Disclaimer: The characters Starsky and Hutch and all that is associated with the show do
not belong to me. ( Too Bad !!!) The song This War is over is not mine
either, rats! But
it
certainly fits this story! It is from
the Melissa Etheridge album " Your Little Secret" 1995 This story is
being written purely for entertainment purposes only. Any Comments, be they good, bad, or indifferent are
welcome...just e-mail me at LoriM1018@aol.com
DEDICATION
I
wish to thank the following people for their
cards & words of encouragement regarding my first story...Heaven can
Wait.
First , as always, Maria Priest,virtual writing
friend who is correct when she says that when you write it is like someone
takes possession of you, Sue, and Paloma, who write here also, Theresa and
Cindy, and last but not at all least, Brent. You guys gave me the encouragement
that I needed to move on ahead and
write this my second story. (This War is Over). I have to tell you that
this is a work in progress, so look for more chapters to be posted.
LAM
This War is Over
by LAM
Prologue
take
off my shield
carry my sword
I won`t need it anymore
find me a sky
give me my wings
frozen and broken but free
tell them i`m alright
i`m coming home
tell them i`m alright
i am alone
this war is over
i`m coming home
1995...your little secret
melissa etheridge
Chapter 1
David Starsky is a man of passion, whatever he was doing,
his love for it or his dislike for it was not easily mistaken. But things had
changed. Simon Marcos and all his freaks saw to that. Hutch had seen Starsky on bad days.
But, These past few months, well let`s just say, it
was like he was working with another person. His usually up-beat partner had
now clearly withdrawn into himself.
Work was just that...work. Starsky`s mindset had changed. And Hutch
didn`t like it.
Today, things would change...or so he hoped. He was
going to talk to Dobey. He`s always
there early. Hutch thought to himself.
We gotta pull Starsk out of this. It
was only 5:30 am & since he and Starsky didn`t have to be in until 8, Hutch
thought if he could get in a quick shower he could be ready in no time and be
at the station an hour early. That would give him plenty of time to tell Dobey
what was going on. He would have to call Starsky though and let him know not to pick him up.
As soon as he finished his elixir, he reached for
the phone, dialing his partner’s number. He just sat back in the chair and
waited. Ring..... Ring.........Ring...........Ring.........
"Come on Starsk , not awake yet ? " he chuckled to
himself. That was one thing that Marcos
and his goons didn`t change, he didn`t think anybody could. On the other end he finally heard the
pick-up.....then he heard the phone drop.
"aaawwww ...... h-o-l-d... o-n," came the
mumbling sound of his partner. Starsky wasn`t even awake yet when he heard the
phone ring. He reached over to the phone and knocked over the clock that was
there and he thought he had it ( the phone that is ), but ...there it went...down on the floor. "Damn," he
thought. "Who the hell could be
calling me so damn early, and what the hell did they want?"
" H-e-l-l-o? "
"Goooood Mornin` Gordo!"
"H-u-t-c-h? This better be good!" was all
the half-awake man could say.
"I thought I would call you and tell you that
you don`t have to come pick me up this mornin`. I`m up and I`m gonna go in a bit early and try to get a head
start on the day. I`ll see ya at 8 Okay? "
"Hutch?" Starsky said. "D` you have
any idea what time it is?"
"Ah Yeah ...I do...5:34 to be exact."
"Yeah 5:34...AM!.....Hutch, don`t do this
aga....."
Hutch cut him off. "Hey! All I wanted to do is
to let you know that you could sleep in for a few extra minutes. I`ll see ya at
8, ok?"
"Yeah, ok. See you at 8."
Hutch went to hang up the phone when he heard
Starsky say…
"Hutch?"
"Huh?"
"Thanks!"
"Yeah, thank me later Gordo, when you`re
awake." Hutch laughed a bit and
then hung up the phone.
Chapter 2
Hutch pulled up to the station at 6:45 am. Nothing any different. Just the usual shift change stuff going on
with the uniformed guys. Cars comin` in
and going out as the mornin` guys relieved the night guys. Hutch was walking
towards the back doors.
"Morning Hutch!" was all he heard. He
knew that voice. Yep!
