Mrs. Straus approached number 8, but stepped back to her husband.  “We have been living together for many years,” she glowed, “and where you go I go.”  - Titanic:  End of a Dream by Wyn Craig Wade.  Passage taken from actual survivor testimony.

“Hey, Hutch.  Whatcha readin’?” asked Detective David Starsky. “I know this has been a dull stake-out, but am I really such bad company?”

The blonde head of Detective Ken Hutchinson didn’t look up from his book.  His long, lean frame was curled up on the front seat of the Torino and his sharp mind was somewhere else entirely.

Starsky, who was as dark as his partner was fair, didn’t like being ignored.  He especially didn’t like being ignored in his own car.  His violet-blue eyes flashed mischievously and he reached out and snatched the book from his partner’s grasp.  Hutch gave him a glare as he tried to recapture his book.  Starsky was too fast for him.

“Let’s see what’s so much more interesting than me, shall we?” asked Starsky with a lopsided grin.  “The Titanic:  End of a Dream.  Interesting book?”

“As a matter of fact Starsk, it is.” Said Hutch as he grabbed the book back from his partner.  “Did you know, for example, that if they hadn’t tried to dodge the iceberg, they wouldn’t have sunk?”

“No kidding?  Wait a minute.  If they hadn’t tried to dodge the iceberg, they would have hit it head-on, right?” then, as Hutch nodded,  “How would that have kept them from sinking?”

“If they had hit it head on, the front of the boat would have been able to withstand the impact.  Even if they did take on water, the ship would have foundered a lot longer before she sank.  They could have held out for the rescue ship that arrived the next morning.”

“That’s amazing.” Said Starsky with a shake of his head.  “It’s like when you fall.  They say you do more damage by trying to catch yourself than if you let yourself go.”

“Whatever, Starsk.  Hey, I think something’s going down over there.”  He pointed at the warehouse they were watching.

From their position across the street, they saw two men enter the warehouse.  They gave each other a look that said, ‘You ready?’.  Then they exited the Torino and made their way to the warehouse.  Before they were halfway across the street, there was a gunshot.  Both men drew their guns and doubled their pace.  Suddenly, a man came out of the warehouse.

“Police!  Freeze!” yelled Starsky as he aimed his gun.  The perp stopped for a second and then fired two shots.  Starsky felt the bullet whiz by his head.  He fired once and the man fell to the ground.

Hutch also had his gun aimed at the perp when the man fired his gun, but unlike Starsky, the perp’s bullet did more than whiz past his head.  He felt a sudden sharp, burning pain on the side of his head and the world went black.

Hutch had a splitting headache when he woke up.  He opened his blue eyes to find his partner’s extremely concerned blue eyes looking down at him.  He realized he was lying on the ground with his head in Starsky’s lap.  He made a move to sit up and was stopped by both a wave of dizziness and nausea as well as Starsky’s hand.

“Hey, Partner,” said Starsky softly.  “Welcome back to the land of the living.  How’re you feeling?”

Hutch groaned and put a hand to his head.  “Did you get the number of that truck?”

“Yeah.  Its number was .45.” said Starsky with a chuckle.  “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!  You hear me?  You got lucky.  It only grazed your temple.  Do you know what it felt like for me to see you laying on the ground with blood on your head?  Anyways, I called an ambulance.  Both guys are dead - this one and the one in the warehouse.  I checked them out as soon as I was sure you weren’t dying.”

“Drug deal gone wrong you think?” asked Hutch as he once again tried to sit up.  The dizziness wasn’t so bad this time and he pushed his partner’s hand away as he sat up.  Starsky was about to answer when a flash of lightning and crack of thunder made them both jump.

“Probably.  You sure you’re okay to sit up?  I used the first aid kit to bandage your head.  Let me at least see if you’re still bleeding.  Then, if you think you can walk, we’d better get back to the car before the rain hits.”  Just as he finished the sentence, the clouds opened up and the rain came down in sheets.

Hutch chuckled at the timing of his partner’s words.  He looked up at the sky and felt the cool rain caress his face.  He was quickly soaked to the skin, but somehow it didn’t seem to matter.  Suddenly, there was a roaring in his ears.  He looked around for the source of the sound and saw what looked like a funnel cloud forming just behind the warehouse.

