry’s death, of Starsky
playing the same song over and over. ‘Time in a Bottle’. It was one of his
friends’ favourite songs, which had suddenly been given a whole new
significance. He remembered crossing the room and turning off the cassette
player as his partner sat immobile on the floor. Now, all these years later,
and the song was having almost the same effect. Hutch knew he had to do
something but the grip Starsky had on his hand was so tight he could feel his
own pulse as the circulation screamed for release from it. Slowing the car he
prayed for the song to finish and with it the almost hypnotic effect it was
having on his friend. As he managed to bring the car to a stop so the record
came to an end. Letting out his breath, Hutch was suddenly startled by the
passenger door being thrown open and Starsky running from the car. Hutch
immediately gave chase but Starsky had a head start and he was having trouble
keeping up. Then, as suddenly as he had started, Hutch watched as Starsky came
to a halt and, turning to look at his former partner, he slowly collapsed in a
dead faint by the roadside.
Chapter
Three.
Starskys
eyelids slowly forced themselves apart. He could just make out a figure bending
over him, could feel the strong arms holding him gently. He struggled to bring
the figure into focus as he blinked several times. When at last he could make
out features it was to see an extremely worried Hutch looking back at him.
“Hi
buddy, welcome back. You got me a little worried there. Thought you were never
going to stop running till you were back at the ‘Metro’.” Hutch was smiling now
as he slowly lifted his friend into a sitting position. “Have to admit it’s
been a long time since I ran quite so far, or so fast for that matter. These
old bones aren’t quite up to it anymore.” Hutch realised that he was talking
for the sake of it, trying to make Starsky feel less awkward in the hope that
he could get him to talk. He remembered how trivial things would always make
his friend moan and groan but the times when he was really hurting Starsky
would close up and refuse to discuss things until he absolutely needed and was
ready to. With a jolt Hutch suddenly realised that perhaps he was no longer the
one Starsky would open up to, they had been apart for so long each had learnt
to deal with situations in a different way, or in the case of David Starsky,
with someone else.
Starsky
took in the ice blue eyes full of concern as they watched over him. How many
times had they done that in his life? His head and chest ached; his whole body
cried out for rest that his head refused to let it have. Starsky struggled to
stand and Hutch immediately offered his hand, helping and supporting him until
he could stand alone. Shrugging off the hands, which held him, Starsky walked
away from Hutch until he stood on the side of the road looking down into the
river valley. He watched transfixed as the water tumbled and rushed on its
continual journey to the ocean and he thought that it was so much like his
life, angry and out of control.
“I’m
sorry Hutch, I’m not sure….. I…I just needed to get away. From you… from
everything, you know? Starsky
was still staring at the water, his feet inches from the edge of the drop.
Hutch felt a shiver run down his spine. He suddenly realised that he was unsure
of what his friend was intending and it frightened him. He had talked down so
many ‘would be suicides’ from positions similar to this but his whole being
refused to believe that was happening now. This was Starsky for God sake, the
one who believed in ‘Murphy’s Law’, the one who took whatever fate threw at
him, caught it and turned it around somehow. He was the one who raged and
stamped his feet not Starsky. Now, suddenly, he realised that the tables had
turned and he didn’t know what to say, what to do!
“Tell
me Hutch, what did I do that was so wrong?” Starsky was speaking again.
“Everyone, everything that ever means something to me ends up destroyed. Somehow
or other, just when everything’s going great and you least expect it, something
steps in and pulls the rug out from your feet. Know what I mean Hutch?” Starsky
paused for a moment before continuing. “Bellamy, Terry, Rosie, You, Ma, Dobey,
all of you either dead or hurt in such a way that nothings the same anymore.
I’m scared Hutch. What about Kelly and the kids? If anything happened to any of
them I don’t think I’d make it through. I used to believe that you took what
life handed out and you made the best of it ya know. Even after Terry died I
kept going, learnt to accept it. Vic Bellamy, Rosie Malone, they were all
things that fate had in store for me and I just had to handle them and get on
with things, and I did it Hutch, God knows how, but I did. I pulled myself up
and started on over.”
Starskys voice dropped, almost to a whisper and Hutch had to strain to
hear what he was saying. “Then… then
Gunther came along and I couldn’t do it anymore. Everything I cared about was
over, gone. The job… you…. ripped away… and I couldn’t handle anymore… so I
ran, and in a way I’m still running Hutch. Even Kelly, God forgive me, I can’t
give her all of me Hutch. I love her so much that it hurts even now. We’ve been
married fifteen years and I couldn’t imagine life without her, but even she
can’t have all of me. No one can!” For a moment Starsky was quiet and Hutch
held his breath waiting. Then Starsky turned and looked at him for the first
time since he had started talking and Hutch could see the hurt and pain etched
in every part of his face. “There’s a line in that song, you know, it goes
something like, ‘If I had a box just for wishes’…. I’ve thought that so often
over the last twenty years Hutch….. It goes on, ‘The box would be empty except
for the memory of how they were answered by you’…. Somehow you always made
things right Hutch, so… so how come you couldn’t back then, that one last time?
When I really needed you too you couldn’t do it, and I really hated you for
that!” Starsky stopped, unable to say
anymore.
Hutch
felt like his heart would break. In the first few weeks after Starsky had
disappeared he had frantically searched for his partner, calling in every
favour they were owed, haunting hospitals, badgering friends even ringing Starsky’s
mother four or five times. His partner though had covered his tracks well and
had been protected by a Mothers love for her son and Hutch had eventually been
forced to admit defeat. He had turned his frustration to his work and for a
while the word on the street was that Hutchinson was to be avoided at all cost;
he was no longer prepared to accept any misdemeanour however tiny. Over the
weeks and months that followed his fears had turned to anger directed solely at
his partner. This in turn had turned to reluctant acceptance that he would
never know the whereabouts of Starsky or his reasons for going, although a
small part of his heart clung to the hope that one day that would find each
other again. Never though did Hutch think that his friend hated him, blamed him
in some way for what had occurred.