"Hey, good mornin` to you, Minnie.”
"Where`s that good lookin` partner of
yours?"
"Sleepin` in," was all Hutch could say.
Minnie stopped just shy of the doors and took hold
of Hutch`s right arm. "Hey, how`s he holding up?"
Hutch knew Minnie, but she and Starsky went way
back. He helped her when she first came
on the force. Never dated though...they liked the friendship thing...Starsky
used to say that Minnie was like the kid sister he never had. They were always
jokin`, just as though they were brother and sister.
"You know Minnie, I don`t know. I used to be
able to read his signals, but now..."
Minnie interrupted "I know honey, I see it
too. What does Dobey say?"
"That`s where I`m headed, Minnie. I`m hopin`
that between the two of us we can find a way to bring him back."
Minnie just looked into Hutch`s eyes. "If
there were anyone who could do it, it would be you two."
"Thanks Minnie."
"Just keep me updated, Ok? Oh, and when you
see him, tell him I miss him. Ya` know?"
Hutch knew exactly what Minnie meant by that.
"I will Minnie, I will."
With that, Hutch opened the door for Minnie. He
made a passing gesture with his right hand to which he said " After
you?"
"Thanks, Hutch."
Once inside the precinct, Hutch made his way to the
office. As he was walking down the
hallway, he passed another officer that he knew. "Hey Bernie, Dobey in
yet?"
"Yeah, Hutch. Just passed him a few minutes
ago."
"Thanks, Bernie."
"Sure thing," Bernie said as he waved his
hand in acknowledgement.
Hutch hurried along his way. Up the stairs, to the
3rd floor he went. Once on the 3dr floor,
he shot through the double doors. The squad room was the first door on the
right hand side. Once inside the squad room he went straight over to Dobey`s
office. The door was shut, so he knocked.
"Captain?" he said. He opened the door & with a big smile he
said "Cap? Gotta minute?"
"Sure. What`s eatin` ya?"
Hutch entered Dobey`s office and pulled up one of
the chairs to the desk.
Dobey looked at his young officer and noticed the
look of concern on his face. He had his suspicions on what the young man was
going want to talk about.
" Well cap, ...you...see...ah…"
"Well out with it, son! "
Hutch looked sick, and with a twisted queezy look
he glanced up at Dobey and said, "Okay, it`s Starsky."
There, he had done it now. You see, anytime there
was a problem between him and Starsky they could always talk it out. But this time, they couldn`t. Starsky had
put up walls this time; walls that were at least 10 feet high and just as
thick. Hutch knew that what he was doing was for Starsky`s own good, but still,
he had this sick feeling inside, like he was Judas or something, betraying his
best friend, or worse yet, their friendship.
He thought again for a minute "Not this time,
buddy. I can`t sit by and watch you throw your life away. I love ya` that much.
"
Chapter 3
Captain Dobey, a large black man weighing around
225lbs, was sitting behind his desk enjoying his rather big breakfast, just
looked at Hutch, waiting for the rest of it. He knew these two guys as well as
he knew his own son, and to him they had become just that.
Hutch moved forward in his chair, leaning his
forearms on his thighs. With a puzzled look
on his face he shook his head and spoke. "Ever since that lousy
Marcos incident, Cap! He just goes further
and further away from me into himself. It`s like he`s at war, Cap! But this war is being fought in his own
territory and he won`t even let his allies help. I don`t know how to pull him out of it. I kept tellin` myself
that he`d get better, you know, with time?
But it`s been 3 months now and...I don`t know, cap...I think he`s
worse."
Dobey sat back in his chair. He remembered the
horrified look on Starsky`s face that morning when they found him, how almost
at the moment Hutch touched him, he found the release that he so desperately
wanted...no...needed. Dobey thought for
a moment about the report that Starsky filed, and while he knew it was thorough
enough for division, he thought maybe there were some details that Starsky left
out just out of pure embarrassment.
Hutch said, "Cap?"
Dobey shifted his head and said, "Well, I
thought about taking him off the roster for a few days, but I am wondering,
maybe he needs something more, but something like that might add to his
mindset. I`ll have to call down to Aurora Madison’s office. If there is anyone
in the deptartment that could advise me on how to handle this, it would be
her.”
