CHAPTER 15

Early the next morning…Starsky’s bedside alarm began to chime as he groggily reached a hand out to shut it off. He had called Dobey the night before to tell him about the appointment he had made for Cassie and he knew that he wouldn’t be expected in today. He had also made sure that Hutch would  have a few extra days off to recover from his ordeal.  He didn’t go into much
detail… but he didn’t have to. Dobey had agreed without much of an argument. So he rolled over on his side and decided to get in another 10 minutes or so of sleep before facing the day.

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Hutch awoke at his usual time… around 6:30 AM. There was no need for him to set his alarm clock…and he hadn’t used it in quite a while. Some people just seem to have the knack for waking up at the same time every morning.  Hutch was a member of that unique group. As he stretched his stiff muscles and rubbed his hand down his face he glanced over at the lock…knowing around what time it must be…but wanting to confirm his suspicion just the same. He knew that Starsky wouldn’t be awake yet so even though he felt a desperate need to call him…he fought off the urge.

He made his way into the kitchen and took down the ingredients for his early morning concoction…the same as he had done every morning for the past 5 or 6 years. His memory had been completely restored to him and he knew that Dobey would be concerned with his well being. His Captain was also an early morning riser and figured if he called now…he would probably catch him just stepping out of the shower.

He took a few steps into the living room and picked up the phone to dial the number. It rang twice before his Captain’s voice came on the line…

“Hello…” Dobey said as he waited for a response.

“Hi Capn’ it’s Hutch…” He said in a much stronger voice than the previous day. He had half expected to speak barely above a whisper.

“Hutch…I’m surprised to hear from you…”

“Well…I figured I’d better call and let you know that I’m alright.” He told him. “I know how much you worry.”

“Starsky tells me that you’re still not feeling well enough to return to work yet.” Dobey replied. “I thought you were gonna take a few days off?”

“Well…truth is Cap…” Hutch explained. “I’ll be in tomorrow…if it’s all the same to you. I have something I need to take care of today.”

“So why didn’t Starsky just tell me that?” Dobey questioned him. “He had me believing that you’d be out for the rest of the week.”

“He probably figured that I needed the rest…but I’m fine now…really.”  Hutch assured him.

“Well in that case…I’ll be expecting to see the two of you bright and early in the morning.”

“Thanks Cap…” Hutch answered. “I appreciate it.”

“Oh and Hutch…”

“Yeah...”

“Tell Starsky to call me later and let me know how it went…I assume you’ll be there?”

Hutch thought for a minute and remembered the appointment he had made for Cassie with the doctor. It must have been what he was referring to…

“Sure…I’ll remind him.” He offered. “See ya tomorrow.”

Hutch waited for him to hang up before replacing the receiver. He had almost forgotten all about it. She would have to be there at 8 o’clock…so they would probably be getting ready soon. He didn’t know if he should call or if he should wait to hear from them. They didn’t know that he had regained his memory yet and he didn’t exactly know how he was going to tell them. If
he didn’t handle it right…they would think he had been faking it all along. So in order to convince them…he would have to pretend to get it back slowly. He hated to be deceitful…but it was the only way he could think of to get himself off the hook.

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Cassie yawned and rubbed her eyes as she reached for her bedside clock. It was almost 7 and she knew that she would have to hurry if she was going to be ready in time. She crawled out of her bed and stepped into the hallway to tap lightly on his door…

“You awake?” She called out to him.

“Yeah…be right there.” He said in a groggy voice as he pulled himself up to a sitting position on the side of his bed. Then he picked up his clock to check the time. “I’m gonna call Hutch…You go ahead and get ready.”

She went back to her room to change as he dialed the phone. It only rang once when Hutch picked it up.

“Yeah…” Hutch said into it as he brought it to his ear.

“Hey Hutch…It’s Starsk. I’ll be there to pick you up in about a half-hour if you still want to go.” He told him.

“Yeah…sure…I’ll be ready.” He replied.

“You sure sound a lot better than you did yesterday.” Starsky commented as he noticed the strength of his voice.

“Yeah…it doesn’t hurt as much anymore.” He told him.

“Good…Cause I was getting tired of talkin’ to myself…” Starsky kidded him. “Be right over.”

“I’ll be here.” Hutch said and hung up quickly. He hoped he hadn’t caused him to suspect anything. He would have to be careful not to give himself away.

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They drove up to Hutch’s place and he climbed into the Torino without saying a word. Starsky turned his head and rested his right arm on the back of the seat as he backed out of the driveway and headed downtown. Cassie was unusually quiet as well…but her silence was understandable. She had a lot on her mind as she anticipated her encounter with the doctor. It had been a few months since the rape and she hated the thought of having to dredge it all up again…especially in front of a complete stranger.

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As they entered the small office on the third floor of a large building in the center of town…the receptionist greeted them with a warm smile.

“You must be Miss Bryant…” She stated as she looked at Cassie. “It’ll be a few minutes…Jackie isn’t here yet but she’s on her way. You can fill out the form while you wait for her.”

Starsky looked at her with curiosity as he spoke.

“You mean to tell me that we arrived on time…only to have to sit here and wait for her.” He asked growing a little more annoyed with his own words. “Wasn’t she expecting us?”

“Yes…of course she was…” She told him as she took on a slightly defensive tone. “She’s just running a little late.”

“Relax Starsk…” Hutch blurted out without thinking. “It’s not like you’ve never been late for work ya know.”

He realized the implication of his words the moment they were uttered and caught the look his partner gave him instantly.

“How would you know that?” He asked him as he suddenly had the same thought himself.

“I don’t know…I just figured.” Hutch told him shyly…trying to cover his comment innocently.

Starsky kept his eyes on his partner’s face for a moment wondering if he should believe him or not…but then he decided to shrug it off for now and chalk it up to just a matter of pure coincidence.

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  Chapter 16
Pebbles Page
Gallery 
 

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