“If
that’s what you feel why did you come back?” Hutch forced himself to speak
though his throat was tight. “Why all of this? You said you’d wanted to make
things right between us. I thought we’d done that Starsk! Now..now you tell me
you hate me. That’s pretty strong coming from you. What do you want me to say?
I’m sorry, is that it? Okay I’m sorry. Sorry that I couldn’t see what was going
on in that crazy head of yours! Sorry that I didn’t stop Gunthers men from
trying to blow you away. Hell, I’m sorry I ever knew you. Is that it Starsky,
is that what you want me to say?” Hutch was shaking now and he was scared. He
had been given a second chance with Starsky and now it was falling to pieces,
crumbling around him, and he was powerless to stop it. He didn’t know what he
could do to put this right but he was sure as hell going to fight for it, he
only hoped that he had the strength left to win this time.
“Trouble
is Starsky, it wouldn’t be true. At least… the bit about not knowing you
wouldn’t.” Hutch’s voice was lower now and in control. “How long has it been
Stark since we first met?” Hutch stepped ever closer to his friend. “Think
about it will you! Go right back to the Academy. I can remember that day like
it was yesterday. I sat at the back of the class feeling totally out of place,
a complete geek. No one wanted to sit with the know-it-all from Duluth; hell
what was he doing here anyway? You any idea how lonely that felt Starsky? There
I was, sat in a class of forty grown men feeling like a …like a lost child!
Self defence class it was and I sat at the back praying I wouldn’t get picked
to go out front. I did though, remember, and suddenly everyone wanted to came
and have a go at pulverizing me. I remember standing there against three of the
biggest recruits in the class and I knew I wasn’t gonna make it. Then, suddenly
from nowhere, up you stepped. You stood there with that cocky grin on your face
and you said…Damn, what was it now, something about odds, I can’t remember
exactly!”
“Three
to one are lousy odds if you’re on the wrong side” Hutch looked up as Starsky
quietly filled in the missing words. “Three to two are more in your favour
since one can watch the others back!”
“Yeh,
and you did too. Those guys didn’t know what hit them. You do remember don’t
you, just as well as I do!” Hutch pressed home with the words as he closed the
gap between them to a couple of strides. “From that day on you always seemed to
be around, hovering somewhere in the background. Usually you had a couple of
others with you but occasionally you were on your own and I could ‘feel’ you,
sense you were there before I could ever see you. Somehow I never felt alone
anymore. Then, one night I couldn’t sleep so I went out for a walk and I came
across you sitting under that old willow tree, hunched over a book at two in
the morning. It took you ages to admit that you were struggling with the class
work, I remember thinking how much it had taken for you to admit you were
having problems and could do with a hand. You were so proud Starsk and yet you
weren’t above asking for help. Suddenly there was something I could do for you
and we made a deal. Do you remember what it was buddy? I do.” Hutch paused
looking deep into his partners so expressive eyes, eyes that could flash in
anger were now shining with unspent tears and providing a window to a confused,
distraught mind. Hutch held his breath and waited for Starsky to answer.
“Yeh!
I remember. You’d teach me the legal bits, I’d teach you the physical stuff and
somehow we’d muddle through together, ‘Me and Thee’.Teamwork!”
“That’s
right Starsk, ‘Me and Thee’. We did it too! Never looked back from that night
on. You used to believe in what fate threw at you didn’t you? Well fate threw
us together my friend…”
Starsky
turned, his eyes burning like raging fires that they appeared black “Yeh, and
it ripped us apart too Hutch in case you’d forgotten. One morning, one lousy
morning in the police garage. How long did it take to destroy everything, huh,
two minutes, five? I don’t know Hutch I was lying on the floor in a pool of my
own blood! This time Humpty Dumpty fell of the wall and couldn’t be put back
together again, not properly anyway. My life ended that day Hutch.” Starsky was
almost screaming now, his anger firing his emotions. “When I came round in that
hospital bed you were there as usual but I knew you were there long before
that. I could feel you, hear you begging me to come back, to fight. Well I came
back buddy and to what? I’ll tell you what, retirement, end of the line. Have
you any idea what that felt like? Don’t say yes to that...Don’t you dare say
yes ‘cos if you do I’ll hit you here and now! That wasn’t the worst part though
buddy. The worst part was realising that I had to go, leave behind everyone and
everything that mattered just so you could survive. Know what Hutch? For years
I felt guilty for going like I did. There was no other way I could have done it
but still I felt guilty. I took all the blame too didn’t I buddy? The letters I
got from Minnie didn’t say so in so many words, but it was there all the same,
written between the lines. Poor Hutch this, poor Hutch that, well what about me
for Christ sake! You know the funny thing though Hutch, the piece that takes
the biscuit? I blamed me too.” Starsky stopped as abruptly as he had started,
the need for air in his weakened lungs making him breathe in gulps. “Whispering
again Starsky looked at Hutch, “Time in a bottle Hutch, I’d give anything for
that to be true so I could change everything.” With those words Starsky stepped
forward and Hutch pulled him into his arms, holding on tight as if afraid that
Starsky would start to run again.
CHAPTER
FOUR
It
took some time before Hutch could trust himself to let Starsky go. His head was
reeling from Starskys outburst. For the first time he was beginning to realise
a little of what his friend had gone through. He knew that he had been
fortunate in having Captain Dobey and Huggy Bear to lean on and help him
through. Starsky had no one apart from a Mother who loved him dearly. He
thought back to the way he had reacted to Starsky’s return, the way he had laid
into him with harsh words and little thought of his friends’ feelings. He
wondered if, had the position been reversed, he would have had the strength of
character to return and face old familiar places and people who were so angry
with him because of their own hurt feelings. Hutch pulled back and placed both
of his hands on Starskys shoulders forcing the smaller man to look up at him.
