Hostages to Fortune

“Finished!”

Hutch looked over as Starsky flopped back on the carpet and closed his eyes.

“It wasn’t a contest, you know,” the blond commented, turning back to the bicycle he was assembling. It was pink, with purple and green flowers and white plastic streamers erupting from the handle bars. It gave him a headache just looking at it, but his niece would adore it.

It was Christmas Eve and the men had waited until the kids were in bed before beginning the bicycle project. Hutch was thankful that most of the other presents had been wrapped as soon as they were purchased and kept in Starsky’s workroom in the garage. Fortunately the kids were forbidden from going in the workroom without an adult, so it made the perfect place to hide Santa’s largesse.

Starsky and Hutch were determined to give the two five year-olds the best Christmas they possibly could. Losing both of their parents several months earlier had been an emotional trauma with scars that still showed. The twins had settled into their lives with their uncle and his partner, but there were definitely still some rough patches. Rachel Starsky was staying with them for the month of December to help take care of the children now that Starsky had started his new job at the Academy. And in two weeks, the twins would start school. Yet another milestone for the family to shoulder.

The men had gone out of their way to celebrate the season. The Starsky’s had introduced Adam and Hannah to the Jewish holiday as well. And the whole family had enjoyed the Christmas preparations together, including picking out a tree, decorating it together, and making wish lists for Santa. Now the big day was about to arrive and final preparations were underway.

“Your just jealous cuz I’m a better mechanic than you,” Starsky teased, putting his hands behind his head and settling back on the floor to watch his partner. The lights from the tree cast a soft glow in the room, and caused Hutch’s hair to glisten even more than it usually did. As his eyes wandered over the kneeling man, Starsky wondered how long before they finished. They had so few hours alone together without the kids, that the few stolen moments were highly cherished.

“I told you, it wasn’t a contest,” Hutch muttered, then swore under his breath as the bolt he was putting on the back tire slipped again. “I’m almost done anyway.”

Starsky smiled broadly. “I even had some nuts and bolts left over,” he bragged.

Hutch looked down at his lounging partner, then over at the bright red bicycle propped against the den wall.

“Starsk, you’re not supposed to have parts left over,” the blond said, laying Hannah’s bike on the carpet and moving over to examine Adam’s. He examined the ‘extra’ hardware, then pulled the box over and looked inside. Pulling out a training wheel, he held it up for his partner to see. “You forgot the training wheels, hotshot.”

Starsky looked disconcerted for a moment, then recovered. “Training wheels are for babies, Hutch. You don’t want Adam to called a sissy boy, do ya?”

Hutch put down the training wheel he was holding and returned to his own project. “What about Hannah?”

“Well, she’s a girl. You can put the training wheels on hers.”

“You know, Starsk, we’re going to have to send you in for some sensitivity training,” he replied, glancing over at his partner and smiling.

“Sensitivity training?” Starsky asked. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

“Adam and Hannah are twins,” Hutch explained patiently. “They’re exactly the same age, give or take a few minutes. At five, going on six, boys and girls are developing at the same rate, physically and intellectually.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So why would Hannah need training wheels and Adam doesn’t?”

“Because…”

“Yes…?” the blond looked over at his partner and smiled, wondering how he’d try to get out of this one.

“Just because,” Starsky finally responded. “It just isn’t good for a boy to be showing his weaknesses. He’s got an image to protect, ya know?”

“And Hannah doesn’t?”

“She’s a girl, Hutch. Girls are supposed to be weaker.”

The blond started laughing. “Just getting yourself deeper and deeper.”

Now Starsky was miffed. “I suppose you’re gonna tell me you buy into all that women’s rights crap?

“If you’re asking if I believe in equal rights, the answer would be yes,” Hutch replied. “We’re going to be raising a boy and a girl, Starsk. Do you really want Hannah to think that she’s not as good as Adam?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Didn’t you?” Hutch turned and looked at Starsky, raising an eyebrow. Turning back to the bike, he put the finishing touches on the training wheels then stood, rolling the bike over to stand beside the tree. Walking over to the red model, he looked it over. “You sure he doesn’t need the training wheels? Even for a week or so?”