“Starsky!” he shouted.  “There’s a twister coming up!  We’ve got to get to the warehouse!  Help me up!”

Starsky looked up and saw the ominous cloud snaking towards the ground.  He quickly threw Hutch’s arm over his shoulder, reached around his partner’s waist and helped him to stand up.  Hutch nearly fell over as a wave of dizziness assaulted him in the wake of the sudden move.  Starsky paused for a brief moment to allow his partner time to regain his equilibrium.  Then they began moving towards the warehouse.

They were almost to the door of the building when it happened.  Suddenly, they were being lifted off the ground.  Hutch grabbed on to Starsky’s jacket and held fast.  Being from Minnesota, he had heard stories of twisters taking livestock up and throwing them down miles away.  He knew if he let go of Starsky’s jacket, he’d never see his partner again…assuming he survived.  He closed his eyes and prayed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Hutch opened his eyes, he was in what looked like a hotel room.  It was richly furnished and the bed was soft as were the pillows.  He turned his head to look around.  Feather pillows?  When was the last time a hotel used feather pillows?  Foam was cheaper and hypoallergenic.  He sat up cautiously and was mildly surprised to find that not only was he not dizzy, but his head didn’t hurt as badly as before.  As he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, he felt the earth move under his feet.  He reached out a hand to steady himself and suddenly realized that he wasn’t dizzy. The earth really was moving under his feet.  It didn’t feel like an earthquake – it was too gentle a motion.  Then he looked over to the window and realized it wasn’t a window at all.  It was a porthole.

“I’m on a boat?  How’d I get here?  I refuse to believe that a tornado deposited me on a cruise ship.  That would be too much to hope for.”  Hutch stopped as he realized he was talking to himself.  Then he realized there didn’t seem to be anyone else to talk to.  Anyone else…STARSKY!

“Starsky?  Are you here?  Please God, let him be here somewhere.  Hey, Starsk, where are you?”

As if on cue, a door opened and Starsky walked in.  Hutch closed his eyes in relief.

“I’m right here, Blondie.  Don’t worry. How are you feeling?  Do you believe this?  How could a tornado drop us on a cruise ship?  Especially one that’s already at sea.”

“I don’t know.  I…” His voice trailed off as he caught sight of the calendar.  “Oh my God!” he said softly as he read both the date and the ship’s name on the calendar.  It was April 13, 1912 and they were on the Titanic.  Two days before she was to sink.

“What is it?” Starsky was aware of his partner’s sudden tension.  “Hutch?  You okay?”

“Hey Starsk, pinch me.  I think I’m dreaming.”  Starsky stepped forward.  “OW!  Not so hard!”

“You asked me to pinch you.  I did.  You didn’t wake up.  We’re still here.  You’re not dreaming.  Now, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Come take a look at this calendar.  If it’s real, we’re in a lot of trouble.”

Starsky looked at the calendar.  The date was torn off to April 13, 1912.  At the bottom was printed ‘Thank you for sailing on the R.M.S. Titanic.  The jewel in the crown of White Star Lines.’

“Uh…Hutch?  When did the Titanic sink?”

“April 15th.  If this is real, we’ve got less than two days to live.”

“We gotta get off this boat!  What are we gonna do?”

“I don’t know, Starsk!  I don’t know!”  Hutch ran a hand through his hair and suddenly stopped.  He looked at his arm.  The sleeve of his shirt was different than what he had on at the warehouse.  Suddenly, he looked at Starsky as if seeing him for the first time.  Starsky was dressed in black trousers with a neat crease up the front.  Suspenders came up over his shoulders.  His shirt was collarless and there was a stiff collar half attached to the neck of the shirt.  Hutch slowly made his way over to the mirror.  He saw that he was dressed almost identically to Starsky except his collar was fully attached.  There was a tie loosely fitted around his throat.  There were two waistcoats lying on a chair in the corner of the room and two dinner jackets hanging from the wardrobe door.

“Starsky, have you noticed what we’re wearing?”