“It
didn’t though did it Starsk? Not completely, Rip us apart I mean. When it came
right down to it ‘Me and Thee’ still won through. I’d give anything too my
friend just to be able to go back and make everything right for you. To stop
all the pain and hurt you had to suffer. But I can’t Starsk, neither of us can.
That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t if I could. I’d give the world for that day
never to have happened. But it did happen Starsk, and we both of us lived
through it. Moved on. Think about it buddy, if you hadn’t have gone home,
decided to become a teacher, you would never have met Kelly, never have had Ken
and Rachael. Can you honestly tell me that you regret that? Kelly’s a lovely
woman Starsk, I envy you her. She loves you deeply, that’s so obvious just by
the way she is around you. It stands out like a beacon. You’re so lucky
Starsky, you’ve got something I’ll never have, you’ve got a family, one that
loves you for what you are, warts and all!” Hutch let go of Starskys shoulders
and, together, they walked towards the car. “I owe you Starsky, do you realise
that? Your going gave me a need to move on, take a grip on my life. I am what I
am today because of you my friend. You are what you are because of yourself. I
think we’re both stronger for what happened that day and, despite it all, we
still have us. It took a little while for us both to realise it but we have,
and I think we always will. Too much has happened to us over the years, we’ve
shared so many bad times and good times that nothing can ever completely break
the bond that ties us Starsk. It might become a little stretched at times but
it will never break. You have to believe that buddy, I do.”
The
duo had reached the car and Hutch opened the door, gently lowering Starsky into
the seat. Walking around to get in the other side he never once took his eyes
off of his friend. Hutch started the car and was about to pull away when
Starsky laid his hand onto his shoulder. He turned to see those eyes looking
straight at him again only this time they were less hurt, less confused.
“Starsky
spoke one word, “Thanks”. Then he lowered his hand and rested his head on the
back of the seat, closing his eyes. Hutch pulled away and it wasn’t long before
Starsky was asleep. He stayed that way for the rest of the journey, only waking
when Hutch switched off the engine outside of his hotel. Without a word or a
glance in his friends’ direction Starsky climbed wearily out of the car and up
the steps into the hotel. For a moment Hutch toyed with going after him but
decided that Starsky wouldn’t want any more fuss. He started the engine again
and headed to his own home. He was exhausted, both physically and emotionally,
and all he wanted was to fall into his bed.
CHAPTER
FIVE
Hutch
woke to the sound of loud, agitated banging on his front door. Glancing at his
bedside clock he realised that he had been asleep for hours and the light
streaming in through the curtains told him it was morning. The banging on his
door was becoming more insistent, and throwing back his covers, he retrieved
his gun from its hook before partially opening it. He wasn’t sure what he
expected to see but it certainly wasn’t Kelly Starsky.
“About
time Hutchinson, now open this door before I break the thing down!” Hutch could
see the anger in her face and hear the venom in her words. As he opened the
door fully to let her in he vividly recalled her words when they had first met,
about Starsky likening her to a tiger protecting her cubs when she was angry.
Looking at her standing in front of him he thought it an apt description. He
had the distinct impression he was going to become the victim of this
particular mother tiger.
Re-holstering
his gun he walked back into the middle of the room, not entirely sure that he
was ready for whatever was about to come.
The
words, when they finally came, were spat out with such venom and ferocity that
Hutch felt hard pushed to remain on his feet in front of them. “I warned Dave
not to come back. I begged him to leave well alone; let sleeping dogs lie, but
no! He wanted, no, he needed to see you. Put things right he said. Trouble is
they can never be ‘right’ can they Hutchinson. Well I hope you’re satisfied
now, you’ve got your revenge. I only hope it makes you feel good. Sleep all
right did you? Yes of course you did but then you’d need a conscience not to
and I guess you haven’t got one have you?” Kelly’s eyes were burning with
anger, her body tense and menacing. “Well guess what? You win, hands down.
We’re leaving in a couple of hours and I hope I never see you again, or hear
your name for that matter. You’re a fool Ken Hutchinson, a sad, lonely old
fool. You had a friend who loved you and a family prepared to try, but you’ve
thrown that all away. My kids hate you for what you’ve done and as for me… I
don’t know what I feel about you other than contempt… and maybe a little pity.”
Kelly turned and made for the door. As she reached it she stopped with her hand
on the knob. Hutch, reeling from the force of her anger, waited to see what
would happen next. Turning her head slowly she looked at him, quietly she
whispered “Why Ken, Tell me why. I don’t understand.” Her anger was spent and
she slowly opened the door and left.
For
a second Hutch was unable to move as his mind ran over and over the scene that
had just been played out. On the third time through it registered what Kelly
had said about leaving in a couple of hours. He had to stop her, find out why
she was so angry; stop Starsky from disappearing from his life again, Above all
else he knew he couldn’t take that a second time.
Hutch
ran from his apartment. He was just in time to see Kelly getting into a hire
car. As she started the engine he realised that he wouldn’t make it in time and
desperation fuelled his steps. Managing somehow to reach the front of the car
he stood with his hands on the bonnet daring its occupant to drive away.
Instead, as he looked into the car he could see she was going nowhere. Her head
was lowered onto the steering wheel and Kelly Starsky was quietly crying.
Hutch, breathing heavily from his efforts, slowly moved around to the drivers’
door and opened it. Bending down and reaching inside he turned Kelly to face
him and for a moment she sat, with the tears streaming down her face, just
looking questioningly at him. Hutch put his hand around the back of her neck
and pulled her head onto his shoulder and as he did so the dam broke and he
held on as Kelly sobbed into his shoulder.
Looking
back he couldn’t recall exactly how he had managed to get her out of the
vehicle and back into his apartment but somehow he had. She sat where Hutch had
left her in order to get some clothes on, at his breakfast bar with a cup of
steaming coffee in her hands. She was still sitting there when he returned from
the bedroom and he crossed to the kitchen and poured himself a coffee. Sitting
down on the stool opposite he spoke for the first time since this all began.