Starsky decided to give in on the issue. Temporarily. “I’ll put ’em on,” he replied, rolling to his knees and then crawling over to the bike. “I’d hate to have Hannah feel like less of a man.”

“You’re such a jerk,” Hutch replied, laughing, then started walking towards the door. “You want another beer? I’ll get the last load. I think there’s only two more packages.”

“You do that, Blondie,” Starsky replied, pulling the training wheels out of the box. “I still say he isn’t gonna like these.”

“Then we’ll take them off. I just don’t want them to get hurt,” Hutch said, then left the room.

Starsky finished with the red bike, then rolled it over and put it on the other side of the tree from Hannah’s bike. He walked over the fireplace and added another log to fire, looking up as his partner returned, juggling two bottles of beer with one hand and two medium sized boxes with the other.

“Grab these,” he said, holding out the bottles.

Starsky took them and placed them on the coffee table, which had been pushed closer to the wall to make room for the bike assembly project. Hutch placed the last present under the tree and, grabbing his beer from the table, sat on the floor next to his partner, his back against the sofa.

“Well, what do you think?”

“I think you look sexy by firelight.” Starsky whispered.

Hutch jabbed his elbow into his lover. “The tree, Gordo. The tree.”

“It looks good, Blondie. Real good,” Starsky laughed. They sat quietly for a moment, sipping their beer and admiring the beauty and comfort of their home. When Starsky spoke again, his voice took on a more serious tone. “I wasn’t sure we were gonna make it.”

“Wrapping the gifts as we got them really made it easier. That left only bikes to assemble tonight.” Hutch shrugged his shoulders. “I knew we’d make it.”

He waited for a snappy comeback and, when one didn’t come, he looked over to see his partner peeling the label off his beer bottle. “You weren’t just talking about Christmas, were you?”

Starsky shook his head. “I mean, I know Hannah and Adam are settling in and things are going pretty good right now but for a while there….”

“I know, babe. It looked bad.”

“It scared me, Hutch.” Starsky put the bottle down and reached out for his lover’s hand. “We stopped talking, we stopped lovin’….we just stopped. All these years we’ve faced everything together and…nothing could beat us. Then everything happened and we tried handling it all separately,” He looked over at Hutch “We can’t do that again, babe. We gotta stick together.”

Hutch put his bottle down and enclosed Starsky’s hand in his. “You’re right, I know. I closed myself off. I tried to keep everything inside…under control. I figured that Hannah and Adam were my responsibility now and I had to take care of it all. We came close to losing everything and it’s all my fault.”

“No, it wasn’t all your fault. We both did our share of holding things in. We were so wrapped up in all the little everyday disasters, we lost sight of the big picture, of what really keeps things running.” Starsky held up their clasped hands “This is what we forgot, Blondie. We are so much stronger together than we could ever be apart.”

Hutch drew the hands to his lips, kissing the joined fingers lightly. “I know. I hated feeling separate from you. I never want to do that again.”

“We won’t.” Starsky said decisively. “We can’t. Because as good as things are at the moment, they’re still not settled. Ma will be leaving in a few days and, come the first of the year, the kids start school. It’s gonna be crazy around here for a while. So we both have to work on finding time for this…for you and me. Cuz without us, together and strong, the kids have nothing. And I think they’ve lost enough already, don’t you?”

Hutch reached over and wrapped his arms around the other man, hugging him tightly. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“I don’t know,” Starsky replied, enjoying the hug and nuzzling closer. “But I can think of something you can do now.”

“What’s that…oh…” the blond moaned as his partner grabbed an earlobe with his teeth and bit down lightly. “Santa, I’ve been a very good boy.”

Starsky chuckled, then whispered into the ear he had just mauled. “We’ll just have to see how good of a boy you can be tonight, Kenny.”

Moving away, he rose to his feet and held out a hand, pulling Hutch to his feet and right into an embrace.