"Thanks, Cap. Any help at this point would be
great, and if she wants to talk with me, I`ll be in the squad room." With that Hutch stood up and placed the
chair back where he had taken it from. On his way out of the office he turned
around and saw Dobey reaching for the phone.
Phone in hand, Dobey said " Dobey here, get me
Aurora Madison’s office!" The anxious tone in Dobey’s voice filled Hutch
with the reassurance that Starsky would get the help he needed. But still he
wondered...
Hutch sat at his desk in the squad room, trying to
finish up reports from the day before, but he couldn`t. The best he could do
right now was to keep a close watch on the clock. It was 7: 15 am. Hopefully he
would be able to get with Dobey again soon, before Starsky got there. He wanted
to know what direction Aurora had pointed Dobey in so that he wasn`t in the
dark. Things that concerned Starsky were almost bound to be attached somewhere
to Hutch, and vise-versa. That was something that just sort of happened over
the years as their partnership developed. It is the KEY to how they worked
together.
The door to the Captain’s office flung open and
there stood Dobey. He had that look on his face.
"Hutch!" With that he made a motion with
his left hand to join him in the office.
Without question, Hutch got up from his chair and
joined Dobey in his office. "So what`s the verdict?" Hutch said as he
sat down.
Dobey came back around his desk, placed the files
he was holding down, and leaning into the desk with his hands resting on the
edge, he breathed a heavy sigh. "Miss
Madison asked me to consider asking him to take a short leave of absence with
the stipulation that he get counseling from someone. She said it looked to her as if our man is at war with his
psyche, and he`s losing."
Hutch was frozen. You know, even though Hutch heard
and understood what that meant, he hated what the reality of that meant. It
certainly confirmed his suspicions, but knowing Starsky as well as he did, it
didn`t help. He thought, "What the hell else could have happened in that
damn zoo, and why didn`t Starsky say anything about it?" Inside himself at that moment, Hutch was
waging his own war. He knew Dobey was right, but he put himself in his
partner’s place and he felt betrayed.
Dobey saw Hutch`s face and came around from his
desk. "Son," he said, “if there was any other way...."
Hutch`s emotions took over as he interrupted.
" God, Cap! Didn’t you tell her
about our concerns?" Hutch asked.
"Yeah, I did. What`s the matter with
you?"
“Okay, okay," said Hutch. He started to get
defensive. Hutch got up from his chair and
began to pace back and forth, back and forth. He couldn`t believe what he
had just heard. A short leave of absence! Counseling. Forget it! They can`t ask you to
ASK him to consider somethin` like that. Hell, I wouldn’t even ask him, he
would never go for it. They would have
to knock him out and put him in restraints."
As he paced he stopped somewhere in the middle of
the room. Lifting his right hand and
pointing his finger at the Captain, Hutch looked him straight in the eye and
said, "That is just plain ludicrous, Captain, and you know it!"
Dobey, looking a bit confused, focused right back
on the young detective and said, "Hutchinson, damnit! I don`t like it anymore than you do! D`you think I wanna do this? D`you think I
LIKE doin` this? Hell, this is Starsky we`re talkin` about, but I can`t risk
him bein` out on the streets with the chance he might have a breakdown. You
yourself admit there has been a change. I can`t do it, son."
Hutch knew Dobey was right.
"So,” Dobey resumed, " where is that
partner of yours? He`s due in here any minute now and When he gets here I want the both of you in my office! You got that?"
Hutch
looked up at Dobey, nodded, and walked out.
Chapter 4
As Hutch exited the captains office with his mind
obviously preoccupied with the conversation that had just occurred. He entered
the main part of the squad room and almost knocked Starsky right on his
butt. Still, internally, Hutch was waging
his own war, knowing Dobey was right, but still being mad at him. Cursing
Marcos and his goons. Hell, he was mad at the world, but mostly at himself.
" What the hell was I thinkin? It`s
always been me and thee." The fact
that he thought he had betrayed his best friend filled his heart. His head hung low.