“Feel
a little better know you’ve got that out of your system? That was quite some
speech back there.”
Kelly’s
hand tightened on the cup she was holding. “Don’t Hutchinson, don’t you dare be
patronising with me, not after the damage you’ve caused.” Her hands on the cup
were shaking and Hutch could see that she was having trouble keeping her anger
in check.
“I’m
sorry Kelly, I didn’t mean it to sound like I was trying to patronise you. I
just wanted to know you were okay. Look, what say we start again and you can
tell me what exactly I’ve done to make you hate me so; I’d really like to
understand, please. You said you were leaving. Why? I don’t get it Kelly, talk
to me.”
Outwardly
Hutch was trying to remain calm but inwardly his whole body was trembling in
fear of what she would say.
“You
really don’t know do you?” Kelly looked at him with amazement written all
across her face. “You have no idea what this is all about.” Hutch shook his
head. “Dave! That’s what it’s about!”
Hutch
flinched as she almost spat the words at him. He forced himself not to shout,
“What happened?”
“You
happened Ken, that’s what.” Kelly was quieter know. “I was afraid of this right
from the beginning.”
“Afraid
of what Kelly? For goodness sake how can I help if you keep beating about the
bush? Let’s have it straight and to the point. NOW!” Hutch could fell his
temper rising.
CHAPTER
SIX
“Let’s
go back seventeen years Ken. That’s when I first met Dave. Three years after he
had been shot and forced into retirement from a job he loved. The only thing he
knew how to do, and from all accounts he was good at it too.”
Hutch
nodded his head at this. “He was one of the best!”
“When
I first met Dave that would have been hard, if not impossible to believe.
Physically he was a nervous wreck. He’d jump at the least little bang, even a
slamming door. He wasn’t sleeping more than a couple of hours a night and he
was hardly eating at all. It was a wonder he had recovered as well as he had at
that point. Did you know that he was still under the doctors four years after
the shooting?” She could tell from the look on his face that he didn’t. “Four
years Ken, and even then they only discharged him because they couldn’t do any
more for him. Oh physically he had healed it’s true, but mentally he was a long
way from being well. When we first met he described the way he felt like being
in a goldfish bowl. There were people all around him, talking to him, being
with him, but he was still isolated. No one understood how he felt, no one knew
how afraid he was or how lonely. I’ll never know how he managed to pass all the
exams to become a teacher but he did and do you know what? He was, is, a damn
good one. He can reach the kids in a way I never could, he understands them
somehow, in a way most adults can’t even begin too. For a long while the only
time he really looked comfortable was in a classroom surrounded by children. I
guess that one of the reasons he’s such a terrific father.”
Kelly
paused and rising from the stool she walked across the room to stand looking
out of the window. Hutch quietly rose and followed her. He sat down on the sofa
and waited for her to continue.
“Dave
said he told you about the scene in the classroom that day. Did he tell you
that we spent the whole night working our way through the cause of it?”
Hutch
nodded, still unwilling to interrupt the flow of words coming from Kelly.
“Yeah,
I guess he did. What I bet he didn’t tell you was what that cause was did he?”
This
time Hutch shook his head, “No he didn’t. Somehow though I think you’re about
to remedy that.”
“You!”
Again the word was almost spat at him. “You were the cause Ken, only Dave
didn’t realise it at the time. All the way through the night the same thing
kept cropping up. He had let you down. All the other times he had fought back,
for you, and the pair of you had continued. This time he hadn’t. He’d given up
and run away instead. At least that’s how he saw it. When he first left he knew
that it was the only way that he could let you know it was ok to go on without
him, and for a while he believed that. He would have come back otherwise.
Trouble is the nightmares never went away and somewhere, with everything that
had occurred, the image became muddled until in the end it wasn’t Dave being
killed that night… It was you! Every time he closed his eyes Dave had to watch
you being killed Ken and there was nothing he could do to stop it happening. He
told me that he couldn’t even shout your name to warn you. In the end he was
terrified of sleeping, he couldn’t take the loss anymore” Kelly stopped
talking, the tears running silently down her cheeks as she stared out of the
window not really seeing the scene outside. At last she turned and came to sit
next to Hutch. “I talked him through it, step by step, as far as I could
anyway, there was some of it that I couldn’t help with, only you could have
done that. Trouble is though Ken you weren’t there. You were here, surrounded
by people you knew, people who cared and could help. Dave had no one, except
me! It took two years before Dave could finally let it go and face life again.
We got married that same year, later along came Kenneth and we had our first
row. You again! I’d managed to convince Dave that he had to look forward, that
his life was with me in Canada. I loved him so much Ken and I was determined
you wouldn’t destroy us. I hadn’t quite allowed for whatever it is that binds you
two together though. I almost won, until Dave’s mum stepped in on his side. I
hated her for that, for a while anyway. No one could hate Rachael for long,
there was just something special about her.” Kelly smiled a thin smile.
Hutch
too found himself smiling at this. He had fond memories of telephone
conversations between Starsky and his mother. They were usually one-sided
affairs with Starsky desperately trying to get a word in edgeways. Hutch knew
how much Starsky meant to his mother and had often envied it.
Kelly
was speaking again and Hutch shook off the memories to listen.