“Huh?”  Starsky looked down at himself and then at Hutch.  For a minute he seemed puzzled.  Then he shrugged.  “That’s weird.  This wasn’t what I was wearin’ when I left the house this morning.  You woulda thought I’d have noticed suspenders earlier, though.”

“I know what you mean.  I didn’t even notice this collar thing.  It almost felt natural.  Speaking of which, yours is about to fall off your shirt.”

Starsky turned and looked in the mirror.  He studied the hooks on the collar for a moment before reattaching it to the shirt.  He turned around and saw Hutch point at something on the dresser – a necktie.  Starsky groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Hutch!  I hate ties!  Do I have to wear it?” he whined.  Hutch grinned at the overgrown kid he called his partner.  He walked over, picked up the tie and without a word, tied it around Starsky’s throat.  Starsky squirmed like a child being dressed for church.  “Come on Hutch!  Not so tight!  I gotta breathe here, ya know.”

“Sorry Starsk,” said Hutch as he loosened the offending cloth.  He was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door.  Starsky and Hutch looked at each other.

“We’re not supposed to be here, Hutch!  What if they find out we’re stowaways?”

“Calm down, Starsk!  We’re also not supposed to be dressed in 1912 fashion.  Let’s see what it is.”  He walked over and opened the door.  A woman entered.  Starsky and Hutch looked at her.  She was tall and stately.  Middle age had been kind to her and she was still fairly attractive.  She moved with an air of confidence that only comes with being wealthy.  Hutch couldn’t help think that he had seen her somewhere before.

“Oh, Mr. Hutchinson,” she began.  “I’m so glad to see you’re up and about.  I was so worried when you fell down those stairs!  I didn’t mean to get in your way like that.  You must know that as soon as it happened, I made sure the doctors saw you right away.  I asked the steward for your room number.  I hope you don’t mind the impertinence of my visit.  I just had to make sure you were okay.”

Hutch looked at Starsky for a minute before turning to the woman with a smile.  “That’s okay, ma’am.  No harm done.  I’m fine, Miss…”

“Brown, Mrs. J.J. Brown of Denver, Colorado.  My friends just call me Molly.”

“The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” whispered Hutch.  Suddenly, he knew where he had seen her face before.  In the photo section of his book, there was a picture of Mrs. Brown presenting a loving cup to the Captain of the Carpathia – Titanic’s rescue ship.

“Well, Mrs.…er…Molly.  It was very nice of you to check up on me.  Please, call me Ken.  Have you met my friend David Starsky?”

Starsky stepped forward and shook the proffered hand gingerly.  He was surprised at her firm handshake.  “Nice to meet you ma’am.”

“Don’t call me ma’am…makes me feel old.  Molly’s good enough for me.”

Starsky gave her one of his famous lopsided grins.  “If I can call you Molly, then you can call me Dave.”

She returned the smile, “Deal.  I was wondering, since you are feeling better Ken, would the two of you like to be my guests at dinner tonight?  I’m meeting my husband in New York, so I could really use some company here.  Besides, how often does a dame like me get to be escorted by two handsome gentlemen like you?”

Hutch chuckled at her down-to-earth phrasing.  “We’d be delighted.  Wouldn’t we Starsk?”

Starsky looked at Hutch like he had grown another head.  Then he seemed to pull himself together.  “Uh…sure.  Sounds like fun.  When is dinner?”  He smiled again.  “I’m starved!”

Molly chuckled.  “Dinner’s in an hour and a half.  I’ll leave you gentlemen for now.  I have to dress for dinner.  I’ll meet you at the entrance of the first-class dining room at six.  Okay?”

“That sounds good.  We’ll see you there.” Said Hutch as he escorted Mrs. Brown out.  When he came back into the room, he saw his partner sitting on the bed looking shell-shocked.

“What’s wrong Starsk?  You okay?” asked Hutch as he knelt at Starsky’s feet.  He put his hands on Starsky’s knees and looked up into his face.  “Come on, babe.  Talk to me.”

“We’re really on the Titanic, Hutch.  What are we going to do?  It’s gonna hit an iceberg and sink and lots of people are gonna die.  We’re gonna die!”

“Would you relax?  This can’t really be the Titanic.  Someone is playing an elaborate joke on us.  Dobey was saying we deserved a vacation.  Maybe this was his way of getting rid of us for a week.”

