Their fights were never easy on either of them, and this fight was proving to be no exception. However, what neither of them knew was that this fight would lead to a chain of circumstances that neither of them could have ever predicted.
     “All I said was ‘I don’t trust her’.” Starsky said defensively.
     “You never ‘trust’ any of the women I date.” Hutch shot back. “But, most times you are civil about it and not act like such an asshole.”
Starsky slammed on the brakes hard, brining the white-stripped bright red Torino to a screeching halt in front of the Metropolitan police department. Hutch felt his seatbelt tighten, and he braced a hand against the dashboard, the sudden stopping startling him.
     “Damn it, Starsky.” Hutch growled.
Starsky glanced over at his blonde partner, with almost a smirk that he’d startled him so efficiently – it wasn’t like he was going that fast, and Hutch did have his seat belt on so Starsky knew the sudden stop wouldn’t actually hurt Hutch – just rattle his cage.     “Now what’s your problem?”
     “What the fuck do you think my problem is?” Hutch questioned, loudly, his voice edged with deep anger, he didn’t care that the car windows were down and that passerbys were staring at them, he was too angry to care.
     “Well, babe, that’s a rather long list to sit here and discuss.” Starsky said, with a smile curling on his lips, as though it was a mere joke.
     “Any problem I have dims in comparison to this problem, and that problem is you. Maybe I should just ask Dobey for a new partner that’d solve all my problems.” Hutch said, his voice quiet and cold.
Starsky smile quickly faded and a flicker of fear passed behind his dark blue eyes. “You don’t really mean that – do you?”
Hutch turned to face his partner, he had full intentions of saying yes to antagonize Starsky even further, even though he didn’t really mean it – but the look of genuine fear of the prospect he saw in the dark eyes stopped. “No, I don’t.”
Starsky smiled, his voice spoke with more confidence then he had obviously felt. “I know you wouldn’t really do that.”
     “Doesn’t mean that I ain’t still angry as hell at you for the way you treated Diane.”
Starsky frowned. “Don’t want to talk about her.” He muttered and climbed out of the car.
     “I ain’t the one who started all this, you did.” Hutch mumbled under his breath, before following his partner into the building.
     “About time you two got here.” Dobey yelled the second he saw the two detectives walk in.
     “Not my fault that Starsky can’t drive …” Hutch said and cast a glare at his partner. “Or stop for that matter.”
     “You do have your own car Hutchinson, you could have driven here yourself.” Dobey said, even though he rarely saw them arrive at work separately.
     “If he drove that junk heap to work he’d be even later getting here.” Starsky said.
     “It’s better then that red tomato.” Hutch said angrily. “And at least I don’t have an infatuation with my car.”
Before Starsky could respond to Hutch’s statement Dobey interrupted the argument. “That’s enough you two.” He was use to seeing the Starsky and Hutch badgering one another, but normally it was good-natured, this time he sensed a far harsher undertone. Both detectives glared at each other, then turned to face Dobey once again. “Now get to work before I dock your pay.”
    Starsky and Hutch walked over to their desk, which was stacked with a number of casefiles, Starsky sat down flipping through one as though it was any other day and they hadn’t been fighting  - however this was one time that Hutch wasn’t about to let the issue be dropped.
    “This is all your fault.” Hutch said, leaning on the desk, anger shone brightly in his pale blue eyes as he stared at his partner.
    “How do ya figure that?” Starsky asked not even looking up from the file he was reading.
    “If you hadn’t spent so damn long this morning telling me how much you hate Diane.” Hutch accused.
    “I never said hate, all I said was I don’t trust her.” Starsky set the file down and looked at Hutch, his expression was surprisingly calm, thinking to himself ‘Hate is  far too tame a word to express my opinion of that bitch.’
Both of them were aware that most people in the precinct were watching them, but neither cared - they were use to their eccentric ways causing them to often be the focus of everyone’s attention. Most people were shocked though to see Hutch being the aggressor in one of their fights as normally it was Starsky who had the worse temper and Hutch was calm and reserved – this time the roles were obviously reversed.
Hutch seemed to be able to tell exactly what Starsky was thinking. “No I suppose you think hate isn’t a strong enough word. How about detest or loathe or just plain despise her, is that more like it? Are those words ‘strong’ enough?” he was practically yelling and the rage in his voice was clear to everyone.
     “Just calm down, Hutch.” Starsky said, for some reason he was suddenly aware of all the attention they were getting.
     “Don’t tell me what to do.” Hutch growled.
     “How about I tell you what to do?” Dobey commented coming up behind Hutch. “Both of you get back to work and stop acting like you are the stars of some trashy soap opera so the rest of us can get our work done.”
Starsky picked up the file and started to read it over, though he found that he wasn’t really focusing on a single thing it said, but instead thinking of the fight he and Hutch were having. As much as he hated fighting with Hutch he felt very strongly about his distrust of Hutch’s girlfriend Diane Bensin. He wished that his partner would at least listen to him without getting hot under the collar, especially considering how long they had known each other, how long they had been friends. He found himself thinking back to the day they had first met each other at the academy.
~ ~ ~ ~
     When Starsky first arrived at the room he would be sharing with another cadet at the police academy. His roommate had still not arrived, so that meant that he had his choice between the two beds.  Choosing the bed furthest from the door, he dropped his bag to the floor at the foot of the bed and stretched out on the firm mattress. He wondered when his roommate would arrive – hoping it was someone he could, at least, get along with, knowing that they’d have to be roommates for quite some time.   He was almost too busy wondering about his roommate and thinking about how tomorrow was the official start to the training that he almost didn’t hear the door open. Starsky looked towards the opened door to see who was obviously going to be his roommate standing there. A tall, lanky blond stood in the doorway, and Starsky thought the other cadet looked extremely out of place. He was dressed in a casual, pale brown suit with a cream shirt and brown tie that matched the suit – he looked more like he was going to an ivy league college rather then the police academy. Hutch shut the door and made his way over to the bed, feeling apprehensive about being in the room with his roommate, who looked more like a criminal than a cadet. The tight blue jeans were old and quite worn out, the fabric over the knees worn so thin there was almost holes, and the blue sweatshirt looked just as old and appeared to be stained with grease. Hutch thought perhaps this was one of those cases where a petty criminal was given the choice between the academy or prison – and this one chose the academy.
     “You sure you’re in the right place, buddy?” Starsky asked, sitting up on the bed and looking over at his roommate. He figured there was no better time than the present to see what the other cadet was like, not wanting to simply guess by the appearance. He hoped their personalities wouldn’t be as mismatched as their appearances.
     “Excuse me?” Hutch said, turning to face the other cadet. If anything he felt like he should be the one to ask that.
     “You look more like ya should be going to some expensive college or something.” Starsky explained.
     “Oh, you’re one to be judging a person by appearance, considering you look more like a criminal who should be locked up.” Hutch said defensively.
Starsky just grinned, taking no offense to Hutch’s comment. He stood up and stepped over in front of the slightly taller cadet, and extended a hand. “David Starsky.”
Hutch paused for a moment, then took the offered hand in a handshake. “Ken Hutchinson.”
     “Well, Hutch, I guess you and me’s gonna be roommates.”
Hutch smiled slightly. Nobody had ever shortened his name down like that before, they had always called him by his first name. Whenever his last name was used it was never shortened – a 'status symbol’ was once the way his parents had put it. Though it was something he felt he could get very use to. “I guess we will, Starsk,” he said, intentionally shortening the other cadet’s name in return.
The two cadets grinned at each other. What had seemed to have started off a little rocky, not knowing if they’d even be able to stand being roommates, all faded away with that simple handshake as though in that moment of contact they both knew that they’d become very close friends.
~ ~ ~ ~
     Starsky set the file down on the desk and looked at his partner. “Hutch?”
     “Yeah, what?” Hutch questioned shortly, not even looking up from the file he was reading, it was obvious from the tone of his voice that he was irritated with Starsky interrupting his reading.
       Starsky sighed slightly, as he tried to think of exactly what to say, he wanted to find the right words to make things right – though not to go back on his opinion of Diane.
Hutch slammed the file down hard on his desk. “What the hell do you want, Detective Starsky?”
Starsky flinched slightly at Hutch’s harsh tone, and the way Hutch had addressed him in such a formal manner, but he tried not to let it show. “Nothing.” Starsky mumbled in reply.
     “Then just sit there and keep your damn mouth shut and maybe we can get some work done.”
     “Hutch –“ Starsky started to say, but his angry partner cut his sentence short.
     “If what you are about to say has nothing to do with work, don’t bother saying it because I don’t give a fuck about anything you have to say.” Hutch said, his voice was quiet and angry, and Hutch’s blue eyes glared at Starsky with a cold anger.
     “Sorry.” Starsky mumbled.
     “You should be.” Hutch said flatly.
Starsky just stood up and walked off, deciding to go find something to eat from the vending machine.
     He walked slowly wanting to take as long as possible to give Hutch a few minutes to simmer down – or at least hopefully simmer down. They had been best friends for years and they had a number of fights over the years but most of those never lasted for very long and Starsky had never seen Hutch so angry with him. He cursed the fact that Hutch had ever met Diane because ever since he had been dating her their friendship had been on rocky ground. Starsky dug through his pockets, barely finding enough change to get a candy bar. He almost wished that the machine would ‘eat' his money so he would have an excuse to hit it – but it didn’t and he refrained from showing such an outburst of anger. Two other detectives were walking along by the vending machines, not noticing Starsky, as they stopped to talk.
     “You hear those two fighting?”
     “Yeah, never seen them fight like that before. Never seen Hutchinson so angry at his partner before.”
     “Probably just been partners too long and have come to hate each other, or something. Though it seems Hutchinson is doing most of the hating.”
     “Wonder how long before they request a partner change.”
Just then the two detectives noticed Starsky standing by the vending machine, watching them and obviously overhearing their conversation. The two looked extremely embarrassed, and looked as though they were attempting to think of some sort of apology to utter, but before they could Starsky headed back for his desk.
     Starsky sat down, tossing the candy bar on his desk. He didn’t feel like eating it right now - after all it had just been an excuse to leave the desk for a few minutes. He looked across at the man who had been his partner for years and his best friend for even longer. Even with nothing being said he could feel an aura of anger surrounding the blond man.
     “What if they are right about Hutch hating me …what do I do then? Damn that bitch. She’s stealing my best friend away from me …why can’t Hutch see that she isn’t worthy of his trust, something just ain’t right with her. How could he let her come between us?” Starsky thought to himself, both angry and hurt – but mostly the latter.
For nearly an hour Starsky sat there silently, not paying any attention to the work he should have been doing.
Hutch finished reading a file, set it down and stared at Starsky. “You could at least pretend to be doing your job.”
     “Hutch, we need to talk.” Starsky said, he was actually surprised to hear how calm his voice sounded, considering he felt anything but calm about what it was he knew he and Hutch needed to discuss.
     “I told you before that unless it has to do with work that I don’t want to talk.”
     “It does have to do with work.”
Hutch raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Starsky nodded. “Because of all that’s goin’ on with Diane –“
Hutch cut Starsky off, anger shining brightly in his blue eyes. “Don’t even start with that.”
     “Why not? It’s the truth. All of that is keeping us from getting work done.”
     “I am working, you are the one that’s not working.” Hutch said in a matter-of-fact tone.
     “Yeah, real productive work you’re getting done there today, partner.” Starsky said sarcastically.
     “It’s a hell of a lot more then you’re doing. At least I am not the one picking fights.”
     “I am not trying to start a fight with you, Hutch! I don’t want to be fighting with you.”
     “Then just shut up about Diane! I am sick about hearing you talk about how much you hate her!”