“When
Kenneth was born Dave was the proudest father any one ever saw. Then came the
night I found him leaning over the cot crying and it broke my heart. When I
asked him what was the matter do you know what he said? He said, ‘Hutch should
have been here, we promised each other!’ I tried to comfort him but I’ve never
felt so shut out in my life. He didn’t need me, he needed you and I had to
stand aside and watch him fight the bad memories all over again. That’s when he
told me for the first time that he wanted to see you. It took all of my
strength to talk him out of it. I was afraid of what you would do… and what it
would do to him. I’d watched Dave pick himself up off the floor and rebuild his
life and I wasn’t about to have you knock it all to pieces. I told him that if
he went I wouldn’t be there when he got back. I didn’t mean it but it was all I
could think of to stop him. He believed me and, thank God, he stayed! He never
gave up though Ken. Every chance, every slight opening there was he would bring
you up until I hated you so much. I couldn’t let Dave see that though or I’d
have lost. Then came the letter about Captain Dobey and I knew I couldn’t stop
him this time. So instead I did what I’d always done, I stood beside him and I
waited and prayed that it would be ok.” Kelly smirked a little here, “ You had
me going for a while there Ken, I’ll give you that. I really thought you had
both done the impossible, turned back the clock, found each other again. Man
how wrong can you be! Well I hope you’re happy Ken. I hope your revenge is
truly sweet. I get to pick up the pieces again, I only hope that Dave has the
strength to want to try.”
Kelly
rose abruptly and striding across the room she slammed her cup down on the
breakfast bar. Hutch winced as the cup shattered under the force and he moved
to pick up the pieces. As he closed the gap between them he could see the blood
on them and instead he took Kelly’s hand in his. Wrapping a cloth around it he
led her back to the couch and sat her down. Bending down in front of her he
looked at her sadly for a few moments. He felt tired and emotionally drained
and wanted nothing more than to lie down and try to sort out his feelings. His
mind was still reeling from everything she had said and he at last understood
the reasons for the earlier scene between himself and Starsky. What he didn’t
know was what had occurred since.
He
forced his voice to speak gently and quietly although his whole being ached
with the need to take this women and shake her for her condemnation of him.
“Kelly,
I don’t know what happened after I dropped Starsky off at your hotel but I can
assure you that he was okay when I last saw him. There was a … a…. scene, if you
like to call it that, on the way home. Starsky was exhausted, we both were, and
they played a song he used to love, a long time ago, it …set him off if you
like, but we talked it through and he fell asleep. When I left he was fine; I’d
never have gone if I’d thought for one moment that he wasn’t. You have to
believe that Kelly. I think you do, or you wouldn’t still be here. We both love
Starsky, whatever is wrong now we can both help him with it can’t we? He made
it through once before with only you, this time he has you, the kids and me.
I’m not backing off again Kelly, I lost him once and I intend to fight before I
lose him again.”
Kelly
stared deep into Hutch’s eyes and he felt as though she was staring deep into
his soul. He held his breath and waited for her to answer. Finally she took
Hutch’s hand in hers and held it tightly.
“I
hope you mean that Ken, I really do. Dave needs you right now more than he does
me. That’s a hard thing for me to admit but it’s true. I want my husband back
and I think you can give him to me. I hope you’re up to it!”
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Hutch
and Kelly traveled together back to the hotel where the Starsky family was
staying. Hutch was driving again and Kelly sat nervously beside him constantly
spinning her wedding ring round on her finger. She had told Hutch how she had
woken to find Starsky sitting in the chair watching her. She could see that he
was exhausted and had reached out to hold him expecting him to return the
embrace. Instead he had pulled away, refusing to look or speak to her. She had
begged him to sit down with her and explain what had happened, to talk with
her, but instead he had begun to take his clothes from the cupboards and
drawers and throw then onto the bed. Then he had stormed through the room;
slamming cupboard doors open and shut until he found the suitcase they shared.
He threw that onto the bed also and began to systematically fold his clothes
and place them into it.
For
a while she had simply watched in disbelief unable to move from where she sat
watching. The bedroom door had opened and Kenneth and Rachael had stood there
fearfully watching their father. They had never seen him like this before and
it frightened them both. Kenneth had wrapped his arm around his sister as if to
shield her from his fathers fury and together they had crossed to sit beside
their mother. Starsky though showed no sign of having seen or heard them as he
continued the frantic search for his clothes. Each item was carefully folded
and placed into the suitcase as they watched. Then Starsky once again began to
search the room; his eyes scanning every inch as he slowly turned a complete
circle. Kelly had caught a glimpse of those eyes as they had passed by and she
was instantly afraid of what she had seen. She had long ago thought that she
would never see her husband look this way again. It was the same haunted look
that she had seen that day in the classroom just before Starsky had collapsed
in a heap at her feet.
Starskys
eyes had come to a halt at his jacket he had hung on the chair behind him when
he had sat down. Striding across the room to it he made an almost panic
stricken search through the pockets. The jacket slipped to the floor as Starsky
found what he was looking for at last; he almost ran back to the bed and laid
the picture on the top of the suitcase. Just before he had closed the case
Kelly had managed to catch a glimpse at it. The picture that Starsky had so
desperately searched for was the one of himself and Hutch that he had taken from
his room all those years ago.
Kelly
had reached for her husbands’ hands and had forced him to look at her as she
quietly spoke to him. She had whispered gentle, calming words that only he
could hear and slowly, oh so slowly, he had begun to relax a little. His eyes
had begun to register what he had been doing, had registered the fear in the
faces of his children and his wife, had registered the shaking of his own hands
as Kelly held them and as they did so Starsky had felt so ashamed. Forcing
himself to let go of the hands that held him so lovingly he had walked slowly
to the bed and his children. He had placed one arm around each child and
quietly whispered his apologies for frightening them both, then he had kissed
each ones head before breaking down and crying into his sons shoulder. The
young Kenneth Starsky had placed both arms around his father and pulled him
close as he had seen his mother do so many times before. Rachael too had thrown
her arms around her fathers’ waist desperate to help but unsure of what was
happening. Kelly had quietly stepped in and had managed to get her husband to
lay down on the bed where she had thrown a blanket over him before leaving the
room with the children.