" Whoa, Hutch,” Starsky said. "You okay
?"
" Dobey wants us in his office."
Starsky asked again, " `s everything okay?"
Hutch`s eyes scanned the squad room, he couldn`t
look directly at his friend. "No.
Not really Starsky, not really."
Upon hearing the brief conversation between his top
two detectives, Dobey said, "Starsky! Hutchinson! Get in here you
two." Dobey`s voice bounced off the squad room walls just like a ping-pong
ball on a hot table.
The two detectives stopped, looked at each other
& entered the office. Starsky first, followed closely by Hutch, but only
one of them knew what was coming down.
"Sit down you two, now! And close the door, Hutchinson!"
Starsky slowly walked over to the edge of Dobey`s
desk. Starsky looked confused. Hutch just stood in the back of the office
by the water station. Starsky still wasn`t sitting, but as he got closer to
Dobey’s desk he looked, first at Dobey, then back at Hutch. "Captain?" Starsky asked as he placed his hands down on
the desktop. "Anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on here?"
Dobey and Hutch`s eyes met. " Sit down, Starsky," Dobey said.
Starsky had this unsettling feeling in his stomach,
and now as he looked at the two people that he considered to be his closest
friends, in his mind he was starting to put the pieces together. "First
you call at 5:30 this mornin`, tellin` me you`re comin` in to get a head start
.Then I get here and you`re walkin` outa Dobey`s office like you been hit with
a bat......."
Hutch interrupted. "Come on Starsky, sit down,
will ya?"
As Hutch went to grab for Starsky`s arm, he felt it
being pushed away. He knew that he was going to get this kind of reaction from
Starsky, but nonetheless it still hurt.
"No way!" Starsky said angrily. "Anything
`s gonna be said, it can be said while I`m standin! Now what the hell is going on?”
David Starsky was tough; between the N.Y. streets
and the L.A. streets he had learned that no one was going to look out for him
so he had to do it himself. Survival, it`s the law of the streets. But he wasn`t
on the streets now, he was in a place where he should have felt safe and
protected, a place he thought was his home turf, a place where betrayal would
...and should...never happen. But as he stood there waiting for an answer,
something suddenly felt wrong, very wrong. A deafening silence filled the room.
Just then Starsky hit the desk with his hands,
which were now tightly clenched fists.
Looking at Hutch first then Dobey, he said, "Damnit! Either one of you
gonna talk to me?"
Hutch snapped right out of the trancelike state he
was in. "Okay ..Okay...Just sit down..."
Starsky didn`t like it, but defiantly he did.
Dobey came around the front of his desk and looking
Starsky straight in the eyes, he said, "You doin` ok?"
"Yeah, why?" he answered.
Dobey went to say something and before he could
Starsky stood up once again and interrupted. He raised his eyebrow and pointed
his finger at Hutch while walking towards him, and in a cocky tone that only he
could produce, he said, "Oh, I know what this is all about! I`ve been too
quiet and YOU think I lost my concentration! Right?"
Hutch was starting to lose his patience now. He
started to get up out of the chair and looking his partner straight in the eye
he started to speak, but before anything could come out Starsky interjected.
"No...No...No,” there was that cocky tone
again, “you can`t tell me that I`m wrong on this one, Hutch!"
"Starsky! Damnit! " Hutch said. "
While you`re wavin` your finger at me look at the facts. You don`t talk, you
don`t eat, you don`t even joke around anymore. Somethin`s got to ya."
"Oh , you want all that? I can....."
It was clear now Hutch had his opportunity. Moving
in on Starsky with his finger raised and his eyes wide open he said, "See,
there you go again, Starsky. I`m not your enemy. I`m concerned, that`s all!"
"All right you two!" Dobey said as he
stepped in between the two men. "Knock it off!" He made a gesture
like a referee with his hands signaling the two to go back to where they were.
"That`s enough."
Turning towards Starsky, he looked at him and said,
"Look Starsky, IF what Hutch told me is right, then he has a right to be
concerned. And after what I have just witnessed I have to admit, I can`t take
that chance."
"Capt..?."
Dobey continued, " Shut up and listen,
Detective! I ain`t finished yet! I`m
takin` you off the rost..."