“Merry Christmas, Blondie.”

“Merry Christmas,” Hutch replied, holding the other man tighter, then whispered, “Can we go to bed now?”

“I think we better, or Santa’s gonna get a bigger surprise then just a fire when he comes down the chimney.”

Laughing, the two men moved towards the stairs with their arms around each other.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Do you think they’re awake?”

Starsky opened one eye as he woke to the whispered conversation taking place at the end of their bed.

“Starsky stopped snoring,” Adam commented.

“But he’s not moving,” Hannah complained, bobbing up and down and wringing her hands. “I just know Santa’s already been here.”

“We can’t go downstairs until everyone wakes up,” Adam replied. “Uncle Ken said so.”

“I know, I know, but how come they won’t wake up?” the little girl whined softly. Then, she perked up. “Maybe you could drop something?”

“Me?” Adam squeaked.

“Yeah,” Hannah replied, warming to the idea. “Go get one of your cars.”

“What if they get mad?” the little boy asked.

“Oh, yeah.”

He smiled as he heard two heavy sighs. Starsky was facing his partner when he woke and glancing over surreptitiously, he saw that Hutch was also waking up to the performance. The two men smiled as their eyes met. Hutch winked at the other man, then raised his arms in an elaborate stretch, yawning loudly.

“Uncle Ken, Uncle Ken!” two voiced piped, almost exactly in sync.

Hutch made a show of looking at the children in confusion. “Hannah? Adam? What’s wrong?”

The two children bounced up and down in excitement.

“Wake up, Uncle Ken!” Hannah squealed.

“It’s Christmas!” Adam finished.

His eyes widened dramatically. “It is?”

“Yes, yes, hurry!” the little boy replied.

“Santa’s been here,” Hannah said, finishing the sentence.

Hutch looked over at his partner, who was pretending to still be sleeping. “What about Starsky? I think he’s still sleeping.”

Suddenly a loud snore was heard from that side of the bed. An obviously fake snore, that sounded like a raspberry. The twins eyes widened in surprise, then Hannah became suspicious.

“He’s not sleeping,” she complained. “He’s faking.” Another snore answered her.

Hutch held a finger to his lips and motioned the children to move to Starsky’s side of the bed. He smiled broadly at them.

“Maybe we should just leave him here?” He motioned with his hands, preparing them to attack. “Or maybe we should…wake him up!”

Starsky started squirming and shouting as he was attacked by three sets of tickling fingers. “Stop! Stop! I’m awake!” he cried. “You monsters!”

The twins giggled and continued tickling, as Hutch helped to hold the wiggling man in place.

“What’s going on in here?”

The four on the bed suddenly stopped, looking towards the bedroom door, each with identical expressions of guilt. Hannah was the only one who answered the question.

“We’re tickling Starsky,” she explained.

Rachel smiled then replied, “Oh, that’s nice, dear.” Then she left the room.

“Ma!” Starsky cried from the bed, abandoning all hope of rescue as he was descended upon again by the tickling hoard. Finally he reached out and swung first Hannah, then Adam to the middle of the bed, and the foursome fell back, breathing heavily.

“Merry Christmas, kids,” Hutch said, rising and leaning on his elbow. He leaned down and kissed each child. “So how ’bout we get this show on the road?”

“Yeah!” the twins squealed, then jumped from the bed, then started running for the door.

“Stop!” They stopped. “Wait for us, OK?” The two children stood bouncing in the doorway.

“Shall we?” Hutch asked his partner, smiling. The two men stood and put on their robes, before joining the kids. “You can go now,” he told them, and the men watched the twins scamper towards the stairs. “Careful!” he called, following them.

“It’s not quite the same as last year, it is Blondie?”

“I don’t know,” Hutch replied in a teasing tone. “Seems I remember you waking me up early to see what I had for you?”

“Yeah, but we didn’t have to go downstairs for that.”

The laughing men descended the stairs together.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The three adults sat in the den at the end of the day, Rachel sitting in the recliner with a cup of tea, and her son and his partner on the couch each drinking a beer. They all seemed hypnotized by the fire and the exhaustion of the day.