As
she had sat with her arms around them both her mind had gone over and over the
scene which had just unfolded before her and her anger had quickly risen
towards the one person that she felt was responsible for it. Dave had been with
his former partner for the last week, she didn’t know what had occurred during
that time, other than the death of Captain Dobey and his funeral, but somewhere
along the way something had happened between the two of them. Dave was in no
position to tell her but she was determined to get an answer from Hutch. As her
husband had slept she had made the arrangements with the airport for their
journey home. Leaving the children to collect their belongings together and
pack for them all she had made her way to Hutch’s apartment prepared for a row.
As
they pulled to a halt outside of the hotel Kelly placed a hand on Hutch’s arm.
Looking at him she whispered, “It was twenty years ago, it wasn’t me he was
leaving, it was you. He was leaving you all over again, all the pain and
anguish and guilt, he was living it over. Somehow Hutch you have to make it
okay, you have to make him see that it was the right thing to do, for both of
you. You’ve got to stop the guilt before it destroys him completely.”
Hutch
looked at the woman beside him and his heart ached for her. An hour ago she had
been like a wild cat, spitting fire in her anger and so confident in herself.
Now she sat next to him with her head down, the fight in her was all gone and
she looked so vulnerable. He silently vowed to do everything in his power to
help put right the damage he had caused some twenty years ago. He liked this
young woman a lot, and in a way he owed her a lot too. She had taken his friend
and been with him through all of the agonies he had suffered because of his
unselfish action so many years before. She had loved him unconditionally and
now all she wanted was the person her husband was back beside her. Hutch
silently prayed that he had the ability to grant that wish because he knew that
if he couldn’t he would lose Starsky forever.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Hutch
and Kelly quietly opened the door of her room and stepped inside. Kenneth and
Rachael sat side by side on the sofa. Neither spoke as the two adults came
across and stood in front of them. Kelly knelt down and took her children’s
hands in hers.
“It’s
ok you two, I’m back and I’ve brought Ken with me. It’ll be alright now just
wait…”
“How
can it be alright ma? He shouldn’t be here” Kenneth pointed angrily at Hutch as
he spoke, “He caused all of this, now he’ll make it worse. Tell him to go
please ma.”
Hutch
witnessed the boys’ anger and pain without acknowledgement. He was staring at
the closed bedroom door. Half of him wanted to rush through it and confront
Starsky, to shake him by the shoulders and force him to pull himself together,
to be his old self. The other half knew that it would take more than that to
help his friend and it held him back, unsure of what to do or what to say to
the man on the other side of the door.
Kelly
looked at Hutch and could see the hesitation there. Letting go of her children
she rose and took Hutch’s hand instead.
“You
have to try Ken. Not just for me but for you and Dave, ‘Me and Thee’ isn’t that
how it should be? I’ll never have him all Ken, part of him will always be yours
and I except that. I’ve excepted it for the last twenty years but up until know
I’ve never really understood it. Seeing the two of you together, it’s like
watching one person. Without one the other isn’t complete. GO ON Hutch! Right
now he needs you. Not me or the kids, just you!”
Kelly
gently led him across to the door and opening it she stood back to allow him to
walk in. She quietly and firmly closed the door behind him and lent back
against it. Nearly three weeks ago she had closed the door on Dave and Ken and
left them to sort out their differences together. This time she prayed that
Hutch would be able to reach through the barriers her husband had set up around
himself. If he couldn’t then she knew that she had lost him forever. Pushing
away from the door she crossed back over the room and sat next to her children.
The only thing she could do know was wait.
For
a moment Hutch simply stood looking at the sight before him. Starsky sat on the
bed; his whole body spoke of defeat. He showed no sign of acknowledging Hutch’s
presence in the room, his head was down and he stared at an imaginary spot on
the floor in front of him. Hutch walked across and sat down next to him,
feeling every one of his fifty plus years. He suddenly realised that he didn’t
know what to say or where to begin. Twenty years ago he would have held his
partner tightly and forced him to speak. They would have talked things through,
start to finish, piece by piece, until both had everything straight in their
minds. Then, and only then, would they move on, together.
As
he sat here a glimmer of light began to shine as the beginnings of an idea
began to form in Hutch’s tired brain. His thoughts flew back across the years
to the events following the shooting and Starsky regaining consciousness. He had
been so overjoyed with his partners recovery that he had gone overboard with
what Starsky had always called his ‘Mother Hen’ routine. True, to begin with,
Starsky had needed his help to do everything, but he had been so protective
Starsky had only to sneeze and he was there with a tissue. The one thing he
hadn’t done, he had failed to do for the first time ever, was to sit and talk
it through. He had feared so much for his friends life that he had shut it all
out, refusing to give it room in his memory. This, he realised know, was the
problem right from the start. If he had just given Starsky time to talk with
him, to work through the bad memories, maybe he would have been able to handle
them, would never have run away. Hutch felt his heart grow ever more heavy as
he realised that Kenneth was right. This was his fault!
CHAPTER
NINE
Hutch
knew that what he was about to do wasn’t going to be easy for either of them.
Pulling his gun from its holster he reached across and placed it into Starskys
hand, closing his partners fingers around the cold metal. Starskys head shot up
as though he had been stung and his hands parted, dropping the offending object
on to the floor. He was up and across the other side of the room before Hutch
had a chance to retrieve the weapon. Holding it firmly by the barrel Hutch rose
and walked across to stand directly in front of Starsky barring the way for any
retreat. Holding it towards the smaller man he spoke with the firmness of one
used to given orders and having them obeyed.
“Take
it Starsk. Hold it tight and look at it.
Starsky
continued to stare straight at Hutch, the hurt and the fear clearly visible in
his eyes. His hand was shaking as Hutch forced him to hold onto the gun. Hutch
returned Starskys stare, remembering as he did so the scene by the river
yesterday. This time he was determined to see it through all the way to the
end, he only hoped the cost would not be too great for either of them.
Again
Hutch spoke, quietly and firmly. “Look at it Starsk, just for a second, then
I’ll take it away, I promise.”
Hutch
held his breath as Starsky slowly lowered his eyes and glanced at the offending
weapon. Hutch could see the tremor that ran through his body and realised the
tremendous effort that had been made. A slight glimmer of hope began to rise;
Starsky was still willing to try.