     “I don’t trust her. She ain’t right for you.” Starsky said, and flinched at the icy cold glare his partner gave him. He had never seen Hutch so angry – at least not that angry at him.
     “I don’t need you deciding who is and who isn’t right for me. I don’t give a fuck about what your opinion of her is! So keep your goddamn mouth shut!” Hutch yelled standing up so quickly it knocked his chair over to the floor. Hutch stepped over to stand next to Starsky’s desk. He placed both hands on the desk and leaned in to stare at his partner. “If you want me to make a choice, fine: I choose her.”
Hutch’s words felt like a sharp blow to the stomach, and Starsky had to take a deep breath in order to catch his breath. “You don’t really mean that.”
     “The hell I don’t.” Hutch said flatly, even though he truly didn’t. A part of him wanted to upset Starsky and knew that was the simplest way to go about doing so.
Starsky stood up slowly, his slightly taller partner straightened, and the two of them stood beside the desk facing each other. To everyone watching the scene, it resembled a Mexican standoff.
     “That bitch really has you messed up in the head, Hutchinson.” Starsky said his self-restraint slipping. He was too angry and too hurt to act calm any longer.
Hutch’s eyes darkened in rage, and before Starsky was even aware of what was happening, Hutch’s fist connected solidly with the side of Starsky’s jaw.  Starsky stumbled backwards, tripping over his chair and falling to the floor, his dark blue eyes reflecting his shock as if his mind couldn’t even comprehend that it had been Hutch who'd struck him. Murmurs of shock and surprise floated through the air of the quiet room, as if nobody else could believe it either. Hutch’s next statement was even more unbelievable.
     “If you ‘ever’ bad mouth Diane again, you’ll be sorry. I will hit you with more than just my fist.” Hutch threatened Starsky, too angry to be thinking of what exactly he was saying. Even though it was an empty threat everyone thought it sounded extremely serious.
Starsky just blinked at Hutch as though try to comprehend the situation, he wondered how things had got so far gone with Hutch when all he had been trying to do was make things right.
     “STARSKY! HUTCHINSON! MY OFFICE NOW!” Dobey roared, he had had enough of the two detectives' antics for one day.
     The two detectives entered the captain’s office without voicing any protest. Starsky sat slumped down, in one of the chairs facing Captain Dobey, rubbing his aching jaw and staring vacantly at the floor. Hutch stood leaning against the door across from Starsky, his light blue eyes still flashing with anger.
     “What the hell is it with you two lately?” Dobey asked, as he looked back and forth between the two detectives. Neither Starsky nor Hutch gave any indication that they were going to reply. “What was with the outburst ‘this’ time?”
     “Just having a ‘friendly’ conversation with my partner.” Starsky replied sarcastically. “Ain’t that right, ‘buddy’?”
     “Oh, yeah real fucking friendly. Some people just aren’t smart enough to know when to keep their damn mouths shut.”
     “I have had enough of the two of you doing nothing more than fighting all day. I am seriously considering assigning you both new partners.”
Starsky’s head snapped up and he looked at Dobey. “Cap’n you can’t do that.”
     “The hell I can’t.” Dobey said, growing increasingly impatient with the detectives.
     “No, you can’t.” Starsky argued insistently.
Dobey looked at Starsky for a moment, then turned to look at Hutch to see the blond partner’s opinion on the subject. Hutch neither agreed nor disagreed. “Doesn’t seem your partner shares the same sentiment.”
Starsky looked at Hutch, his feeling of the strong friendship they had for years, overriding any anger he felt at the moment. The thought of being forced to work with a new partner on a permanent basis scared him. “Hutch –“ Starsky started to say in attempts to persuade Hutch to see things his way.
     “I don’t care either way.” Hutch said.
     “Maybe I should assign you both new partners just until you both start acting more like cops and not a couple of bickering teenagers.”
     “No.” Starsky said, his voice was firm and his tone made it clear that he was not going to leave any room for argument.
     “You haven’t been leaving me with much other choice lately, considering that you’ve been too busy fighting to get any real work done.”
     “We've got lot’s of work done. ‘Sides we're getting close to getting a break in that drug smuggling operation.”
     “Will you both actually stop fighting long enough to get the work done?”
     “Yes, Cap’n.”
Dobey looked at Hutch, waiting for his answer.
After a few moments, that felt more like a few minutes to Starsky, Hutch finally answered. “Yes, sir.”
     “Fine. Then get on outta here and back to work.”
     Nearly an hour passed in silence as the two detectives continued to read over the files, looking for a break in one of their most recent cases.
     “Thanks for not going along with Dobey’s idea of a new partner.” Starsky said quietly.
     “Just because I am still willing to work with you doesn’t mean I am willing to forget everything else.”
     “I know that.”
     “And just because I am working with you doesn’t mean that I have like you, either.” Hutch said nastily.
Starsky flinched inwardly wondering if there was going to be a way to piece their friendship back together after this. He still thought of Hutch as his best friend and loved his blond partner like a brother, and he would do anything to keep the friendship alive –however it was starting to seem obvious that Hutch didn’t even want to try.
     The rest of the day seemed to drag past, each passing minute felt more like an hour. By the time the day was over all Starsky wanted to was to go home and sleep, and try to forget about everything that had happened today. And all Hutch wanted was to go and see Diane. They were just about to walk away from the desk when the phone rang. Hutch grabbed the phone after three rings, and Starsky sat on the edge of the desk listening to Hutch’s end of the conversation – which was typical of the two detectives.
     “Hutchinson.” – “Yeah.” – “Okay.” – “Thanks.” Was the extent of the brief conversation.
     “What was that all about?” Starsky asked as Hutch hung up the phone.
     “Someone with information on the drug smuggling operation.”
     “And what was the information.”
     “Didn’t say. Wanted us to meet him down at pier twelve in one hour.”
     “So what are we waiting for?” Starsky said.
Hutch didn’t say anything he just headed for the door, being followed by Starsky. Both hoping that this was a legitimate tip they would receive so they could break up the operation – Starsky especially since he knew that doing so would prove to Dobey that he and Hutch still worked great together despite the fact that they were fighting.
     The drive to the pier was made in complete silence. Unlike other times they hadn’t been talking, the silence was uncomfortable.  Hutch sat staring out the window, not noticing the occasional glances from his partner, or at least pretending that he didn’t notice. It was a moonless night and the darkness only seemed to add to the tension, there were very few lampposts along the docks and the headlights of the Torino did little to cut through the darkness. Starsky pulled to a stop, under one of the few lights, a few feet from pier twelve. The tone in the car became serious as the two detectives became focused on their job.
     “See anyone?” Starsky asked.
     “Over there, by the building.” Hutch said, pointing into the shadows where the outline of a figure could be seen.
     “Well, let’s go see what he’s got for us.” Starsky said, climbing out of the car. He paused in front of the car to wait for his partner.
     As they approached the building the man disappeared inside. Starsky glanced at Hutch, Hutch returned the look and it was obvious they were both thinking the same thing – either their informant had suddenly changed his mind about telling them what he knew or they were being set up.
     “Think we should follow him?” Starsky asked, and Hutch nodded in response. “Let’s get this over this, shall we?”
     They stood to either side of the door, their guns drawn and to their sides. Starsky carefully opened the door, pushing it open, then carefully moving inside, Hutch followed close behind his partner. The building was dimly lit and they couldn't see where the informant had vanished to. They moved further into the old warehouse. The sound of gunfire suddenly erupted around them and Starsky and Hutch dove for cover behind a stack of crates.
     “Guess we were setup.” Starsky said, stating the obvious.
     “Looks that way.” Hutch said, carefully glancing out from behind their hiding spot to see if he could spot the gunmen. Hutch moved back leaning against the crates.
     “How many?”
     “Two that I could see. One over near the stairs and one about hundred yards in front us.”
     “You take care of the guy by the stairs and I’ll take of the other fellow.”
Hutch nodded and the two detectives set about to apprehend the gunmen, working with their normal precision method with a complete trust that their partner was watching their back.
     As Hutch approached the gunman, the unknown figure bolted up the stairs to get away from the pursuing detectives. Hutch was quick to follow, taking the stairs two at a time.
     “FREEZE! POLICE!” Hutch yelled at the suspect, as he reached the top of the stairs, and watched as the other as the man stopped and turned to face him. “Drop your weapon.” Once again the order was obeyed, and Hutch cautiously approached the other man.
Hutch was a couple feet from the suspect, when the other man lunged at him, almost knocking him flat on his back. The suspect grabbed Hutch’s right wrist tightly, slamming his hand against the top of the railing.
     “Your turn to drop your weapon, pig.”
Hutch tried to hold on his gun, but after several more strikes against the cold metal railing his hand was starting to ache and his grip on the gun loosened, he panicked slightly as he felt his magnum slip from his fingers and fall to the floor below. A second man emerged from the shadows and grabbed Hutch from behind. Hutch went to call out to his partner, however before he could even utter Starsky’s name a large hand was clamped firmly over his mouth. Hutch was roughly thrust forward so that he was pinned against the railing, the strong body that pinned him from behind made any movement impossible.
     “Nothing you can do now but watch, Hutchinson.” A cruel whisper breathed the taunt in his ear.
     Starsky didn’t like the silence. He'd heard the brief sounds of a scuffle, but now there was silence. "If Hutch couldn’t have handled the guy he’d have called me." He assured himself, but still another thought crept into his mind. "What if he couldn’t? What if he was hurt?" Starsky tried to ignore these thoughts, after all there hadn’t been a gunshot – though as he thought about that he realized that those first shots had been the only shots – something definitely wasn’t right.
     “HUTCH?” Starsky called out to his partner, glancing up at the walkway where he thought Hutch had gone, seeing nothing. An icy grip of panic tightened in his stomach. "Talk to me buddy, I know you’re still mad, but please this has nothing to do with liking me or not."  Starsky stopped walking, standing beneath one of the few lights in the building, the pale light illuminating his body. “HUTCH!?”
A figured emerged from the shadow Though Starsky couldn’t see the other man’s face, he realized they had been set up good and that whoever had set them up may have already gotten to Hutch – it was the latter realization that got to him the most.
     “Who are you?” Starsky asked.
     “Your executioner.” He raised his black, leather gloved hand into the light, showing the gun to Starsky. “Recognize this gun?” He didn’t wait for a reply before answering his own question. “You should - it belongs to your partner.”
     “What’d you do to Hutch, you bastard.”
     “I didn’t do anything. He is perfectly safe. Which is more then I can say for you.”
Hutch could see Starsky clearly but couldn’t hear what was being said, praying that Starsky would be able to take the upper hand in the situation – unlike himself.
     “Just what is your game?” Starsky asked.
     “For you to die.”
     “Don’t like the sounds of that one. What’da ya say we play a different game?” Starsky said, aiming his gun at the other man.
Before Starsky could fire the gun, the other man pulled the trigger. The bullet caught Starsky in left forearm, causing Starsky to scream in pain and drop his gun. Hutch watched horrified, desperately wanting to break free to help Starsky, knowing there was nothing he could do – nothing but watch. Starsky clutched his arm in pain, though even through his own pain he was deeply concerned about Hutch’s safety.
     “You are going to die detective and you have your partner to thank for that.”
Starsky looked at his attacker with a look of sheer disbelief. Speaking through clenched teeth, “How the fuck do you figure that?”
     “I suppose you wouldn’t believe me if I told you all this was his idea.”
     “Now that’s the first intelligent thing I’ve heard you say.”
     “But it is what everyone else is going to think.”
     “Why in the hell would they think that?” Starsky asked.
     “Because the bullets they dig out of you will be from his gun, and everybody knows you two have been at each other’s throats – or should I say that he’s been at your throat.” He laughed evilly. “Hutchinson will take the fall for your death.”