“Hutch, come on!” Starsky looked at him with the ‘you’ve-grown-another-head’ look again.  “Three things don’t make sense with that theory. One, Dobey has been saying for weeks that he can’t afford to let us have a vacation.  Two, Dobey would make us pay for our own cruise.  He wouldn’t pick up the tab.  Three, even if the first two didn’t apply, he wouldn’t play this kind of joke on us.  I really don’t think he’s that creative or cruel.”

Hutch scratched his head in thought.  “I guess you’re right.  Maybe we are on the Titanic.  That doesn’t mean we are going to die.  According to my book, of all the men saved, the most came from first class.  I think we’re in first class.”

Starsky shook his curly head, “NO!  Don’t you understand?  We’re not supposed to be here!  If we take places in one of the lifeboats, we’ll be taking the places of two people who are supposed to survive.  The number of survivors can’t be changed, can it?”

Hutch stood up and fell back down on the bed next to Starsky.  “I hadn’t thought about it like that.  You’re right.  We can’t take the lives of two innocent people because we don’t want to die here.”

The two men sat in silence for a long time.  Finally, Hutch looked at the clock on the mantle.  It was 5:45.  He stood up and reached for one of the waistcoats on the chair.  “Come on, Starsk.  We’ve got to meet Molly.  I thought you were hungry.”

Starsky gave a non-committal shrug.  Hutch looked at his partner.  “Look, Starsky.  If this is real and we’re going to die in two days, I for one, want to spend my last few days having fun.  If we are in fact first-class passengers, we’ve got access to some really great stuff.  There’s a gym and sauna and a full-time masseuse.  If it’s not real, and one of us is dreaming all of this, don’t we owe it to ourselves to make it a good dream?  Besides,” he said with a smile. “I’ve heard the menu on this ship was second to none.  All the truly fattening stuff you like.  Come on.  Let’s go to dinner.”

That got a small smile out of Starsky, who stood up and took the waistcoat that Hutch was holding out to him.  Then the men reached for their jackets from the wardrobe and headed out of their cabin.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The first-class dining room was the definition of elegance.  There were crystal chandeliers and murals on the ceiling.  Heavy, red velvet drapes were drawn over the windows.  As Starsky and Hutch escorted Mrs. Brown to their table, stewards were pulling the drapes back for the evening.  The carpet beneath their feet was thick and luxurious.  The tables were covered with fine linen tablecloths and set with sterling silver place settings and fine bone china with crystal wine and water glasses.  There were fresh flowers in the center of the table with a graceful candelabrum in the center of the flowers.  There were three tall candles being lit by the waiter as the two men and one woman sat down.  The chairs that they were sitting on were intricately carved wood with comfortable padding on the seat and back.

As soon as they were seated, someone came forward to fill their water glasses.  At the same time, the wine steward came over with a bottle of wine for Mrs. Brown, compliments of Captain E.J. Smith.  As he was pouring the wine, Starsky and Hutch looked at each other.  Both men equally awed by the splendor around them.  Starsky was mildly surprised that Hutch seemed amazed at the wealth.  Hutch came from a wealthy family and Starsky thought it stood to reason that Hutch would be used to this sort of thing.  Hutch was used to wealth.  He wasn’t used to WEALTH as seen on the Titanic.  This was of a higher standard than even he was used to.

They studied the menu and Starsky found he didn’t recognize most of the stuff on the menu.  Hutch smiled at this and offered to order for Starsky.  Starsky bit the bullet and let him.

As they made small talk with their hostess, the first course was put down in front of them.  Starsky looked suspiciously at the escargot on his plate.  He looked at Hutch who regarded him with a mischievously innocent expression.  “Problem, Starsk?”

“What is this?”

“Escargot.  It’s a delicacy.  Try it.  You’ll like it.”  With that, Hutch picked up the smallest fork next to his plate and began eating.  Starsky picked up his own fork (checking Hutch’s fork choice to make sure he had the right one) and tentatively took a bite.  He was pleasantly surprised and proceeded to finish the appetizer.

“By the way, Hutch,” said Starsky with his mouth full.  “What is escargot, anyways?”