“I forgot what it was like to have a Christmas with children,” Rachel commented. “It’s much more exciting, but very tiring.”

“You can say that again,” replied Starsky. “We had to get them bikes?” The last was said with a look at the blond slumped on the sofa next to him.

“Training wheels didn’t last long, did they?” Hutch said, chuckling. “They much preferred us running behind them holding the back of their bikes so they wouldn’t tip over.”

“My feet are killin’ me,” his partner stated. “But it was worth it. They both did great, didn’t they?”

“Just as good as you when you were their age,” Rachel said to her soon, smiling. “Refused your training wheels then rode right into a fence. Almost broke your arm. Gave your father and I a heart attack, too.”

Hutch laughed at the anecdote. “And you didn’t want training wheels for Adam?”

“I forgot that,” Starsky replied defensively. “Ma, why do you tell him these things? You just give him ammunition to use later.”

“I think it’s my job as mother-in-law.”

“Now I know where you got your smart mouth,” Hutch teased his partner. “You just keep feeding me the information, Rachel, and I’ll keep tabs on your baby boy here.”

“You think they got everything they wanted?” Starsky asked. “Adam was a little quiet after he opened that last box.”

“I think he was still hoping for that puppy he keeps talking about,” Rachel replied. “I’ve never seen a boy take to animals the way he does. When we’re at the park, every dog there has to get close to him.”

“I don’t know about a dog right now,” Hutch said. “Starsk and I have talked about getting one. It would be great to get a nice big one, like a shepherd or a lab. We certainly have the yard for it.”

“Davey, are you better with them now?” Rachel asked her son.

“I’m OK, Ma,” he answered, blushing slightly. “I’m not afraid or anything, I just don’t like it when they get in my face.”

Rachel turned to Hutch. “He was only three when that dog tried to attack him in the park. I didn’t think he’d remember, but he’s always been uneasy with them since.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Hutch said to his partner, who was avoiding his gaze. “We don’t have to get a dog.”

“I don’t remember it, Hutch,” Starsky replied. “I was too little. I just get…nervous around them sometimes. But I think the kids deserve a dog of their own. Maybe not right now, but once we’re really settled. Maybe if I raise it from a puppy, it won’t bother me.”

“Maybe we should look for something smaller?” the blond suggested.

“Don’t even think about it, Blondie,” Starsky replied. “One a them little yap yap things? I’d probably end up shooting it to shut it up.”

“Davey!” Rachel scolded.

“Just kiddin’, Ma,” he apologized, then turned back to his partner. “We’ll get a big one, like you said. Something that will help protect the house and be good with the kids.”

“Maybe in the summer,” Hutch replied. “Huggy sure got some bonus points with his gifts.”

“Don’t remind me,” Starsky groaned. “The art set for Hannah is great. Paints, and charcoals, and watercolor stuff is incredible, even if it’s a little much for a five year old. But he had to get Adam a drum set? Drums? Is he crazy?”

“Yeah, crazy like a fox. He’s going for the ‘uncle from hell’ role.”

“Well, we’ll definitely make sure Adam practices the next time Huggy comes over,” Starsky said. “See if he wants to let our little drummer audition at that new restaurant of his.”

Hutch laughed. “Oh, wait! Think about this. Adam will have his own band someday and Uncle Huggy will feel obligated to let him play at his place, no matter how bad he is. I don’t know, Starsk. We may have a long time to wait for the revenge, but it’ll be oh, so sweet.”

“You’re evil, Blondie. Brilliant, but evil.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“May I be excused?” Hannah asked politely.

“Me too,” piped Adam.

“You may,” replied Hutch, smiling as they ran from the room. “Don’t turn the TV on too loud!” he called after them, standing to start to clear the table. “I miss your mother already. She really helped with their table manners.” Reaching for Starsky’s plate, he continued, “They’re both nervous about starting school tomorrow. You think they’ll be OK, don’t you?”