Before Starsky even had a chance to react to the words, the gun was fired again. The bullet struck his stomach. The force of the bullet striking his body caused him to stumble back a couple paces, and his body began to slump to the floor. A second bullet was fired striking him in the chest. Starsky slumped to the floor feeling his life slowly slipping away, praying that it wasn’t true that Hutch would get blamed. Hutch stared down at Starsky’s wounded body, his eyes wide in horror. The hand that had been clamped so firmly over his mouth was finally removed.
     “STARSKY!” Hutch screamed out his fallen partner’s name, his mind barely able to accept what his eyes had seen. “YOU KILLED HIM! YOU BASTARDS KILLED HIM!”
Hutch could barely hear the cold, uncaring laughter. The only thing he could focus on was Starsky’s unmoving body. Hutch felt himself being hauled backwards and roughly tossed to the floor, it took him a minute to realize the two men that had been holding him had fled to make an escape down the far staircase.
    Hutch scrambled to his feet and raced for the stairs, calling out his partner’s name, praying that Starsky was merely wounded and not killed. Hutch was only dimly aware that he and Starsky were now alone in the warehouse. Hutch dropped to the floor beside Starsky, paling at the sight of dark red blood that was pooling around his partner’s body. Hutch’s fingers were trembling as he checked for the pulse he feared wouldn’t be there. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found one. It was weak but it was there. Starsky’s eyes opened slightly, looking glazed and unfocused.
     “Just hold on, Starsk. Please hold on.” Hutch said, as he peeled off his jacket using both hands to apply pressure to the wounds in attempts to slow the bleeding.
Starsky opened his mouth to speak to Hutch. There were so many things he wanted to tell his friend, he wanted to make things okay between them now in case there was never another chance – in case he died - but he couldn’t make a sound.
     “Don’t try to talk, Starsk, just hold on. You’ll make it, I promise.” Hutch said, trying to control the emotion in his voice; to not let how scared he was show.
He realized now how stupid his fighting with Starsky had been, realized that he had been turning his back on the best friend he could ever have. He realized that the women in his life would come and go but he would only ever have one friend like Starsky.
Starsky tried to hang on to consciousness but it was becoming increasingly difficult, he could feel the darkness invading his mind, tantalizing with promises of escape from the pain. "Just close your eyes. There’ll be no pain in your sleep. Just close your eyes." The voice told him, and he finally gave into the darkness, seeking the escape from the excruciating pain he was in.
Hutch noticed Starsky’s eyes close again, and could tell that Starsky had slipped into unconsciousness, slipped into a sleep he may never awake from. “NO! Please, Starsky, wake up. You have to wake up –“ Hutch’s voice was choked with tears. “You have to wake up so I can tell you how sorry I am. Please … I need you Starsk, you’re my best friend, and I need you more then anyone else in my life.”
Hutch knew that he needed to call an ambulance for Starsky, though he hated the thought of leaving Starsky lying in a pool of blood on the cold floor - even long enough to go out to the Torino to call for help. His thoughts of calling for help were interrupted by the sounds of sirens piercing through the all too quiet night air.
     The warehouse was suddenly bustling with activity, Hutch was too grateful that help had arrived that he never stopped to wonder ‘how’ help had arrived the way it did. Hutch barely paid attention to the rescuers, that had arrived only minutes too late to keep Starsky from being shot. Hutch only looked up to see that it really was help and not just another part of the setup, seeing it truly was a ‘rescue’ he turned his full attention back to Starsky.
Captain Dobey walked into the warehouse, noticing Hutch kneeling on the floor he approached the young detective. “Alright just what in the hell is going on here?” he asked, then paled as he saw Starsky’s motionless body and all the blood.
     “He needs an ambulance.” Hutch said quietly not even looking up at Dobey.
     “There’s one here already, someone called and reported a disturbance, saying an ambulance would be needed.”
     “We were setup.” Hutch said.
The medics arrived and quickly were down beside Starsky checking for his status, their expressions grim. Hutch moaned slightly when Dobey pulled him back away from Starsky, because Starsky looked so lifeless he needed to be able to have the contact with Starsky, so he could at least he could ‘feel’ that Starsky was still alive.
     “What happened, Hutch?” Dobey asked.
Hutch didn’t respond to the question, his attention was too focused on Starsky to even hear the question. He felt like he was living through a nightmare, as once again he stood helpless to help his partner, merely watching the paramedics desperate attempts to save Starsky’s life. Dobey was just about to ask Hutch what had happened again when they were approached by a uniformed officer.
     “Sir, we have a witness who will testify that he saw everything.”
Hutch snapped to alert and looked at the officer. “Did he see which way the man who shot Starsky went?”
     “Oh, he saw everything, Detective.”
Hutch wondered why the officer was staring him with a look of cold hate. “Where did he go then?”
     “Standing right here.”
     “What?” Hutch asked in disbelief.
     “What are you saying Officer Jenkins?”
     “Our witness was out back, a homeless man says he often sleeps in the warehouse because it is so isolated and rarely used. He saw two men enter, though he said he didn’t think much about it at first because he knew there were some ‘dealings’ here often.” Jenkins said.
     “Just get to the point.” Hutch said irritably. “Like did he see the other three men who came in before me and Starsk?”
     “He said there was two, and only two. He could see both of them the whole time.”
     “That isn’t possible.” Hutch said, noticing from the corner of his eye that they were about to transfer Starsky to the ambulance, and he moved to follow not wanting to leave his partner’s side. Dobey reached out and grabbed Hutch by the arm stopping him. “I am going with Starsky.” Hutch said in a firm voice.
     “You are staying here to discuss what exactly happened, then you can go to the hospital.” Dobey said.
     “We can discuss it later.” Hutch argued.
     “There is nothing else you can do for Starsky right now except help to figure out how to catch who shot him.”
     “We already know who – and right where he is.” Jenkins interrupted.
     “Are you trying to infer something?” Hutch asked glaring at the officer.
     “We have all the information we need to make the arrest, Captain.” Jenkins said.
     “What information?”
     “I’d like to know that too, considering it doesn’t seem that your ‘witness’ really saw anything.” Hutch said.
     “He said the two men that came in started arguing, something about a woman, he thought he heard the name Diane.” Jenkins said.
Dobey merely nodded, knowing that was the name of the woman that Hutch was dating and had been the cause of the tension between the two partners.
     “He said the fight sounded quite serious, and that’s when he saw the blond draw his gun.”
     “You have to be kidding.” Hutch said.
     “Where is your gun, Hutchinson?” Dobey asked.
     “I lost it when I was jumped by one of the ‘real’ suspects.”
Dobey noticed a discarded .357 Magnum laying on the floor, near where Starsky’s fallen body had been. “That looks like your gun there, Hutchinson.”
     “Probably because it is. Our witness said after the gun was pulled ‘the dark haired one’ was desperately attempting to calm the enraged blond. He heard part of a few threats, something about a previous warning and being able to finally get a new partner.”
     “I don’t believe this – you don’t really believe this, do you captain?”
Dobey’s expression was cold and hard as he looked at the detective. “We can have the gun dusted for prints, but I am sure we already know what we are going to find.”
     “What’s that suppose to mean?” Hutch asked, his gut tightening, and he doubted that he really wanted to hear the answer. He wondered how anyone in their right mind would really believe that he had tried to kill Starsky.
     “We’ll find it to be your gun, won’t we, Hutchinson?”
     “Even if it is the gun I ‘lost’ it doesn’t mean someone else didn’t pull the trigger.”
     “Really grasping for straws, aren’t you? Jenkins said nastily, he hated when there was a cop gone bad. In his opinion, it made all the cops look bad.
     “I am not grasping at anything, it is the truth. Why don’t you focus more on finding who shot Starsky rather than standing here and accusing me.” Hutch said, growing angry at the accusation, when the real shooter was out there running free.
      “If you wanted a new partner so badly you could have said so. You didn’t need to kill your old one.” Dobey said, he could barely believe what he was hearing was true but he had witnessed Hutch’s anger towards Starsky first hand.
     “I don’t want a new partner, and I didn’t try to kill Starsky.” Hutch said, his voice exhausted, and tears of hurt and tears of pain of the whole situation burned in his crystal blue eyes but he held them at bay.
     “He said the blond ordered the other man to take off his gun. The order was being obeyed when the blond took the first shot, hitting the other man in the arm, causing him to drop the gun.” Jenkins said. “Then two more shots were fired.”
     “That’s a fucking lie.” Hutch said. “I never shot Starsky.”
     “I wouldn’t have thought you’d do such a thing, but lately your dislike towards Starsky has been obvious, considering today’s fight.” Dobey said.
     “There’s a difference. A huge fucking difference.” Hutch said, his voice trembled slightly with anger. “I DIDN’T SHOOT STARSKY!”
     “We have a witness to testify differently.” Jenkins said.
     “Your witness is lying. He’s a part of this all. They are just trying to make it look like I shot Starsky.” Hutch said looking at the gun that lay on the ground. He knew it was his gun – knew the gunman had retrieved it after he'd dropped it. He glanced at the bloodstain, Starsky’s blood, on the floor and back at the gun, and knew even when dusted for prints the only fingerprints that would be found would be his – he had been setup by a true expert.
     “I feel truly sorry for Starsky, being shot by the man who was suppose to be a friend. Can’t imagine how it’d feel to see death coming by the hand of someone I had ‘misplaced’ my trust in.” Jenkins said.
Hutch didn’t even glance at the officer, not replying in any way. “Only Starsk knew it wasn’t me, even if it is my gun, he knew it wasn’t me – didn’t he? Or did they make him think it was me – no Starsky wouldn’t believe that no matter how hard they tried to make him think otherwise. He would know.”
Hutch was pulled from his thoughts when a firm hand gripped his shoulder.
     “Detective Hutchinson, I am placing you under arrest for the attempted murder of David Starsky.” Dobey said, his tone emotionless.
     “I didn’t try to kill Starsky.” Hutch said, feeling completely distraught, wishing that at any moment he would awake from this nightmare. “You saw … I was trying to save his life.”
     “Pretending to. Trying to be sure he died is more like it.” Jenkins said.
     “NO!” Hutch yelled. “I DIDN’T DO IT! I DIDN’T SHOOT STARSKY!”
     “You have the right to remain silent…” Dobey started to read Hutch his rights.
     “I didn’t do it.” Hutch repeated, more quietly this time. Hutch realized that he only had one choice, to go on the lam, not only to clear himself but also to bring those truly responsible for Starsky’s shooting to justice.  “Sorry.” Hutch mumbled in apology, before grabbing Dobey and roughly shoving him towards Jenkins, knocking both to the floor. Hutch turned and ran as fast as his long legs would carry him. He heard other officers shouting at him to stop, but ignored them all, his mind focused only on the task at hand. He made it out the door and vanished into the darkness.
     Hutch didn’t give a thought to where he was running to, all he knew was he had to keep concealed in the shadows; that if he were to be caught then those responsible for shooting Starsky would remain free and could finish the job – if wasn’t already too late. Hutch was able to move with great speed and stealth that he had acquired from the long years on the job, only knowing that this time he was moving as a criminal and not an officer of the law.  His determination to escape, to remain free to help Starsky, was greater than that of his pursuers. Though he knew, from experience, they wouldn’t give up easily - after all, they were viewing him as a ‘cop killer’. He had helped apprehend several himself and knew the energy put into the tracking.