Hutch couldn’t hide the devilish look in his eyes.  “Snails.”

Starsky nearly choked.  “WHAT???  I been eatin’ snails?”

“Yep.  And I’d say you’ve been enjoying them, too.”

Starsky’s face took on a greenish tinge. “That was before I knew what I was eating.  Please tell me you didn’t order anything else like that for me, okay?”

Hutch couldn’t hold back his laughter.  Molly joined him.  Starsky sat glaring between his dinner companions and his empty plate.

“Don’t worry, babe.  The rest is straight meat and potatoes stuff.  I just couldn’t resist that one.”

“Better be,” muttered Starsky as the waiter cleared the plates in preparation for the next course.

The rest of the meal proceeded smoothly and soon Starsky and Hutch escorted their ‘date’ to one of the palatial ballrooms.

The two men spent the rest of the evening dancing with every single girl they could find in the place.  Molly taught them the latest dances…the waltz, the foxtrot, even the scandalous tango.  It was past two o’clock when they finally found their way back to their cabin.

“Man, Hutch!  I never thought waltzing could be so much fun!  It didn’t feel like dancing, even.  Molly was right. If you do it right, it’s just like floating!”

Hutch grinned at his partner’s enthusiasm as he got undressed for bed.  “You’re right, Starsk.  My folks made me take ballroom lessons when I was a kid.  I never thought I’d actually use what I learned.  I’ll tell you something else.  It’s a lot more fun in a real ballroom than a classroom.”

“Yeah, it was lots of fun.  There were some cute chicks up there, weren’t there?”

“Ladies, Starsky, Ladies.  Women in this day and age weren’t called chicks.  And yes, there were some cute ones up there.”

“Man!  It’s a real shame about all of them.  Maybe we should try to warn the captain or something.  Maybe he can avoid the iceberg!”

Hutch shook his head sadly.  “No Starsky.  It has to happen.  Because of this disaster, legislation will be passed requiring adequate lifeboats for all passengers and crews of passenger ships.  Those laws will save thousands of lives.  Besides, according to my book, the Captain received all kinds of ice warnings and ignored them.  If he ignores official warnings, what makes you think he’s going to listen to a couple of passengers…especially when one of them fell down a flight of stairs and hit his head?”

“But you didn’t fall down any stairs!  You were shot!” exclaimed Starsky.

“That’s beside the point.  Either way, he won’t listen to us and the ship will still go down.  It’s written in history already.  It’s fate!  It has to happen like this.”

“I guess you’re right.  When’s it supposed to happen, anyway?”

“Tomorrow night - a little after ten.  The ship will sink in about three hours – give or take.”

“So, tomorrow is the last day of our lives, then.  Hutch?” Starsky looked at his partner and best friend.  “I think I’m scared.”

“I know you are.  I am too.” Hutch went and sat down next to Starsky and put an arm over his shoulder.  “At least we’ll go together.  Me & Thee ‘til the end, right?”

“Right.” Said Starsky quietly.  He leaned into his partner’s arm for a minute before he stood up and moved to his bedroom.  “G’night Hutch.”

“’Night Starsk.”  Hutch watched his friend until he shut the door.  Then he moved to his own bedroom in the suite.  He chuckled grimly at the irony that the one time he gets to go on a cruise – first-class, no less and the ship is going to sink.

The next morning, Hutch opened his eyes.  He was surprised to find that his surroundings hadn’t changed.  He was expecting to wake up in a hospital room with Starsky raving about him being shot.  He was still on the Titanic.  He was still going to die that night.

There was a knock on the door, “Room service!” a voice announced.

Hutch got up and went to the door.  “I didn’t order any room service.” He said to the waiter standing in the hallway.

“I know you didn’t sir.” Said the fresh-faced young man. ‘He can’t be more than 17,’ Hutch thought sadly to himself.  “Mrs. Brown sent this for you and your friend.  There’s a note here too.”

Hutch smiled to himself and let the boy in.  As the waiter busied himself setting up the dishes, Hutch went to wake Starsky.

To his surprise, his partner was already awake and sitting up with his legs over the edge of the bed.

“Who was that knockin’, Hutch?”