Starsky looked up at his partner, then down at his plate. “Sure they will,” he replied quietly. “I’ll get that,” he said, grabbing his own plate and standing.

“Bad day?” Hutch asked, noticing his partner’s distraction that was continuing on from dinner.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Hutch placed the plates he had collected in the dishpan and started to run the water.

“Anything in particular?” he asked, taking Starsky’s plate from his hand and putting it with the other dirty plates. “Or just a bad day in general?”

Starsky returned to the kitchen table and started to put away the condiments.

“Fisher asked for a transfer.”

Hutch turned and looked at his partner with surprise. “Burt Fisher? Your second in command?”

“Yup,” Starsky replied. “His official request said he wanted a change from the Academy, but to my face he said he wouldn’t work for a queer.”

Hutch turned off the water and faced his partner, wiping his hands on a towel. “You’re probably better off without him,” he said quietly. “He was already trying to undermine your authority.”

“It just feels like a defeat. Like I shoulda been able to make it work.”

“I thought you said you tried.”

“I did, but apparently not hard enough.” Starsky sighed. “Now I gotta find another sergeant to take his place. Interviews! I hate this crap.”

“Administrative duties come with the job,” Hutch reminded him. “But now you can get someone you can work with, someone to help you really get things under control.”

“Someone with a sense of humor,” Starsky said with a smile. “It was like a funeral parlor in there every day with Fisher. I don’t think the guy cracked a smile once.”

“Don’t look for a comedian, Starsk, you’re already playing that role. You need someone efficient, someone who appreciates a little spit and polish.”

“Hey, I appreciate spit and polish!” the dark haired man leered at his partner, then started to stalk him across the kitchen.

“I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing, Gordo,” Hutch said, dodging the other man then rolling the towel, preparing it to snap. “I have a weapon.”

“Yeah? Show me yours I’ll show you mine.” Starsky reached out and grabbed the towel before the blond could let it fly, then tugged him into an embrace. “You can always take my mind offa things, Blondie.”

Hutch hugged him back. “Hey, what’s a partner for?”

“I’ll tell ya later, after the kids are in bed.”

“Deal.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Once Upon a Time there was a wonderful enchanted kingdom called Venice. There was a great castle by the ocean where all the royalty lived, including…”

“The Dark Prince and the White Knight!” Hannah’s voice completed the sentence.

Adam continued, “They protected the kingdom from all the evil forces.”

Starsky smiled down at the boy lying on the bed beside him.

“Am I tellin’ this story, or are you?” he teased, glancing over at his partner who was propped up behind Hannah on her bed.

“You are,” two small voices chorused.

“I thought so,” he replied. “I just wanted to make sure it was me tellin’ it. Cuz sometimes I get confused…”

“Starsky!” Hannah complained. “Just tell the story.”

Story time had become even more of a group activity that usual that night. The children were both nervous about their first day of school the next day, so their uncles were trying to relax them enough to hopefully get them to sleep. The children were each tucked in their beds. Starsky was lying behind Adam, propped up on his elbow with his back against the wall. Hutch was in the same position on the other side of the room, lying behind Hannah. And Starsky was putting on his usual show.

“Now don’t rush me,” he continued. “This is an important story.”

“How come?” Adam asked, turning his head to look up at Starsky. “Is there a really, really bad guy in this one?” His eyes gleamed, obviously was enjoying the prospect.

“You’ll just have to see,” Starsky teased, then continued the story. “One day, the White Knight went off into the forest to find some magic plants. He was a healer as well as being a fierce knight, and he needed to get some more green stuff to make his potions. But there was someone watching him, someone hiding in the forest…”

“Who? Who?” Hannah chirped.

“It was…Evil Queen Kira!” Starsky’s voice rose dramatically. “She was the evilest of the evil queens. She knew that the Dark Prince and the White Knight together had a special power. A great bond that was so strong, it could fight any black magic in the world. So she decided to take them away from each other.”

“No, she can’t, Starsky!” Adam protested. “Can she?”