    The first light of the day was breaking over the horizon, and Hutch felt too exhausted to keep running.  He knew that he needed to rest in order to keep his strength up. He also knew that his place, at Venice Palace, would already be staked, so he couldn’t go home. He made his way into a dark alley where he hoped he could get even an hour’s rest. He leaned against the slightly warm brick wall of an old building and slowly allowed his body to sink to the ground. Hutch pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned forward to rest his head atop his knees, and finally gave in to the tears that had been building all night since the moment he saw the first bullet strike Starsky. He felt as though his whole world had suddenly crashed around him and there would be nothing he could do to put the pieces back together.
    “Please just hold on, Starsk. I'll get them for what they did –“ Hutch mumbled, when it suddenly hit him hard that he didn’t even know if Starsky was still alive. The last time he had seen his friend, Starsky had been practically at death’s door and he could have already slipped away. “Oh god, Starsk, please be okay. Please don’t die on me.” Hutch took a deep trembling breath, slowly releasing it, he desperately wanted to see his best friend, but he knew Starsky’s hospital room would be guarded, so there would be no way that he could sneak in unnoticed. “How am I going to get through this? There’s no me and thee this time. Hard to play ‘who do you trust’ when there is no one to trust.” Hutch realized that this would be the hardest ‘case’ ever and just how desperately he needed his partner. Other times, when he and Starsky had found themselves out numbered, fighting against nearly impossible odds they were able to turned to Huggy Bear, though Hutch knew that wasn’t an option this time. “Huggy is Starsky’s friend – not my friend. He only befriended me because of Starsky. He won’t help me now.”
Hutch closed his eyes, his body giving into the exhaustion, his mind recalling back to the first time he had ever met Starsky’s friend Huggy.
~ ~ ~ ~
     The first month of the academy had been rough, but the two young detectives, Starsky and Hutch, managed better than most of the cadets because, unlike everyone else, they stuck together through it all. It was the first day they had off and they were making the most of it, even after Starsky's car had refused to start. However, he refused to spend the hours it would undoubtedly take to make the car work - after all it had taken several hours it make it work just to arrive the first day at the academy. Starsky had vowed loudly to his friend that one day he would get a car that ran unlike any other – preferably in red. After a few hours of walking Starsky had decided that he needed food – and ‘real’ food. All his favourites that weren’t served in the academy. Starsky stood leaning against the wall counting his change to see if he had enough to actually buy anything. A black man, dressed in outrageously bright clothes approached them.
     “Hey, Starsky, my man. I thought you were suppose to be in the police academy.”
     “I am. Just got a day off, Hug.” Starsky said, looking at his friend.
     “Who’s the blond?” Huggy asked, looking Hutch over with critical eyes.
Hutch felt slightly uncomfortable under the scrutiny. He knew he and Starsky done something similar the very first time they had seen each other, but there was something in this gaze that seemed more criticizing of his appearance.
     “Huggy Bear this here is my roommate Ken Hutchinson. Ken Hutchinson this is my friend Huggy Bear.” Starsky said motioning back and forth with over-dramatized gestures to mimic the introductions.
     “Your roommate, unh? Well, you don’t look to be in your room now, so why’s he here?”
Starsky looked at Huggy with a firm gaze for a moment. “Because he also happens to be my friend.” Starsky replied shortly, returning his gaze back to sorting through his change. “Damn, don’t got enough.” He muttered.
Hutch pulled a few dollars out of jacket pocket and placed it in Starsky’s hand with the change that was already there, without saying anything.
     “Thanks, buddy.” Starsky said with a smile, slapping Hutch lightly on the back of the shoulder. “You two wait here, I’ll be back.”  Then he jogged across the road to a small deli restaurant.
     “Hey, Blondie.”
     “Yeah, what?” Hutch asked looking at Huggy.
     “I got a little ‘warning’ for you.”
     “A warning?” Hutch asked, wondering just what kind of friends Starsky had.
     “Yeah, a warning.” Huggy said, narrowing his eyes at the blond. “I have known Starsky for years, and I have known your type.”
     “My type? How the hell can you know ‘my type’ when you don’t even know me?”
     “It’s easy enough to see. A spoiled little rich kid, probably going to the academy just make mommy and daddy angry. Like to play ‘games’ with people’s minds. And I know what someone like you could do to Starsky.”
     “Shows you don’t know anything about me.” Hutch said angrily.
     “I think I am quite right in knowing just what kind of person you are, Starsky is just too trusting to see you for who you are.” Huggy said, his voice dripping with despise for this blond man who Starsky had chosen for a friend. “And if you ‘ever’ do ‘anything’ to hurt Starsky, in any way, I will make you sorry that you was even born.”
Just as Hutch was going to reply Starsky came bounding back across the street, happily munching away at his food, already haven eaten most of it.
     “So you two getting along?” Starsky asked.
     “Oh, sure, getting along just fine.” Hutch said sarcastically.
Starsky frowned slightly, but quickly replaced it with a smile. “Good, ‘cause I want you both to get along.” Starsky stressed his words, looking back and forth between his two friends.
     “Whatever you say, my man.” Huggy said.
     “Yeah, sure, Starsk.” Hutch said, he doubted he would ever be friends with the other man but was willing to at least act civil and make an attempt at friendship because he knew it would make Starsky happy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
     Hutch had just drifted into sleep when visions of what had happened began to plague his thoughts, only in this nightmare there was no doubt that Starsky was dead his body cold and lifeless when he had finally been able to reach his friend. Hutch woke up, slowly lifting his head, his back and shoulders ached slightly from the uncomfortable position he had been sitting in. Along with his awareness a feeling of utter aloneness also swept over him. Hutch still felt exhausted but knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, for even when he closed his eyes he was assaulted with visions of Starsky laying bleeding on the floor, fighting for his life.
     “Where the fuck do I even begin? I have no leads – and can’t exactly get any help from the police department, they won’t even investigate it because they think they know who did it. How the hell can they actually think I did this to Starsky?” Hutch thought to himself as he slowly stood up. “I can’t even think straight without knowing if you’re okay, Starsk.” He debated trying to sneak into the hospital, despite the fact that he knew Starsky’s room would be guarded. There was two voices in his head, one was his own logic knowing that he could easily be caught trying to sneak in to see Starsky - that it was dangerous to chance; if he was caught the real shooter would never be captured. Then there was another voice, the voice sounded like Starsky.
     "If you go at night there won’t be anybody in the room, you ain’t there to be sitting at the side of the bed. There’ll be guard but if you go ‘undercover’ disguised as a doctor they won’t know it’s you. You just got to be careful and smart about it – after all you’re suppose to be the smart one, aren’t you?”
Hutch relented to the latter voice, he had to see Starsky. He knew Starsky was strong but also knew there was only so much a body could withstand and had to be sure that his best friend was still hanging on, still fighting for his life. “I promise I will make them pay for what they done to you, Starsk – and if you are already gone … I’ll be seeing you on the other side after I take care of them.”
Hutch blinked back the fresh tears that burned in his eyes, knowing he didn’t have the time to just stand there and cry over what was happening, crying would do nothing to put the pieces of his shattered world back together and it would do nothing to help Starsky. A thought suddenly occurred to him, that they would have his place staked out to watch for him – but not Starsky’s.
    “If I go there maybe I can even get some rest.” Hutch thought, knowing he needed some sleep and thought perhaps being at his friend’s place, feeling Starsky’s ‘presence’ in his surroundings that he could sleep. “I just hope that I’m right that they won’t be watching for me there.”
    It took Hutch nearly two hours to walk to Starsky’s apartment, he carefully looked over the cars parked anywhere close, he recognized most the cars as belong to Starsky’s neighbors – knowing what cars belonged there to the same degree that he recognized his own neighbor’s cars. Hutch took his keys from the pocket of his jeans, where he had keys to his friend’s apartment and car, and unlocked the door, quickly going inside and locking the door behind himself. He relaxed slightly once inside, at a place that had often served as a ‘second home’ for him, though he felt slightly uneasy with Starsky not being there – and knowing the reason why. He rummaged through the bedroom closet, finding a pile of his own clothes that had been left at his friend’s apartment at various times over the years. Choosing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black turtleneck, he noticed one of his black leather jackets hanging at one end of the closet.
     “I was wondering where I left this.” Hutch said, pulling the jacket out of the closet, and tossing all the clothing on to the bed.
As he turned to head to the bathroom, he noticed a picture of himself and Starsky sitting on the dresser. He picked up the picture and looked at intently for a moment, it had been taken at least three or four years ago. He couldn't remember the circumstances around the picture, but he could tell they both looked happy, with an arm around each other’s shoulders. He ran his fingertips lightly over the image of Starsky.
     “You know it wasn’t me that shot you, don’t you?” Hutch questioned softly, his voice catching slightly in his throat. “Even if you didn’t see the shooters face you would know I didn’t shoot you, despite all this bullshit evidence that has everyone else believing I did – you wouldn’t believe.” A few hot tears slipped down his cheeks, not knowing if Starsky was even still alive was the hardest part of all. “Just know I will find the man who did this, I won’t let him get away with hurting you.”
Hutch set the picture back down and went to the bathroom to take a shower, to wash away the dried blood, Starsky’s blood, which still stained his hands.
     He undressed, tossing his clothes into the hamper, and stepped into the shower, turning the water on as hot as he could stand it. He scoured his hands with a cloth as he tried to wash away the blood. He found himself once again giving in to the desperation of the situation. His breath hitching as tears flowed freely down his cheeks, as he thought of all the blood that had been seeping from Starsky’s body, of how near death his friend appeared to be. He pounded his fists against the wall of the shower, hating how helpless he felt, hating not being able to be by Starsky’s side when his friend truly needed him.
     “I’m sorry I didn’t do more to protect you, Starsk. I am sorry for everything –“
Hutch’s clenched fists came to a rest against the wall and he leaned his head forward to rest against the wall between his fist.
 His mind lost all track of time, for the next thing he was aware of was that the water had grown cold.  Hutch turned off the water and stepped out and dried himself off. He wrapped the towel around his waist and stood staring at his reflection, he could hear his own voice berating himself.
     "You’re a real piece of work, Hutchinson. You’ve been treating Starsky like shit lately and he's remained your friend – but what kind of friend are you? If you hadn’t been treating him so badly you wouldn’t be in the mess right now. And Starsky wouldn’t be lying in the hospital dying – dying thinking you hate him.”
Hutch blinked his eyes, growing angry at the voice, wanting to smash the mirror to make the voice go away, though he knew that wouldn’t help – there was nothing that could help his guilty conscience. He made his way back to the bedroom and laid down on the bed, hoping that he would be able to obtain that sleep he needed to be able to solve this ‘case’ alone, without the partner he had came to depend on so greatly to get the job done. He closed his eyes and was asleep within minutes, and even though his sleep was plagued with nightmares he didn’t wake up until several hours later.
    Captain Harold Dobey sat his desk, reading over the file for what felt like the hundredth time, it still all seemed unbelievable. As captain he tried to keep himself emotionally detached from the rest of the officers, however it had always been different with the team of Starsky and Hutch. He couldn’t help but have an attachment to the two detectives, who were almost like sons to him – though he would never admit to that out loud. The case seemed to make less sense now then it had last night. He had been in shock when he saw Starsky on the floor, bleeding, and wondered now if he had been too quick to accept Hutch’s involvement.
     “Hutch was mad at Starsky, but to mad enough to try to kill him?” Dobey wondered out-loud, he found it helped to hear the details more than to read them, or just think them to himself, and didn’t care what people thought if they heard him talking to himself. “How could anything make Hutch mad enough at Starsky to make him actually want to harm his partner – let alone try to kill him?”
He read the witnesses statement over once again, nothing struck him as being odd about it, until the point where Hutch shot Starsky.