“See
Starsk! It’s nothing but a piece of metal, cold, hard, deadly in the wrong
hands, but metal all the same.”
Starsky
turned the gun over and over in his hands, his hands shaking as he did so.
“When was the last time you held one Starsky?” Starskys eyes shot up, glaring
at Hutch. “Let me guess shall I? Twenty years ago! You haven’t held, let alone
used, a gun since the day you were shot have you? Hutch pressed home. “That’s
why you left isn’t it Starsk? Never mind the doctors and their reports, you
left because you felt you had let me down didn’t you?”
Starsky
twisted away from Hutch and walked slowly over to the bed. He sank down onto it
and held his head in his hands. When the words finally came they were so quiet
that Hutch would have missed them if he hadn’t been watching, waiting for his
friend to reply.
“I
did let you down Hutch, I couldn’t shoot a gun, damn it I couldn’t even hold
one. I was terrified of it. How could I back you up without a gun? I was
useless to you out there.”
Hutch
put his weapon away and moved to sit next to Starsky. “You had every right to
be scared buddy. Those goons had almost killed you. Damn it you did die at one
point, but you came back Starsk, you fought hard and you made it. I don’t know
what I would have done if you hadn’t. You meant the world to me. You were the
brother I never had, the kind of friend everyone dreams of having but few
actually do. How many times over the years have you picked me up and put me
back together Starsky? Think about it for a moment… there was Vanessa, Gillian,
the heroin, I’d never have made it through that if it hadn’t been for you my
friend. You were always there when I needed you. NEVER (Hutch almost shouted
that word) Never have you ever let me down. If anything Starsk it was the other
way around, I let you down.”
Starsky
stared incredulously at Hutch at these words, “How can you say that Hutch, I’m
the one who ran not you. I was the one who threw everything away without a backward
glance.”
“Yeah…
you ran buddy… but you ran to protect me. You were right too. I’d never have
survived on the streets with someone else. You and I, we were like two halves
of the same whole. I could tell what you were going to do just by listening to
you, or watching your movements. I always knew when to duck Starsk from the
sound of your yell. Even when I couldn’t see you I knew you were there
somewhere, I knew I could depend on you to watch my back all the time and you
never let me down.”
Hutch
paused carefully judging his words, keeping his eyes on Starsky all of the
time. He had to let him see that what he was saying was the truth and that he
meant every word.
“When you finally came round in the hospital
I was so happy I thought I would burst. I almost drove the nurses mad for a
while pestering them about you, were you in pain, did you need anything, were
you warm enough, silly things like that. I became obsessed if you like with
looking after you. I was over compensating Starsk. I’d failed to keep you safe
in the garage the way you used to keep me safe on the street and I was sure as
hell not going to fail a second time. I’d been given a second chance and I
wasn’t about to let it go. So I closed everything in Starsk, put it to the back
of my mind and hoped that it would go away. Every time you tried to talk to me
I’d change the subject or I’d find something that needed doing. It was like if
I ignored it then it hadn’t happened, you’d be fine in a few weeks and we’d be
together again, a team.”
As
he spoke Starsky realised that Hutch was no longer watching him. Instead he was
staring out of the window and it was as though he was no longer with him.
Starsky began to understand that Hutch had been as badly affected as he had but
in a different way. He sat back on to the bed and continued to listen as Hutch
went on.
“Then
you left Starsky and I felt like the world had ended. My world anyway. In a way
it had, you didn’t need me; I’d driven you away.” Hutch turned and looked at
Starsky. “I only realised, when Kelly brought me here, exactly what I’d done
Starsk. I’d shut you out. We’d always talked it through before, let the other
one work their feelings out. I wouldn’t let you do that this time; it was too
painful, too close. I’d almost lost you this time and I didn’t want to keep
going over it so I shut it out. I’m so sorry Starsky. All of this, the pain,
the nightmares, it was all my fault and I’m sorry.”
Hutch
was crying now, the tears falling slowly down his face. Starsky reached up a
hand and very gently he wiped them away with his thumb.
“Man
we really screwed up Hutch. How could we try so hard to get it right and get it
so badly wrong?” So saying Starsky pulled Hutch’s head onto his shoulder and
held it tight.
CHAPTER
TEN
Eventually
Starsky sensed that Hutch had regained control and he let him go. Slowly he
stood up and walked a little way away.
“You’re
right Hutch. I wanted…No I needed to talk it over with you. You were the only
one who knew what had happened and it was important that I could get it
straight in my head. I needed to know that there was nothing I could have done
to stop it happening, nothing I should have seen to warn me it was coming. But
you kept shutting me out Hutch until in the end I stopped asking. That’s when
the nightmares started. When the doctors said I couldn’t be a street cop
anymore it was the last straw. Somewhere, somehow everything got muddled, lack
of sleep I guess, but I couldn’t see any other way of letting you go. If we
couldn’t be a team anymore then at least you could move on, become the best
captain on the force, do it for both of us. So I left, simple as that. Trouble
was it wasn’t… simple I mean. We both suffered didn’t we? I can’t alter things
Hutch, what’s happened happened, but lets stop blaming each other shall we? It
wasn’t either of our faults. It was this world Hutch, this sad, corrupt world
and the greed of one man. Time in a Bottle Hutch! Trouble is our bottle always
ends up broken.”
“Forgive
me Starsk, for not understanding, for getting everything so damn wrong” Hutch
was drained of all emotion. He was exhausted both mentally and physically.
Looking at his friend he knew Starsky was too.
“Nothing
to forgive Blintz, like I said we both screwed up big time. Dobey knew it and
he’d have knocked our heads together if only he could. Instead he did the only
thing there was to do, look after the one left behind until the other came to
his senses. I’m sorry that it took me twenty years to do it Hutch. I’ve grown
up a lot in those years though buddy, becoming a dad tends to do that to you
bid time!”