Starsky’s eyes met Hutch’s across the room and the two shared a smile as the story continued.

“She thought she could try, kemo sabe. Evil Queen Kira didn’t know what she was up against, did she?”

“No way,” the boy said firmly. “She’s nothin’ compared to them!”

“She had followed the White Knight into the forest and decided to kidnap him using an evil spell that would make the Knight think he was in love with her.”

“That wouldn’t work!” Hannah said. “He had magic powers too.”

“But it did work,” Starsky said, looking at Hutch again. “For awhile. But then what do you think happened?”

“The Dark Prince came to the rescue!” Adam replied confidently.

“First he had to find out about what was happening. Fortunately for our heroes, living in that same part of the forest was a big black bird. He was a magic bird who knew everything that went on in the kingdom. Now, that bird liked the Dark Prince and the White Knight. He knew that since they came to town, they had only done good deeds. So he wanted to help. That bird, he saw what was happening to the White Knight, and he flew and flew as fast as he could all the way to the castle.”

“Did he find the Dark Prince?” Hannah asked, squirming under the covers.

“He sure did,” Starsky replied. “As soon as the Dark Prince heard what Evil Queen Kira was doing to the White Knight, he set off to the rescue. Through the Enchanted Forest he ran, never resting, never…”

“Does he have a dog?” Adam interrupted.

“Huh?” Starsky was confused by the seemingly random question.

“Every good guy should have a dog.” The conviction in Adam’s voice told Starsky there was no way he could disagree.

“Well….of course he had a dog.” Starsky ruffled the young boy’s hair and continued. “So…The Dark Prince, and his dog, ran through the Enchanted Forest. They ran for…”

“What kind of dog?”

Starsky looked over at his partner, lying with Hannah on the opposite bed. Hutch was trying not to laugh as Adam interrupted again.

“What kind? Well, he was a German Shepherd. Like a police dog. He was big and strong and powerful, just like the Dark Prince. And he was faithful, too. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to protect the Dark Prince or the White Knight.”

“Good.” Adam sigh as he snuggled closer to the larger man, apparently satisfied with Starsky’s explanation.

Starsky waited a moment, just to make sure there were no more ‘important’ details he was missing. Then, satisfied that everyone was settled, he continued.

“Okay, so…..The Dark Prince and his faithful companion ran through the Enchanted Forest. They…”

“What was his name?”

This question came from a small voice in the other bed. Hannah stared at him in wide-eyed innocence. Adam rolled over to look up at Starsky, waiting expectantly for the answer.

“Name?” Nervously, he looked at the two sets of blue eyes staring at him. “Name? Uh…his name was…uh…Spike.”

He saw two little blond heads nod happily, as if this was the most logical name in the world. But the look on Hutch’s face was one of complete disbelief.

‘Spike?’, his partner mouthed wordlessly, the one word asking Starsky where that name came from. Starsky shrugged his shoulders, shooting his partner his best ‘what can I say?’ look.

“Starsky…” Adam whispered, wanting the story to continue.

“Oh, okay. So where were we? Oh, yes…The Dark Prince and his faithful companion, Spike, ran through the Enchanted Forest to rescue the White Knight. When he found them both, the White Knight didn’t want to be rescued.”

“How come?” Hannah asked.

“The magic spell, remember?” Hutch leaned down and whispered in her ear.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot.”

“So for the first time, the Dark Prince and the White Knight fought each other. They had a great battle right there in the forest.”

“No!” Adam protested.

“Yes,” Starsky said. “It was a terrible battle. Their swords were crashing against each other, making sparks fly in the air. And the whole time they were fighting, they felt awful. But they couldn’t stop. The Evil Queen was watching them, laughing and enjoying the fight. She didn’t think her evil spell could be broken.”

“So what happened?” This time the interruption came from Hutch. Starsky smiled at his partner and winked.

“The fight went on and on, and the two men were getting tired. Suddenly Spike ran behind the White Knight and bit him right on his bum.”

The twins started giggling and Hutch frowned at him, then couldn’t help it, and started laughing too.