Dobey didn`t even get to finish his sentence. "SUSPENSION!!! C`mon, Captain? I can do
my job! Don`t take that away from me."
Hutch was bracing himself for what he knew was
coming, only he was`nt really ready.
Starsky quickly turned around and grabbed Hutch`s shirt collar and brought him
hard against the wall. Hutch did nothing.
"Hey Buddy? What did ya tell him? Huh?"
Starsky said as he held Hutch against the wall. He started to shake Hutch the
same way he shook some of the criminals on the street. "C`mon Hutch,
whacha say? Starsky`s not the same?
Marcos fucked him up?
What?"
"STARSKY!!!!! " Dobey said. "Sit down! Let go of Hutch and sit down!"
Angrily, he let go of his partner, but he couldn`t
sit so he paced and paced.
"I `m suspending you! You got that?!” Dobey
said. “And there are stipulations!”
"What?" Starsky said.
"You heard me." Dobey said. "You` re
gonna talk to someone. And I`m gonna see to that."
Starsky`s movements were slowing down. He was
desperate now. He didn`t want to talk; didn`t want to remember. He was breaking
down. Taking quick glances at Hutch and Dobey while pacing, he sighed deeply.
He moved over towards Hutch. "C`mon, buddy?
" Reaching out his hand towards Hutch, he said, "Can`t you see that all I need is time? Tell him, Hutch! Just a little more time....I can do this..."
Hutch`s heart was breaking. "Damnit, Starsky,
don`t do this to me," he thought to himself. He was fighting to keep back
his tears, only this time it wasn`t so hard. Now he knew that he was
right. He absolutely couldn`t stand by
and watch his partner fade away.
While all this was going on, Dobey had been on the
phone with Aurora Madison. "Okay, Miss Madison. He`ll be there and I`ll
get his file to you right away." After another pause he said, "Thank
you too."
After hanging up the phone he walked over to
Starsky with a small peice of paper in his hand. Reaching out and handing him
the paper he said, "Okay Starsky, You got an appointment with Miss Madison
Tomorrow morning at 10am, and you better be there! Oh, and Starsky, there`s
just one more thing we need to do before you leave,” Dobey hesitated at first,
“I`ll need your badge and your gun.”
Starsky was devastated, but not enough to overcome the raging war that was inside him. He walked over to Dobey`s desk as only he could, reached for his holster and pulled out his gun. Once in his hand he began to take it apart and put it piece by piece on the desk. “Okay, Cap, since you and Hutch here seem to think this is the only way, here ....you.....go.....," and with each one of those words he dropped another piece of his gun down on the desk. Next he reached around to his side and undid his holster and threw that on the desk. Finally his badge. Opening his wallet he looked down at it. Taking it from it`s position, he held it tightly in his hand, just for a second, and then as if departing with a dear friend, he opened up his hand high above the desk and dropped it. He started to leave when Hutch got up and came towards him.
"Starsk?" he said.
The curly headed detective just looked at him.
Throwing his hands in the air with a look of disgust he said, "Ah ...what
do you know? What do you know about how this feels? Huh? I hope you were
watching....listening...buddy...because...what you did here today was take away
everything in my life that ever meant anything to me."
Hutch said, "C`mon Starsky, you don`t really
mean that."
"Oh yeah?" Even though he knew what Hutch had just said was right, he
couldn’t stop all of the negative emotions that had taken possession of his
heart and mind. He opened the door and stopped, looking back. He turned towards Hutch and said, "Take
a good look at yourself, Hutch. What do you see? How do ya feel?"
Hutch couldn`t answer.
Defiantly, Starsky said, "Can`t answer me, can ya? I didn`t think ya could!" With that, Detective Sargeant David Michael Starsky turned and walked out of the station and away from his life.
After the door was pulled shut, Hutch and Dobey
just stood there looking at each other. "Well, don`t just stand there
Hutchinson! I want you to keep an eye on him. And don`t let him do anythin`
crazy!"
Before Dobey was finished Hutch was already out the
door. He turned around though and re-entered Dobey`s office and said, "You
got it Cap!"
TBC