     “Could Hutch have another double running around?” Dobey pondered the thought for a moment, recalling when that had occurred before and caused a lot of trouble for Starsky and Hutch. “But Starsky would’ve known the difference. He’d have known it wasn’t Hutch – so that couldn’t be the case this time.”
Dobey was no longer sure what to believe with this case, he didn’t want to believe that Hutch was capable of shooting his partner, his best friend, but all signs pointed to it being true. The bullets they had pulled from Starsky’s body had indeed came from Hutch’s gun, and the only prints found on the Magnum were Hutch’s.
     “What the hell went down in that warehouse, Hutchinson?” Dobey asked the empty room, wishing the detective hadn’t ran the way he did – that served to do nothing more then complicate the issue and in the eyes of justice made Hutch appear even guiltier.
Dobey picked up the medical file that stated Starsky’s medical condition, he was still in critical condition, barely hanging on to life.  “You’re the only one who can give us the answers we need, only you know if it really was Hutch who shot you. If don’t pull through Hutchinson will be charged with murder one once he is caught – and that means a death sentence.”
He leaned back in his chair, and smiled ruefully. “If that happens the precinct will be minus it’s two best detectives.”
     Hutch rolled his head to one side and looked at the clock that sat next the bed, surprised to see how long he had slept. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, washing away the last bits of sleep that still seemed to cling to his body. He felt rested at least psychically, though he still felt emotionally drained from the nightmares that had haunted his sleep. His sleep had been restless, he had tossed and turned so much that the towel and blankets were wrapped around his long body, the change of clothes he had laid out on the bed, now laid on the floor. Hutch listened to the all consuming silence that filled the apartment, it wasn’t the first time he had woken up at Starsky’s, often having woken up there after a night of drinking, but this was the first time he had woken up alone in the apartment. The reality of the situation seemed to come crashing down on him once again, even though most the nightmares had only been ‘dreams’ the worst of all the nightmare’s was real. He laid on the bed, motionless, for several moments, a part of him not wanting to get up – to just hide there, away from the pain. Yet he knew he had no choice he had to get out of the bed, to face the reality of all that had happened  - he was the only one who could bring Starsky’s shooter to justice. He disentangled himself from the blankets, his stomach growling in hunger as he got dressed.
     “Guess I should eat. Haven’t eaten anything in … Hell when was the last time I ate?” Hutch asked himself, figuring the last he ate was a light lunch he had yesterday.
 Hutch turned the radio on, keeping the volume low, just for something to break the silence, and began to rummage through the cupboards for something to eat. Most of the food in Starsky’s cupboards was ‘junk food’ – food he would only consider eating if he was desperate. This wasn’t one of those times, he found some ‘healthy food’ stored away in a cupboard – he knew Starsky would never eat that food, it was only there for Hutch, just as there was ‘junk food’ at Hutch’s for Starsky to eat. He hadn’t been paying any attention to the radio, it was merely providing white noise, when suddenly the new brief that was being broadcast caught his attention.

 “The manhunt for Detective Kenneth Hutchinson still continues. Police say that Hutchinson shot his partner, Detective David Starsky, several times, in an attempted murder plot. Detective Starsky remains in critical condition at Memorial hospital. Hutchinson is considered to be, possibly, armed, and is considered extremely dangerous. Police ask for anyone with information on Detective Hutchinson’s whereabouts to contact them. “

     “Dangerous only to the son of bitch who shot Starsky.” Hutch mumbled, as he angrily turned off the radio.  Hutch sighed deeply. “At least Starsky is still alive, might be critical condition – but he’s alive, for now that’s all that matters.”
    Hutch left the apartment, wishing he could go to see Starsky, too see with his own eyes that his partner was still alive, but he knew it was still early to take the change of sneaking into the hospital. He prayed that he would be able to gather information on the streets about what really had gone down last night – praying he would be able to get even the slightest lead. Hutch was trying to stay out of sight as much as possible, he knew he was going to have trouble getting every where on foot. Though, he knew that even though his LTD wasn’t exactly the kind of car that stood out the police would be watching for it, a part of him wishing he had driven away from the scene in his partner’s Torino.
    “The old striped tomato would stand out like a sore thumb and really make sure I was caught, but – “ Hutch shook his head. “I can’t believe that I actually want to be driving around in that thing.” Though he knew why he wanted to be driving the car – it was Starsky’s car and right now he wanted anything to feel closer to his partner.
    “HEY HUTCHINSON!” A voice yelled out.
Hutch froze for a moment, he knew who the voice belonged to, and could hear the anger and hate in the voice. He turned his head and looked at the owner of the voice. “Hello, Huggy.”
     “Don’t you be ‘hello, Huggy’ing me, you son of a bitch.”
     “I didn’t shoot Starsky, Huggy.”
     “The hell you didn’t. It was just YOUR gun, with only YOUR prints on it, and the witness only saw YOU do it.” The lanky black man’s eyes shone with hate as he glared at the tall blond, his whole body tense with anger.
     “It was a set up. I am trying to find who really shot Starsky.”
     “Drop the act, Blondie. I knew I never should’ve trusted you. I was right about you all along.” Huggy said, though deep down was disappointed about what had transpired, because he had truly come to trust Hutch and think of the other man as a friend.
     “It isn’t an act, Huggy. I wouldn’t shoot Starsky – I didn’t shoot Starsky.”
     “Everyone know that lately you’ve been treating him like shit –“
     “There’s a big difference in fighting and trying to kill.” Hutch interrupted.
Huggy acted as though Hutch hadn’t even spoken. “Ever since you start getting all hot and heavy with that bitch Diane, Starsky’s been at The Pits almost every damn night drinking heavily, trying to drink himself into oblivion to escape the fact that his so called ‘best friend’ didn’t give a shit about him – that’s exactly what he told me. Said you didn’t care, I wanted to keep the promise I made you back then about what I’d do to you if you hurt Starsky – but with Starsky’s misplaced loyalty to you he wouldn’t let me. But, this is the last fucking straw, you have went too far.”
     “I didn’t shoot, Starsky, and I NEVER meant to hurt him.”
     “Sure you didn’t mean to ‘hurt’ him you meant to ‘kill’ him.”
For the first time Hutch noticed the bat that Huggy was carrying, the sight of which caused a tight knot of panic in his stomach. Hutch glanced around, feeling the instinct of fight or flight take over his body – and he didn’t want to fight with Huggy.
     “I warned you that I’d make you sorry if you hurt Starsky – and not only did you hurt him you almost killed him.” Huggy said, his voice was low and angry, and he arched the bat back to prepare to deliver the first blow to the man who had hurt his friend.
Hutch reacted on pure instinct, bringing his arm up to ward of the blow the best he could. The wooden bat connected solidly with his arm – though Hutch it was better his arm then his head. Hutch took a couple steps into the alley, knowing that would be his best chance to escape.
     “Put the bat down, Huggy.” Hutch said, trying to keep several feet between himself and the irate man.
     “You don’t actually think I’m gonna do that, do you? I am sure that Starsky asked you to put the gun down and you didn’t.”
     “I didn’t shoot, Starsky. Why the fuck can everyone believe that I did?”
     “Because you did.” Huggy said, swinging the bat at the blond once again, though completely missing.
     “I DIDN’T!” Hutch said, growing angry at the accusation. “Do you think that after everything Starsk and me have been through that I’d shoot him?”
     “Yeah, I do. I knew you the first time I saw you that you were bad news. That your so called friendship would cost Starsky everything.”
Huggy’s were like ‘a hit below the belt’ even though he hadn’t been the one who shot Starsky he felt as though Starsky was hurt because of their friendship. Huggy took advantage of the distraction and struck Hutch across the stomach with the bat. Hutch gasped as the air was knocked out of him, and he dropped down to his knees. Hutch wished he knew what he could say to Huggy to make the other man believe him – though at the same time he admired Huggy’s loyalty to his friend, Huggy was merely doing this to avenge Starsky’s being shot – even if the anger was directed at the wrong person. Hutch groaned in pain as the bat came down hard between his shoulder blades, and he collapsed the rest of the way to the ground. Huggy kicked him hard in the ribs, and still Hutch didn’t move, he didn’t want to fight back so merely played opossum.
     “I should kill ya – but I won’t. And you want to know why, Blondie? ‘Cause I’m better then you.” Huggy stated, then spit on the ground next to Hutch’s face. “So much for your so called ‘white knight’ image, ‘cause that armour has tarnished big time and stained with your partner’s blood.” Huggy turned and walked away.
     Hutch waited until he heard Huggy’s footsteps fade away before pulling himself up into a sitting position. His whole body ached, even with slight movement.
     “Oh, that went really well.” Hutch thought sarcastically, even though a part of his mind felt like he deserved the beating because he had failed to protect Starsky – most of the things Huggy had said added up for a serious ‘guilt trip.’ “I had really hoped that he would have listened to me – would’ve made finding those really responsible a lot easier.”
    Hutch pulled himself to his feet ignoring the pain, knowing it was no where near as bad as the pain Starsky had endured – was enduring. He talked to a lot of people over the next several hours, most of the people were snitches he and his partner used, but it was to no avail. There didn’t seem to be any word on the street as to who had shot Starsky – or at least who had really shot him, everyone believed Hutch had shot Starsky. Some of the people he had talked to ignored him, others cursed him out for having hurt Starsky, and others tried to congratulate him for trying to knock off his partner. He restrained himself from any form of emotional outburst, even around those who were happy knowing Starsky had been shot – only because he knew it would do no good, all it could possibly succeed in doing would be to make matters worse. He took comfort in the fact that he was able to remain hidden from the police, even though that was such a major change in life – hiding instead of chasing. He didn’t think he had came across anyone who would attempt to turn him in. Though he wasn’t sure, he thought some might tell police about his asking questions – even though he knew if they did it might be a blessing in disguise if someone stopped to wonder why he’d be asking about Starsky’s shooting if he was suppose to have been the shooter. Hutch wondered at one point if there was a reward for his capture, laughing at himself at the though of a “Wanted: Dead or Alive” poster with his name on it, but his laughter died off quickly when he realized there was no one to share in that laughter. He only ended up feeling more alone then before and pushed the thought from his mind, to focus intently on the task at hand.
    It was shortly after 1:00 a.m. when Hutch made his way to Memorial Hospital. The hospital was nearly deserted, only a minimal staff was working and the only visitors that were there this late were for critical case patients, or a few who had just been admitted under emergency circumstances. Hutch kept his head down as he made his way through the nearly deserted corridors, trying to act like he was just another visitor – which in a way he was, but the circumstances surrounding his visit were far from a normal visitor. When nobody was looking he ducked into a supply closet, where he found a doctor’s smock, a hair and a face mask – everything he would need to look like he was a doctor.
    “Having luck so far – I just hope it holds out.” Hutch thought as he exited the closet, glancing up and down the still deserted hallway.
He knew, from previous experience what section critical patients were kept in, and hoped that this time wouldn’t be any different. Hutch watched the nurse’s station for several minutes, where there was one nurse on duty knowing he would have to wait until she stepped away to proceed with the next step of his plan. It was nearly thirty minutes before she left the desk, and not knowing how much time he had before her return Hutch ran over to the desk. He rummaged through the drawers, in hopes of finding a useable ID card.
     “Damn it there has to be one in here somewhere.” Hutch muttered, growing impatient as he rummaged desperately through the different drawers. It took nearly five minutes for him to find an ID that he could use, a pictureless ID card for Dr. R. Myers. “Hope this is good enough. No time to try for anything better.” He moved quickly to the patient files, flipping through until he came across Starsky, David. Hutch opened the file, wishing he had the time to read through the report on Starsky’s condition but knowing he couldn’t chance being at the nurse’s station much longer. Instead he just looked at the room number, 415, he stuck the file back in place and quickly left the nurse’s station – moments before the nurse returned.