“Talking
of kids Starsk, don’t you think you’d better go through that door and let them
know you’re okay. They were really worried about you.” Hutch smiled a sad smile
at Starsky. “Go on my friend, Kelly needs you and it doesn’t do to keep a lady
waiting, especially one who loves you as much as she does.”
Starsky
slowly turned and walked across the room. At the door he paused and turning to
Hutch he grinned. It was a grin that Hutch had seen so many times before and it
lifted his heart to see it one more time. Starsky was going to be okay; they
had survived yet again.
“Thanks
Hutch, for everything.” So saying Starsky went to join his family.
Hutch
lay back onto the bed. His head was still spinning with all that had gone on
between them but he realised that they had reached a new level of understanding
between them. Exhaustion finally overcoming him he closed his eyes and fell
asleep with the image of Starskys’ grin going through his head.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Hutch
woke to the sound of a telephone ringing. It took him a few moments to take in
his surroundings and realise where he was. The ringing stopped and he could
hear muffled voices coming from the other room. Slowly he rose from the bed and
was on his way to the door when it was quietly opened and Rachael Starsky
pocked her head around it.
“It’s
okay Dad, he’s awake at last. We can all stop tiptoeing around the place know!”
Hutch winced as these words were shouted across the hotel room. He was convinced
that they could be heard down in the lobby. Another head appeared at the door.
Kelly smiled as he made his way across toward her and she stepped back from the
door to let him through.
“Well,
well, sleeping beauty finally awakes, welcome back.” Hutch jumped as she
smacked his backside on the way past. “We were just thinking of going down for
a coffee and something to eat if you care to join us.”
“No…
no thanks I..um… I ought to be making for the station before they wonder where
I am.” Hutch was still a little disorientated and Starsky seized on the
opportunity.
“Sorry
pal, that won’t work. I already phoned them and told them you were having one
more day off. I said you were pretty exhausted from having to do all the
driving and everything and it would look bad if you fell asleep at your desk.
Young Anderson is keeping an eye on things for you and Millie’s keeping an eye
on him so there’s nothing to worry about.” Starsky was his old self again and
he was enjoying winding his friend up. Kelly punched him fondly. “Don’t take
any notice of him Ken.”
Hutch
looked at the little family in front of him and, all at once he felt like an
intruder. This shook him for a moment and he tried to cover his tracks. But he
was too slow, both Starsky and Kelly had seen the look of indecision, which had
crossed his face, and they exchanged worried glances with each other. Hutch
tried hard to back track, and appear normal, but it didn’t fool either of them.
Starsky saw the slight nod from his wife and he left her side and moved to his
children.
“Come
on you two. What say we go and find us a table in the lounge and have a cold
coke or something while your mum has a quiet word with Uncle Ken.” So saying he
steered them both out of the door.
For
a moment Kelly and Hutch just stood looking at each other, then Kelly took a
deep breath before speaking, quietly but firmly so that Hutch could be in no
doubt of what he heard.
“Ken
I want to thank you for all that you did earlier. I know what it cost you and
you will never know how grateful I really am. Now though there is something you
need to understand. You are, and always have been, a part of this family; it
couldn’t be any other way. In one way or another you’ve always been there ever
since I first met Dave, it’s been like living with a hidden presence if you
like. Now at last I can put a person to that presence and you know something
Ken? He’s a really nice guy. Something else too, he loves my husband almost as
much as I do and that makes him extra special in my book. Dave is a really sweet,
caring, loving, but vulnerable person but his judgement is good and if you mean
so much to him that he can make himself ill simply by caring for you then you
who am I to argue. If that means having to share him with you then so be it. Be
warned though Ken, this is one really crazy family you’re a part of.”
Hutch
looked at the woman standing in front of him and it was like he was seeing her
for the first time. The defensive posture that he had run into so many times
was gone and in its’ place was a lovely, caring, faithful, individual. One with
a tremendous capacity to forgive, and one who loved her family with every ounce
of her being. Suddenly he wanted so much to be a part of that family and share
in it’s future, good times and bad. He was past fifty and he had never known
what it was like to do that. Now the person standing in front of him was
offering him the chance and he knew he would grab it with both hands. Being
part of this family meant he would never lose Starsky again and that above
everything else was something he didn’t want to happen.
As
he stood looking at her the door behind them opened and Starsky, Kenneth and
Rachael stood watching. Starsky was looking at him with his head on one side, a
questioning look in his eye. Kelly moved towards him smiling and, understanding
her message, he grinned back.
“Two
things Hutch. First off, no kissing Kelly without my say so.” Starsky spoke
firmly as he pointed his finger into his friends’ chest.
Hutch
held his hands up in mock surrender and laughed as he promised, crossing his
heart as he did so.
“What’s
the second thing?” he asked
“
’S’easy,” Starsky turned to Kelly, “No more of this Ken stuff, his name is
Hutch okay.”
This
time both Kelly and Hutch laughed but they stopped when they looked at Starskys’
face.
“You’re
serious aren’t you?” Hutch was secretly pleased with this final turn of events.
Starsky
held his gaze as he firmly answered. “It was good enough all those years ago
Hutch. You were never Ken, not to me. Hutch was special. Still is.”
Hutch
swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat. Kelly too was having
trouble seeing past the tears in her eyes. Lifting her head she planted a small
kiss on Hutch’s cheek.
“Welcome
to the family Hutch” so saying she pulled him over to where Starsky stood so
that she could reach to put her arms through both of theirs. “What say we have
that coffee know?”
As
the three adults walked along the corridor a small voice reached through the
laughter and tears they were sharing.
“Hey
does that mean we get to call him Uncle Hutch know?” Rachael Starsky asked her
brother.
“Guess
so Rachael. Man this family gets weirder than ever!” So saying Kenneth Starsky
ducked as he ran past his parents to be the first into the elevator.