“Room service.  Molly sent us breakfast.”  Hutch smiled as Starsky perked up at the mention of food.

“Yeah?  Great!  I’m starvin’.”  The two men went back into the parlor of the suite where the waiter had finished setting up and was standing patiently by the door.  Hutch chuckled and picked up his trousers from the night before and fished a five-dollar bill from the pocket.  The young man’s eyes widened and he thanked Hutch profusely and all but genuflected out of the room.  Hutch chuckled as he realized five bucks went a lot further in 1912 than it did in his time.

Both men busied themselves with the food in front of them.  Starsky was profoundly relieved that it was simple bacon and eggs and not anything as fancy as the escargot of the night before.

Finally, Hutch remembered the note that came with the meal.  He picked it up off the tray and opened it.

 ‘Dear Ken and Dave,

 This is just a token of my appreciation for the wonderful time you
 showed me last night.  I was wondering if you gentlemen would care to join
             me in the card room at ten and then we could lunch together after a few hands
             of cards.

 I look forward to seeing you this morning.  If you can’t make it, send word to
 me via a steward.  Otherwise, I’ll expect you at ten.

 Yours Truly,

 Molly Brown’

“What do you think, Starsk?  Up to a few hands of cards?”

“With The Unsinkable Molly Brown?  How could I refuse?”

The two men finished their breakfast and dressed quickly.  As they made their way up to the card room, Starsky got a thoughtful look on his face.

“Hey, Hutch.  You know, we’ll have to make sure Molly gets on a lifeboat.  She has to earn her nickname, right?”

“You’re right.  Maybe we’ll have her meet us on the boat deck tonight.  That way, she’ll be in the right place at the right time.  And we can help other people into boats too.  That ought to keep our minds off…well, you know.”

“Yeah.  Hey, Hutch.  Something you said last night’s been botherin’ me.  How’s come there were more first-class passengers rescued?  Didn’t the others get places in the boats too?”

“First-class always gets first crack at everything on this tub – including places in the lifeboats.  The ones that are worst off are the ones in steerage.”

“Steerage?”

“Third-class passengers.  They were mainly immigrants and others who couldn’t afford the higher-class tickets.  Titanic was one of the most expensive passages available at the time.”

“Weren’t they allowed in the lifeboats?”

“It wasn’t that they weren’t allowed on the lifeboats, it was that they weren’t allowed on the first or second-class boat decks.  There were allegations that a lot of them were locked into the steerage section and not allowed to get to the boats at all.”

“That’s inhuman!” Starsky exclaimed vehemently. “How could one person do that to another?”

Hutch shrugged, “There aren’t enough boats for everyone.  Unfortunately, it all comes down on the side of money.”

Starsky started to say something else when Hutch put a hand on his shoulder and pointed at the door to the card room.  Starsky wisely shut up and pasted a smile on his face for Molly.

The three of them played cards with a variety of fourths.  Captain E.J. Smith even sat in on one hand of whist.  When Starsky brought up the possibility of icebergs (ignoring the glare from his partner), Captain Smith laughed it off.  He assured everyone at the table that even should the boat hit an iceberg – and that was highly unlikely – the watertight compartments at the water level would keep the boat from sinking.

As Captain Smith stood up to leave, Hutch allowed himself one parting shot, “What if the damage is done above the watertight compartments?  Where will all that water go then?”

The Captain froze for a minute, then smiled and excused himself quickly.  Molly turned to her companions.

“Okay, boys.  What was that all about?  Do you think this ship is going to hit an iceberg?  Even if she does, everyone says she’s unsinkable.”

Hutch looked at Starsky who just nodded.  “Molly,” Hutch began.  “This ship WILL hit an iceberg just after ten tonight.  The damage WILL be above the watertight compartments, which WILL fill and overflow.  The ship WILL sink within three hours.”

“But it’s unsinkable!” exclaimed Molly.

“Who decides what’s unsinkable?” asked Starsky.  “Only God works in absolutes.  To say this ship is absolutely unsinkable…who are they challenging?”

“You boys are crazy!  This ship will survive.  They wouldn’t say it was unsinkable if it wasn’t.”