     “Cutting it a little close there, Hutchinson.”  He scolded himself. “Wouldn’t do any good if you were caught here – wouldn’t do Starsky any good. Maybe you shouldn’t have even come here, it’s too dangerous.” A voice in the back of his mind nagged. “I had too come. I have too see Starsky.”
Hutch found room 415 in no time, seeing two guards staked outside the door, he paused around the corner, out of sight for a moment as he overheard the guards conversation.
     “You know, Eddie, I still don’t see how it was Hutchinson who shot Starsky.”
     “Why not, Ricky? There is cold hard evidence against him. Eye witness, ‘his’ gun with only ‘his’ prints.”
     “I know. Just seems a little strange. I have seen the two of them working together. They always seemed really close.”
     “I always thought Hutch to be a bit of a snob, thinking he was better then everyone else.”  Eddie said, plainly. “Though Starsky always seemed like a nice guy, too bad he got stuck with a jerk of a partner like Hutchinson.”
     “I guess so. Still seems strange to me, I wouldn’t have thought Hutch’d try to kill Starsky. Like I said I seen them work together, I worked with them on a case several years ago – I don’t know, lately Hutch has been nasty towards Starsky, things can change easily. I guess facts is facts.”
     “That they are.”
Hutch leaned back against the wall, trying to regain he’s composure. “Have I been ‘that’ nasty to Starsky lately that people really think that I could try to …kill him.” Hutch took a deep breath and slowly released it as he tried to clear his thoughts. “As long as Starsky don’t think it – that’s all that really matters.”
Hutch stepped around the corner and approached the room.
Ricky held out an arm to block the door. “What is your business?”
Hutch held up his ‘ID’. “Just checking on the patient.” Hutch altered his voice the best he could – a tactic often used in an undercover operation.
     “Yeah, okay.” Ricky said, the ID looked like a legitimate hospital ID and he couldn’t recognize the discussed Hutch, he stepped aside to allow Hutch to enter Starsky’s room.
     Hutch couldn’t help but gasp, slightly, as he saw Starsky’s condition. There were machines all around the bed, monitoring his condition, an IV slowly, steadily dripping into his right hand. Starsky’s chest was bandaged, and wires protruded from various areas under the bandaging. Hutch hated the sight of the breathing tube that was in his friend’s throat, knowing it meant that Starsky wasn’t breathing well enough, or at all, on his own. Starsky’s complexion was pale, and discolouration that the light over the bed gave the skin made Starsky look almost like a corpse. For a moment Hutch thought it looked like a scene out of a bad sci-fi movie that Starsky had forced him to watch. Hutch stepped over next the bed and gently took Starsky’s left hand into his own. He placed his other hand on Starsky’s forehead, to push the hair back from Starsky’s forehead, gently stroking Starsky’s forehead and cheek, even after there was no hair to push away partly to comfort himself and partly in hopes that Starsky would be able to feel his presence and be comforted. Even though it wasn’t the first time he had seen his friend lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life, the pain and fear of possibly losing Starsky was just as intense every time.
    “You’ve always been my best friend, I hope you know that, Starsk. Despite everything I have done, everything I have said lately I have still always considered you to be my best friend. I know lately I haven’t deserved a friend like you – that seems to be a general consensus lately.” Hutch paused, and blinked back the tears that burned in his eyes. “There’s a lot of heavy shit going down right now, we were set up damn good, partner. Everyone thinks I shot you. I didn’t. I really hope you know that, I think you do, you saw the shooters face, didn’t you? I don’t know who it was but I will find him. Nobody gets away with messing with my partner.” Hutch’s voice trembled slightly, as few tears streaked their way down his cheeks. “You have to pull this, Starsk. I need you too much to lose you now – to ever lose you. Have to make things right between us, I want to be able to tell you to your face that I am sorry. You are my best friend, my partner, my brother, and I love you, buddy.”  By the end of the sentence Hutch felt his voice catch in his throat, his hand paused against Starsky’s cheek. “I wish I cold stay here by your side – but I can’t this time, I have to find who shot you. Just please get better, Starsk.”
Hutch wiped the tears from his eyes, and stood a moment longer by Starsky’s side before leaving the room. He was gratefully that no questions were asked when he felt the room, though part of him was mad that neither of the officer’s guarding Starsky’s room didn’t ask how Starsky was – for it proved that that really didn’t care about Starsky’s well-being.
     The next morning Captain Dobey went to the hospital to check on Starsky’s condition. After a brief conversation with the two police men guarding the door he walked into the room, seeing Starsky’s doctor standing beside the bed.
     “How is he?” Dobey asked, genuine concern could clearly be heard in his voice.
     “Actually, he’s doing remarkably well. We were able to remove the respirator early this morning being as he is able to breathe on his own.”
Dobey smiled at the good news. “Do you think he’ll regain consciousness any time soon?”
     “Hard to say. I didn’t actually think we’d be able to remove the respirator this soon. It’s the strangest thing his condition just seemed to take a drastic change, for the better, sometime during the night. I don’t want to make any promises but, if he keeps improving at this rate it will be possible that he will wake up very soon.”
Dobey stood next to the bed. “You heard the doctor, David, time to wake up – so you can tell us exactly what went down the other night.” He said, he believed it was true that coma patient could hear people talking to them, so he didn’t dare speak the rest of his sentence out loud. “That is if you want to tell us, I have the feeling no matter you’ll still be trying to protect Hutch, won’t you?”
     “We have changed the status of his condition from critical to stable.” The doctor informed him as he moved towards the door. “If you have any other questions concerning his condition just ask the nurse and she give you the full report.”
Dobey thanked the doctor and turned his attention back to the detective. “Just what inspired your sudden improvement? If things were like they were – or what they seemed to be before, and not the way they are, I would credit your improvement to Hutchinson. But since he hasn’t been here, and considering he’s the one who put you here – or at least it seems that he did.” Dobey paused he wasn’t completely convinced either way of Hutch’s guilt or innocence. “Damn, David, you and your partner are the hardest people I know to try to figure out.”
     Hutch roamed the streets, starting to lose hope of finding the really shooter, he had no leads as to who had set them up. He barely saw Diane approaching him until she was a few feet away.
     “Oh, Ken, I have been so worried about you.” Diane said, throwing her arms around him. “I heard on the news about what happened.”
     “What you heard was wrong.” Hutch said defensively.
     “Oh?” Diane asked, stroking Hutch’s cheek, tenderly, with her fingertips.
     “I didn’t shoot Starsky.”
     “Oh. I thought maybe you shot him because of all the nasty things he was saying about me. I thought you just came to my defensive – or something, you know the whole white knight thing.” Diane said, smiling at Hutch.
Hutch frowned. “I didn’t shoot him and I never would.”
     “I don’t care either way, either you did or you didn’t, doesn’t matter there is still ‘us’ that’s the important thing, right?”
Hutch wanted to tell her no, he hated her casualness about Starsky’s shooting, her obvious non-caring attitude angered him. He thought about what Starsky had said, ‘I don’t trust her, buddy. Something doesn’t seem right about her.’ He had scoffed at the distrust at first, and had became angry when Starsky would drop the issue – now he wondered if his partner had been right all along.
 “Well?” Diane questioned impatiently. “The only important thing is ‘us’ right?”
     “No, all that’s important is Starsky’s recovering.” Hutch thought, but a gut feeling told him to play along – perhaps she knew something about the shooting. “Yeah, sure. Nothing else matters.”
Diane grinned like a Cheshire cat, and kissed Hutch on the cheek. “I knew you’d agree. Let’s go to my place, you’ll be safe from the police there.”
Hutch just nodded, suddenly seeing in Diane what Starsky had been able to see all along – she couldn’t be trusted and there was definitely something wrong.
     Hutch paced nervously around the apartment, unable to shake the worried feeling that clung to his body, he was starting to wish he hadn’t agreed to come here, he didn’t feel safe alone in her apartment – with nobody to back him up. Hutch glanced at the closed bedroom, where Diane had gone to get changed, then glanced at the phone.
     “Maybe I could call the hospital – tell them I am a reporter and ask about Starsky.”  Hutch thought, for some reason he found himself wanting reassurance that his friend was okay. Hutch picked up the phone, freezing when he heard voices on the phone, “Who did she call?” he wondered – as he quietly listened in on the conversation.
     “Yeah, I told you that once I found him that I would have no trouble getting him here.” Diane said.
     “You’re lucky.”
There was something about the other voice that sounded vaguely familiar to Hutch, but he couldn’t place it.
     “Luck had nothing to do with it. I’ve had him wrapped around my little finger since the moment we met.” Diane said. “And just remember your little plan wouldn’t have worked if not for me.”
     “I could’ve found some other little slut to do the job.”
Diane laughed. “Now, is that any way to talk about your own sister, Danny?”
     “Danny … “ Hutch replayed the name in his mind trying to put the two together. “Oh, shit – Danny Frey. This really is all my fault.”
     “It’s the truth, sis.” Danny said.
     “I wasn’t denying it.” Diane said laughingly.
     “So, you are sure he doesn’t suspect anything?”
     “Positive. I thought he was suppose to be some smart college boy – but boy is he stupid very gullible.”
Danny laughed, but the laughter was cold and bitter sounding. “At least now he knows the pain of having his world torn apart. To lose everything and everyone that he holds dear. I finally got my revenge on that damn cop.”
     “A little bitter, huh?” Diane teased nastily.
     “What the fuck do you think, you little bitch? Of course I am bitter. I had everything all planned – that would’ve been one of my best pieces of work. The explosion – perfection. I wasn’t worried about the cops, until some damn little rookie cop, trying to make a name for himself, FUCKED with all my plans. It’s that bastard’s fault that I lost my legs. He took EVERYTHING from me, and now I will take EVERYTHING FROM HIM!”
     “Don’t worry you have, Alex shot that other cop up good, you know our brother is an ace with the gun.”
     “Well, he wasn’t good enough, Alicia said Hutchinson’s partner has started improving. I wanted him DEAD at the crime scene, now I have to send Alicia in to finish the job.” Danny complained.
     “Wouldn’t that take the heat off Hutchinson?”
     “Not if done right.” Danny said, his voice regaining composure – at least an illusion of twisted sanity. “Alicia will just give him an injection right into the IV, it won’t be traced and he’ll be dead.”
     “You may have lost your legs, brother, but you didn’t lose your smarts. I mean having Hutchinson take the fall for shooting his partner – pure genius.”
     “And thanks to you nobody will believe him that he didn’t shoot his ‘best friend.’”
     “When are you going to have Alicia finish the cop off?”
     “She’s on her way there now.”
     “NO!” Screamed the thought in Hutch’s mind, he wanted to yell out loud to curse the insane man who had intentionally set out to destroy him through Starsky. To scream at the woman he trusted – despite his partner’s warnings. And to scream at himself for being so blindly pulled into the trap. However, he knew he couldn’t waste the time he had to get to the hospital to save Starsky – and not be held back, helpless, as he watched his friend suffer – watching Starsky die. He dropped the phone, which made a loud ‘clunk’ that could be heard by Danny and Diane.
     “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!” Danny yelled.
     “FUCK! Hutchinson was the other phone he heard everything.” Diane explained quickly and ran out to the other room just in time to see Hutch running out the door. She picked up the phone. “He’s on his way to try to save his partner no doubt.”
     “Let him try. The room is guarded he won’t get in. With any luck they’ll shoot him on sight thinking he’s there to finish Starsky off.”
     Knowing there was no time to waste, Hutch had taken Diane’s keys, to ‘borrow’ her car – after all what was a charge of grand theft auto compared to Starsky’s death. He sped along the roads at a breakneck speed – his driving resembling Starsky’s, just barely avoiding getting into several accidents. He was wished he had the siren to turn on to help get the cars out of the way, grateful that traffic wasn’t heavy as even the light traffic was impeding his progress to the hospital. Hutch prayed that he wouldn’t be too late – and that he would be able to stop Alicia from injecting Starsky with the drug to take his life. Hutch slammed on the car brakes bringing the car to an abrupt hault in front of the hospital, the squealing of tires getting everyone’s attention. Hutch could feel their stares but he no longer cared if he was recognized, there was nothing that could deter him from saving Starsky. Hutch ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
     “Please let Starsky be okay, please.” He quietly pleaded all the way up the stairs, fearing he might be too late already.
Hutch’s heart was racing, with exhaustion and panic, and every muscle in his body was tensed ready to do anything and everything it took to protect Starsky. The guards didn’t spot Hutch until he was a few feet from the door.
     “FREEZE!” the one guard yelled, fumbling to get his gun, he was young and inexperienced and hadn’t actually expected the detective to attempt to break into Starsky’s room – and now was panicking.
Hutch just lunged at the guard, grabbing the other man’s wrist tightly to make him drop the gun. In a single fluid movement, even before the other guard could react, Hutch threw the young guard against the other, causing them to fall to the ground.
     “What the hell is going on out there?” Dobey asked, just as he did the door was thrust open. “HUTCHINSON!”
Hutch didn’t even seem acknowledge Dobey, and didn’t notice Huggy at all, all he was aware of was the nurse who was about to give Starsky’s an injection, her name tag read clear: Alicia.
     “STOP HER!” Hutch yelled, as he rushed further into the room.
Huggy grabbed Hutch stopping him from getting any closer to Starsky. “You made a big mistake coming here.”
Hutch struggled to break free from Huggy’s tight grip, he could see the nurse panicking and try to hurry to make the injection – and Dobey stood doing nothing to stop her. Huch twisted slightly out of Huggy’s hold, and pushed the smaller man against the wall, then in a lightening fast movement rushed to the side of the bed, grabbing the nurse’s wrist and pulling the needle away from Starsky’s. He pulled the needle away with his other hand, he didn’t want it to drop to floor – wanting the drug checked which would help to prove his innocence. The two guards burst into the room, their guns pointed at Hutch.
     “What the hell do you think you are doing, Hutchinson?” Dobey asked, his voice loud with anger.
     “She’s trying to kill Starsky.”
     “The only one who tried to kill Starsky is YOU.” Huggy said, moving to stand next to Dobey.
     “Let the nurse go and let her give Starsky the medicine.”
     “It ISN’T medicine.” Hutch said.
Starsky’s doctor came into the room to see what the commotion was all about. “What is going on in here?”
     “The one who attempted murder Starsky came back to finish the job.” Huggy said, as he glared at Hutch.
     “I came here to keep her from killing Starsky. From injection him with a drug that would kill him.”
     “More like keeping the nurse from giving Starsky his medication.”  Huggy said.
     “Mr. Starsky isn’t due for any medication for another three hours.” Dr. Edwards said.
     “That’s because is isn’t medication.” Hutch said holding the needle out to the doctor. “Have it checked, see what she was trying to actually give him.”
The doctor carefully took the needle, covering the tip to avoid any accidentally injection, before sliding it into his lab coat.
     “This is bullshit. If it is anything else it mean Hutchinson paid her off to try to make himself look like the ‘hero’ to try to make himself look innocent.”
Dr. Edwards had been checking Starsky’s vitals and interrupted the argument before Hutch could reply. “All this ‘commotion’ is upsetting the patient. I am going to have to ask all of you to leave.”
Hutch released the hold he still had on Alicia, as soon as he did she ran for the door. The older of the two guards grabbed her, not allowing her to get away.
     “Handcuff her if you have to. Until we know all the details she is under police custody.” Dobey told the guards, motioning for both guards to escort Alicia out.
     “Hutchinson is the one who should be handcuffed and drug out of here.” Huggy said coldly.
Hutch ignored Huggy’s comment, turning his attention to Starsky, placing a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder. The doctor noticed that the second the blond man laid a hand on the patient’s shoulder that Starsky’s vitals began to return to normal.
     “Drag his sorry ass outta here and throw him in the slammer.” Huggy said.
Dr. Edwards noticed the comment had a mild adverse effect on Starsky, it was seemingly that man who was upsetting the patient. He looked pointedly at Huggy. “Sir, I am going to have to ask you again to leave the room. For behavior is greatly upsetting to the patient.”
     “You can’t make me leave here. Not while he –“ Huggy said, pointing at Hutch. “Is still in here with Starsky. He already tried to kill him once, nothing stopping from trying again.”
     “Leave now, or I will call security to escort you from the building.”
Huggy glared at the doctor, but without further argument left the room.
Dr. Edwards waited a moment to be sure Huggy wouldn’t come right back into the room. “Ill have the lab test this drug immediately.” He told Dobey and Hutch before leaving.
Dobey stepped closer to Hutch. “Hutchinson –“
     “I am not leaving Starsky.” Hutch said, in a tone that left no room for argument. “I am not the one who tried to kill him, Danny Frey set it all up.”
     “Who is Danny Frey?” Dobey asked.
     “It’s complicated.”
     “Maybe we should go somewhere and discuss this.” Dobey said.
     “I am not leaving Starsky.”
     “Hutchinson, you are still under investigation – still the prime suspect in the attempted murder of Starsky. Legally I have to take you to the station.”
     “But, I didn’t –“
     “I didn’t say I was going, at least not right away. I want to hear your side to this story.”
     “You think I did it, don’t you?”
     “I don’t know. Honestly, I am not sure that you didn’t lose control of your temper which allowed things to go out of control.” Dobey said. “I want to hear your version of what happened before I pass judgement.”
Hutch sighed, he looked at Dobey then back at Starsky. “I’ll be back soon, buddy, maybe by then you’ll have decided to have woken up.”
     Minutes after Hutch and Dobey left Starsky’s room Huggy returned. He walked over and stood next to his friend’s bed. Starsky’s eyes moved behind the closed lids as his mind attempted to pull itself free from the unconsciousness that had claimed it so tightly for the past couple days.
     “Hutch …” Starsky’s voice was a barely audible whisper, his eyes slowly fluttering open, though not focusing on anything.
     “About time you woke, man.” Huggy said, smiling in relief to see his friend finally waking up.
     “Hutch?” Starsky asked quietly, using one word to question his friend’s whereabouts, as he tried to look past Huggy.
     “You don’t got to worry about him, Starsky. All of that will be taken care of once and for all.”
Starsky looked at Huggy with questioning blue eyes.
     “Do you remember what happened?”
Starsky thought about it for a minute before a confused look past across his eyes. “No.”
     “I’ll tell ya, maybe then you’ll remember.”
     “Where’s Hutch?” Starsky asked, again, his voice was still quiet but far more audible.
     “I told ya already that you don’t have to worry about him no more.” Huggy said, reassuringly.
     “Worry less if he was here.” Starsky commented, more to himself then to Huggy.
     “Not once you remember what happened.”
Starsky looked at Huggy as though he was sure his friend had gone mad.
     “Man, Hutchinson is the one who shot you.”
     “You’re joking – right?”
     “Nope. There was a witness who saw it all go down.”
     “I might not remember what happened but I know Hutch wouldn’t shoot me.”
     “You just think that now because it’s what you want to think. Your mind probably is intentionally forgetting what happen ‘cause you don’t want to deal with it.”
     “Hutch wouldn’t shoot me – not intentionally at least.” Starsky said, angry at Huggy for even suggesting such a thing was possible.
     “Starsky, he shot you. There was nothing accidental about it –he shot you in cold blood.”
Starsky’s eyes darkened as he looked at Huggy. “If you are going to keep making such an asinine accusation maybe you should leave.”
     “It’s the truth, Starsky, there is a witness, it was Hutchinson’s gun, and only Hutchinson’s prints.”
Huggy’s words gave Starsky a pause, part of what his friend said seemed to trigger a memory. “It was a set up. Whoever it was that set us up wanted people to think it was Hutch who shot me.”
     “It was Hutchinson who shot you.”
     “NO, IT WASN’T!” Starsky said loudly as his sore throat would allow.
     “Hey, relax, Starsky.” Huggy said calmly. “I know you don’t want to remember the truth – and if you do you’re trying to protect him.”
     “How could you believe that?”
     “After the way he’s been treating you lately – easily.”
     “There’s a difference ‘tween fighting and shooting.” Starsky stated. “And Hutch didn’t shoot me – he was set up.”
     “Starsky, would you quit defending –“ Huggy never had a chance to finish his sentence before Starsky cut him off.
     “It’s the truth. Hutch is innocent. I remember every damn thing that happened.” Starsky said, his voice angry. “Now, I’ll ask you again – where is Hutch?”
     “He was just here claiming some bullshit story about a nurse trying to poison you.”
     “Huggy.” Starsky said firmly, it was clear by his tone that he refused to listen to Huggy’s continued bad-mouthing of Hutch.
     “He was here. I think Dobey was finally able to arrest him, hauled his ass off to jail I hope.”
     “Everyone actually thinks Hutch is guilty?” Starsky said and chuckled ruefully. “And people say that I’m gullible.”
     “You are to think that Hutchinson ain’t guilty.”
     “Leave.” Starsky said coolly.
     “Starsky –“
     “Leave, now.”
     “Whatever, talk to you later.”
Starsky didn’t say anything further, as Huggy turned and left the room.
     Dr. Edwards stepped back into the room a few moments later, surprised to see that his patient was awake. “Oh, you’re awake. Have you been awake long?”
     “Not really.”
     “Why didn’t you call the nurse?”
     “Never thought about it.” Starsky answered, he had been more concerned about Hutch then in calling a nurse. “Do you know where Hutch is?”
     “Hutch?”
     “Tall, blond –“
     “Oh, him. The one who came in here and stirred everything up.” Dr. Edwards said. “It’s a good thing too, because that nurse Alicia, was indeed attempting to inject you with a deadly drug, Nigyglicide.”
Starsky smiled slightly. “Can always count on Hutch to be watching my back.”
Dr. Edwards checked Starsky’s vitals. “Are you in any pain?”
     “A little.” Starsky said, actually he was starting to feel a lot of pain – he just didn’t want to admit it. He could barely move the fingers on his left hand, and his chest along with his stomach ached miserably.
     “Maybe we should see about getting you something for the pain.”
     “Only ‘thing’ I want to see is Hutch.”
     “I’ll see if I can locate him for you.” Dr. Edwards said. “Just try to relax.”
     “Thanks.” Starsky said, as his eyes drifted closed, worried that after Hutch showed up at the hospital that he had been arrested – or hurt.
     Dr. Edwards was walking down the hall when Dobey and Hutch stepped out of the room they had gone into to talk.
     “I was looking for you.” Dr. Edwards said.
     “Did you find out what was in the needle?” Dobey asked.
     “Yes, it is a drug known as Nigyglicide. It is very deadly, and once in the blood stream is virtually untraceable and we never would’ve known Mr. Starsky was even given the drug. There was enough in that one needle to kill an elephant. He would’ve been dead in seconds.”
     “I told you she was trying to kill Starsk.” Hutch said, breathing a sigh of relief that he had been able to keep Alicia from succeeding with the injection.
Dr. Edwards looked at Hutch. “You’re Hutch, right?”
     “Yeah.” Hutch replied, not sure why the doctor was asking.
     “I thought so. Mr. Starsky is awake and he was asking to see you.”
     “He’s awake?” Hutch repeated what the doctor said in a form of a question out of disbelieving relief.