“Molly,” said Hutch desperately.  “You have to promise me something.  Promise me you’ll be on the boat deck before 10:30 tonight.  Please?”

“Why should I?”

Starsky gave her his most charming look, “Please promise us this, Molly.  If it doesn’t happen the way we say it will, then we’ll buy you a cup of coffee at eleven.  Okay?”

“Make it an Irish coffee and you’ve got a deal.”

The lopsided grin made its way onto Starsky’s face.  “Irish coffee it is.  We’ll meet you up there tonight, okay?”

Molly sighed, “I still say you boys are crazy.  I’ll meet you up on the boat deck at a quarter after ten, okay?”

“Okay,” said Starsky and Hutch in unison.  Both men sighed with relief.  Molly Brown would be unsinkable after all.

The rest of the day was spent exploring the ship.  Both Starsky and Hutch allowed themselves an hour to get a massage.  They sat in the sauna for a while and worked out in the gym.  After dinner, they explored the boutiques where Starsky bought a model of the Titanic in a bottle.  Hutch rolled his eyes as Starsky grinned and put the bottle into his jacket pocket.  Then they went to find a ballroom to dance until ten.

Finally, it was 10:15.  The two men went up to the first-class boat deck.  After a few minutes of frantic searching, they finally spotted Molly standing at a railing looking out into the blackness of the night.

“Okay, boys,” she said as she saw them.  “I’m here.  I don’t see any icebergs.”

”That’s because it’s too dark out.  That’s the same problem the lookouts in the crow’s nests are having right now.”

Suddenly, a voice could be heard out of the darkness “ICEBERG! RIGHT AHEAD!”

They were aware of the ship lurching as it tried to reverse direction.  There was a loud scraping noise and a gentle shuddering of the deck below their feet.

Molly looked decidedly non-plussed.  “That was it?  I would have thought the ship would at least be torn in half.  She still seems steady enough.  How about that Irish coffee?”

“The ship will be torn in half as it sinks, Molly.” Said Hutch.  “They’ll start loading lifeboats in a little while.  They’ll try to tell people it’s just a drill or that it’s just until the Captain gets a minor emergency straightened out.  In the effort to avoid panic, they will cause a lot more people to die because they won’t tell people that the ship is sinking.”

“You mean people won’t go to the lifeboats because they won’t be allowed to believe the ship is sinking?”

Hutch nodded grimly.  “Yes.  Since the crew is telling the passengers not to worry, it’s nothing to panic over, no one will panic until the last of the lifeboats is getting ready to leave and the ship is tilted at an unnatural angle.”

“You boys brought me out to the boat deck to save my life, didn’t you?”

Starsky grinned at her, “We couldn’t let The Unsinkable Molly Brown sink now, could we?”

“The Unsinkable Molly Brown?”

Hutch smiled, “That’s what they’ll call you.  You’ll be famous.  You’ll inspire people to write songs and plays about you.  The strength that you’ll show in the lifeboats will make you a heroine to the world.”

Molly sighed resolutely, “I’ll have you boys in the lifeboat with me, won’t I?  I’m sure they’ll need men to row the boats.”

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other.  With tears in his eyes, Hutch said, “Sorry, Molly.  We don’t belong here and we’re not going to take the places of two people who do.  Just promise me you’ll get onto one of the boats, okay?”

Molly looked at them and realized that not only were they serious, they were suicidal.  She was suddenly overcome with emotion and she pulled the two of them into a bear hug.

“That is the bravest thing I’ve ever heard.” She pulled back and smacked them both on their arms.  “That’s also the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!  That’s suicide!  Of course you’ll get on a lifeboat.  There’ll be room.”

Starsky smiled sadly at her, “No, Molly, there won’t.  There aren’t enough boats for everyone on this ship.  Even if there were, they’ll screw up loading them.  More than half of the passengers that could have been saved won’t be.”

She looked at Hutch, who just nodded grimly.  With tears in her eyes, she hugged them both again, and without looking back, called, “I hate long goodbyes, so I’m just going to go.  I’ll never forget you. Good-bye!”

The two men watched her leave and then they looked at each other.  “What do you want to do now?” asked Hutch.