Dr. Edwards nodded. “Yes, he just recently woke up.”
Hutch didn’t waste a minute in running down the hallway towards Starsky’s room.
Dobey watched the detective. “I really hope you are telling the truth, Hutch, otherwise Starsky …” Dobey’s thought trailed off, as he found he wasn’t sure what it would do to Starsky.
     Starsky turned his head slightly when he heard the door open, smiling to see Hutch come running in. Hutch rushed to the side of the bed, and placed a gentle hand against Starsky’s cheek for a moment, as though to ensure it was true that Starsky was still alive.
     “Starsk, I …” Hutch’s voice was trembling and his sentence trailed off.
     “Nice to see you too.” Starsky said, smiling at his friend.
     “Oh, God, Starsk, I thought I was going to lose you.”
     “You should know by now that you can’t get that lucky.” Starsky teased.
Hutch laughed slightly though the laugh caught in his throat – as tears of relief watered in his soft blue eyes.
     “Huggy was in here when I woke up. He tried to tell me what happened, because I couldn’t remember when I first woke up.”
Hutch paled visibly and a look of panic filled his eyes, he pulled the chair over with his foot and sat down heavily.
     “Hutch, relax.” Starsky said, wishing he could move either hand to touch Hutch’s reassuringly, but he couldn’t move his left hand at all, and the IV pulled painfully when he tried to move his right hand.
     “But, what he would say isn’t what happened.”
     “I know that, Hutch.” Starsky said. “Even when I didn’t remember I knew it wasn’t true. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn’t shoot me, no matter how much we were fighting.”
     “I am sorry, Starsk. If I listened to you at the start, none of this would’ve happened … if I wasn’t acting like such as asshole I would’ve seen the warning signs. I –“
Starsky interrupted Hutch. “Nothing that happened was your fault. I remember everything that went down that night. And whoever it was who shot me told that you’d be setup for it.”
     “You were shot because of me. Because Danny Frey …”
     “Danny Frey?” Starsky played the name over in his mind trying to think of who it was. “That was that insane bomber lunatic that you brought down before we were partners, right?”
Hutch nodded. “Diane’s his sister.”
     “Knew I didn’t like her.” Starsky said, smiling at Hutch.
     “I should’ve listened to you. Should’ve trusted your judgement the same as I do on the streets.”
Despite the pain of the needles pulling in his right hand, he moved to clasp his hand over Hutch’s. “Get off the guilt trip, Hutch. It wasn’t your fault.”
     “Yes, it is. You were shot because of me. Everyone believes I did it because of how I had been treating you.” Hutch swallowed a lump that had built in his throat. “No matter what I said I always thought of you as my best friend.”
     “I know.” Starsky smiled at Hutch, even though he had doubts at times he always knew deep down that Hutch’s friendship was never ending.
Dobey stepped quietly into the room, he could tell it was obvious that Hutch had been telling the truth, and considered leaving the partners alone to talk, but Starsky noticed him.
     “Cap’n.” Starsky acknowledged Dobey’s presence.
Dobey stepped over closer to the bed, standing beside Hutch. “How are you feeling?”
     “I have felt better.” Starsky said, looking at Dobey for a long minute. “How could you actually think Hutch was guilty?”
     “I wasn’t sure what to believe. The evidence against him was solid. I did have my doubts, but it’s obvious now what went down – it was exactly how Hutch said it – wasn’t it?”
     “I don’t know what he said, but yeah.” Starsky said, having no doubts of what Hutch had told being anything but the truth.
     “I have to go to the station to put out warrants for the Frey’s and to end the one on Hutchinson.” Dobey said, quickly leaving the room, knowing Starsky and Hutch needed to talk.
 Starsky and Hutch were just about to continue talking about what had happened when Dr. Edwards came into the room, with a painkiller for Starsky, so their conversation was placed on hold as they wanted to discuss things in private.
Dr. Edwards set a little cup with two pills on the bedside table. “I figured after what happened you wouldn’t want an injection.”
Hutch filled a cup with water from a pitcher that sat on the bedside table,
     “That’s for sure.” Starsky said.
Hutch helped Starsky to sit up slightly, and knowing that Starsky couldn’t really move either hand Hutch placed the pills in Starsky’s mouth, then held the water glass up to Starsky’s lips to wash down the pills.
     “Thanks, buddy.” Starsky said, once he was lying back down. He glanced at the doctor. “So, doc, how bad off am I?”
     “You were very fortunate actually. The bullets didn’t cause any severe internal damage and will be as good as new in a couple weeks.”
     “And my arm?” Starsky asked, worriedly.”
     “There was some minor damage.”
     “Figures it’d be my left arm.” Starsky mumbled.
     “That’s because you drew your gun with your left, dummy.” Hutch teased lightly in ease the tension of the situation.
     “Never would’ve thought of that.” Starsky said sarcastically, though his tone wasn’t upset.
     “It should heal in about a month. It will just take a bit of therapy. I noticed that you can already move your fingers slightly so that is a good sign.”
     “So, he’ll be good as new in no time?”
     “Yes, he will. I say a month at the most, if not less considering he seems to be a fast healer.” Dr. Edwards replied.
     “I guess that’s to go along with your fast driving, ain’t it Starsk?”
Starsky grinned. “You better believe it.”
Dr. Edwards smiled. “Try to get some rest.” He told Starsky before leaving the room to check on his other patients.
Starsky and Hutch talked for several minutes about things that had happened at the warehouse.
     “I heard you struggle with someone then everything went so damn quiet.”
     “I wanted to warn you … I hated being so helpless. I know something bad was going to go down – and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”
     “There was nothing that you could’ve done.”
     “If I had done things differently …”
     “I could’ve done things differently too, Hutch, but I didn’t. What happened – happened. I don’t think we could’ve changed anything, no matter what we did the shooting was going to happen.”
     “You’re right.”
Starsky grinned. “Geez, you’ve admitted that I was right twice in one day, definitely a day to remember.”
      “Happens more then I want to admit.” Hutch said teasingly.
Starsky yawned as the painkillers started to make him drowsy.
     “You should get some rest.”
     “I ain’t that tired.” Starsky said, despite the fact he could barely keep his eyes open.
     “Just get some rest, we can finish talking about this later.”
     “You promise you’ll still be here?”
     “Of, course, Starsk.”
     “Okay. Goodnight, Hutch.”
     “’Night, Starsk.”
Starsky stopped fighting the drowsiness the painkillers had caused and was asleep within seconds after closing his eyes. Hutch watched Starsky sleep for several minutes, before his own body started to remind him that he was also tired. Hutch laid his head down on the bed for a moment, gently resting his hand on Starsky’s arm – in a gesture that both gave and drew comfort.
     Neither awoke for hours. Starsky sleeping peacefully –with help from the painkillers, and Hutch sleeping peacefully – because of the happy ending to the nightmare he had been living through the past couple days. After waking Hutch finished telling Starsky about what had been happening – though he neglected to tell Starsky about the ‘fight’ he had with Huggy.
     “It was tough without backup, partner.” Hutch said.
     “Can’t do the job without me, can you, buddy? Maybe now you’ll admit that I really am the brains of the operation.”
Hutch smiled. “I wouldn’t say brains, but I would say that I do need you. We are a team”
Starsky looked at Hutch intently for a moment. “We are of the same blood.”
Hutch smiled, and nodded in argeement. “Me and thee.” Even though it wasn’t the exact end to the quote – it was theirs.
Starsky squeezed Hutch’s hand the best he could. “Me and thee.”
They were both quiet for a long moment, before Hutch finished telling Starsky about how he’d attempted to track down the real shooter, and how it had only been luck that he found out it was Diane how had played a major role in the setup.
     “Next time you better listen to me when I tell you I don’t trust the girl you’ve chosen to date.” Starsky teased.
     “Believe me, I will. I don’t want to go through all this shit again.”
     “Me neither.”
     “I am sorry, Starsk.”
     “I know. I forgive you.” Starsky said, knowing exactly what Hutch needed to hear.
     “Thank you.” Hutch said quietly, as he leaned forward to lightly hug Starsky.
Visiting hours were nearly over when Dobey returned.
    “So, what’s the good word cap’n?”
    “Alicia admitted that she was trying to kill you with the injection, on Danny’s Frey’s orders.”
    “Well we knew that.” Hutch said.
    “She also admitted to knowledge of the whole setup. She gave us everything - all the information we needed to make the arrest.” Dobey paused and looked at Hutch. “And to clear your name.”
    “Shouldn’t have been tainted in the first place.” Starsky said.
     “It’s okay, Starsk, as long as they caught the real bad guys.”
     “Not fair that they thought you to be the bad guy, this could’ve been over a lot sooner.”
Dobey felt that for a moment the two detectives had forgotten he was even there, so he cleared his throat. “With her confession we have a solid case. And she lead us right to Danny, Diane and Alex, we were able to arrest them without incident.” He neglected to tell them that Danny had been screaming threats of revenge.
     “I never knew that Diane was Danny Frey’s sister.” Hutch said quietly.
     “Of course you didn’t. You obviously wouldn’t have been dating her if you did.” Starsky said, half teasing half reassuring.
     “That whole family was fucked up.” Hutch mumbled. “So was Alicia another sister?”
     “Actually she was Danny’s wife, and kept the – intimacy of that marriage with his brother Alex.”
     “Damn, that is twisted. And I thought Diane was the tramp of the bunch.” Starsky said, without thinking.
     “Yeah, I sure know how to pick them.” Hutch said dejectedly.
     “Hutch, she fooled a lot of people.” Starsky said.
     “Only me. She never fooled you.”
     “Maybe because you weren’t looking for it. You thought you were in love, thought she loved you – those were the eyes you were looking through. I was being more judging when I looked at her because of the fact she ‘playing’ with my best friend’s heart. I think it was that reason I could see her for who she really was.”
Hutch thought about it and nodded slightly, he knew he did the same thing with Starsky’s girlfriends. There was a long moment of silence before any of the three men spoke.
     “How long until you can return to work, Starsky?” Dobey asked.
     “Doctor said it’ll probably be a month.” Starsky told him.
Dobey glanced at Hutch. “I suppose this means you want the month off to play nursemaid?”
Hutch smiled slightly, captain Dobey knew them to well, if one was injured the other always took time off to help his partner. “I think I deserve time off.”
     “I agree.” Dobey said, shocking the two detectives by agreeing so quick and easy – after all he never had a problem, giving the uninjured partner the time off, he just wanted to keep a gruff exterior and give them a hard time about it.
Starsky and Hutch both seemed startled by how quick Dobey had agreed to give Hutch the time off. They both grinned widely, and spoke at the same time, “Thanks, captain.”
     “Visiting hours are nearly over. Do you need a ride to your apartment?” Dobey asked Hutch.
Hutch shook his head. “I already talked to the doctor about it and he agreed to let me stay over night.”
Dobey nodded, he was glad to hear that the doctor was allowing Hutch to stay, knowing it would be beneficial to both detectives. “You get better soon, Starsky.”
     “I plan on it, captain.”
After Dobey left Starsky and Hutch went back to talking, but no longer about how they had been set up, nor about their fighting – they just talked about nothing important, they just had a simple conversation between friends. They just lived in that moment not seeming to care what tomorrow may bring or the problems that could still exist with the case. Or the mending of Hutch’s reputation that needed to be done. Neither wondered what it would take to reestablish Hutch’s friendship with Huggy. They didn’t seem to care about any of these things at the moment, all they seemed to care about was their friendship – a friendship so strong and deep that nothing else mattered. Their friendship was obviously as solid as ever – and if anyone was watching them they would think that the two detective had never fought with each other even once during their friendship.