“Let’s go down and see how many steerage passengers we can sneak up on deck to the boats.”

Hutch grinned at his partner and they made their way off the boat deck.  As they headed down, they saw Molly waiting by one of the boats.  They waved and disappeared below deck.

‘Molly Brown watched with great interest as Number 6 was lowered; she was about to turn around to see what was happening on the other side when strong hands caught her shoulders from behind.  “You’re going too,” a voice said from the shadows, and the hefty Mrs. Brown was plopped four feet into the descending boat.’  - Titanic:  End of a Dream by Wyn Craig Wade.  Passage taken from actual survivor testimony.

Starsky and Hutch worked their way lower and lower into the bowels of the ship.  After a short while, they were aware of a thin film of water over the floor.  They kept moving until they reached the gate separating the steerage section with the rest of the boat.  Starsky looked at the padlock with disgust.  He looked at one of the men behind the gate and asked, “When did they lock you guys in?”

The man said with a strong Irish accent, “I don’t know, sir.  I just know that there’s water seeping in down here and we need to get out of here.”

Starsky reached into his pocket and pulled out a narrow nail file that he had brought for this occasion.  He stuck it into the lock and worked at it until it finally gave way.  The water was up to his ankles when the gate was finally opened.  Both Starsky and Hutch began herding people out of the section towards the boat deck.  They were at it for over an hour when they finally heard someone yell, “Women and children are gone.  Every man for himself!”

Starsky and Hutch began making their way up to the first class section again.  Instead of going to the boat deck, however, they went to one of the lounges.  There were several dozen men and a handful of women sitting around drinking and waiting for the end.  There was a priest in one corner with at least twenty people sitting in a circle around him.  From another room, they could hear the ship’s band playing the song ‘Autumn’ as the ship began to list severely.

The partners struggled to keep their balance as they made their way to a relatively un-crowded corner and sat down on the floor.

“I guess this is it, babe.” Said Hutch as he put his arm around Starsky’s shoulder.  Starsky leaned into the embrace and put his arms around his partner.  He felt Hutch’s other arm come over and complete the hug.  “I want you to know I love you.  Thank you for being my friend.  Me & Thee forever, huh?”

“Forever, Blondie.  I love you, too partner.”

There was nothing more to be said.  After a time, the ship continued its downward descent.  There were muffled explosions as the pressure from the ocean collapsed the watertight compartments.  The water began seeping into the lounge.  Starsky and Hutch shivered in each other’s arms; the freezing water numbing them as they sat.  Gradually, they felt the need to sleep as the cold took over.  Starsky tried to fight at first until Hutch pulled him tighter into his embrace.

“Relax, babe.  Just go to sleep, Starsky.  I’m right here.  Just sleep.”

He felt Starsky go limp in his arms and allowed himself to be pulled into the darkness.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Hutch?  Are you awake?”  Hutch was aware of his partner’s voice.  He slowly opened his eyes.  Everything was either white or a drab green.  Hospital colors.

“Starsk?  What happened?  Where am I?  Did the ship sink?”

Starsky chuckled, “Ship?  You still on about that book?  Yeah, the Titanic sank several decades ago.  Why do you ask?  As for where you are and what happened, you’re in the hospital after being grazed by a bullet.  How’re you feeling?”

Hutch groaned and put a hand to his head.  “Did you get the number of that truck?”

“Yeah.  Its number was .45.” said Starsky with a chuckle.  “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!  You hear me?  You got lucky.  It only grazed your temple.  Do you know what it felt like for me to see you laying on the ground with blood on your head?”

Hutch was overcome with a sense of déjà vu and he looked at his partner quizzically.  “You know Starsk, I had the weirdest dream while I was out.  You just won’t believe it!”

“Yeah?  You gonna tell me about it?”

Hutch opened his mouth to speak when a nurse came in and announced the end of visiting hours.  Starsky opened his mouth to protest and was threatened with bodily harm if he wasn’t out of the hospital in five minutes or less.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow partner.  You can tell me about your dream then.”  He reached a hand into his jacket pocket for his car keys.  “What the…?”  He pulled his hand out.  What he had in his hand made Hutch blanch.

He was holding a model of the Titanic in a bottle.

End.

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