Starsky smiled and waited until the group had calmed before continuing. “When the White Knight felt that bite, the spell suddenly lifted and he dropped his sword. The Dark Prince dropped his sword too and the two men stood looking at each other, stunned by the fight. The White Knight reached out a hand and the Dark Prince immediately grasped it. Suddenly there was a beautiful glowing light surrounding them as the power of their great friendship filled the air. They heard Spike barking and turned to see Evil Queen Kira fleeing into the forest, never to be seen in the kingdom again.”

“And the Dark Prince and the White Knight lived happily ever after,” Hutch completed the story.

“They did,” Starsky agreed. “Forever and ever.”

“Forever and ever,” Hannah repeated firmly. “Just like us.”

Hutch leaned down to hug his niece, kissing the top of her head. “You’re right pumpkin. Just like us. Happily ever after, forever and ever.”

“What happened to Spike?” Adam asked, always needing every detail.

“Well, he lived happily ever after too,” Starsky said. “He went back to the castle with the Dark Prince and the White Knight and got a huge reward for his bravery in battle.”

“What was it?” the boy asked.

“He got the biggest bone a dog ever could want. It was a dragon bone.”

“A dragon bone? But where did the dragon come from, Starsky?”

“Adam, my man, that is a story for another night,” Starsky replied, then swung himself over the boy and off the bed. He leaned in to tuck the blankets tighter, then kissed Adam on the forehead. “Goodnight, sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Hutch got up as well, and retucked in Hannah. After kissing her goodnight, the two men switched places, and finally kisses and goodnights were completed.

“Now, go to sleep,” Hutch said, standing by the door and turning off the light. Starsky stood just outside the door.

“Uncle Ken?”

“Yes, Adam?”

“Spike was a hero too, wasn’t he?”

“He sure was,” Hutch replied. “Now, sleep!”

After a final round of goodnights, the door was finally pulled almost closed, and the two men went downstairs and into the kitchen. Hutch leaned against the wall as Starsky opened the refrigerator, obviously looking for a snack.

“Evil Queen Kira?” the blond asked, folding his arms.

“Well, she was,” Starsky’s voice was muffled. Then he emerged from the fridge, salami in one hand, and two bottles of beer in the other. Handing a beer to Hutch, he kicked the door shut with his foot. Grabbing a knife from the drawer, he sat at the kitchen table with the salami and beer.

“You’ll get nightmares eating that stuff,” Hutch commented, walking over and joining his partner at the table.

“Hey, talkin’ about Kira is enough to give anyone nightmares.”

“Not one of our finer moments, my friend.”

Starsky looked thoughtfully at his partner as he chewed a piece of salami. Swallowing the mouthful, he took a sip of beer.

“I hated her for a long time,” he said quietly. “She played us off against each other like a pro, then sat back to enjoy the fireworks.”

“Very true,” Hutch replied. “But I can’t say I was proud of our behavior either.”

Starsky nodded. “All’s well that ends well, I say. Apparently we both needed a good bite on the ass. Hope she’s happy married to that accountant guy.”

“Banker, I think,” his partner corrected.

“Yeah, banker, that’s it. I think I’m happier with more of an action guy, myself.”

“Yeah?”

Starsky smiled, looking his partner up and down. “But with a sensitive side. My guy likes plants and music, but can handle a magnum like an expert. All the basics in one gorgeous, long, lean package.”

Hutch blushed, but joined the game. “I like an action guy too. One with power and agility, along with a wonderful sense of humor, all packages in a muscular body and with a walk that could make you drool. And a dog named Spike.” Both men broke up laughing. “Where the hell did you get the name Spike?”

“I have no idea,” Starsky replied, still laughing. “You should have seen your face.”

“It just came out of left field. But now the Dark Prince has a faithful companion And pretty soon the real Dark Prince is going to have to get his page Adam his own Spike.”

“Don’t remind me,” Starsky groaned. “Soon. Let’s just get them to school first before we think about populatin’ the house with yet another small creature.”

“Speaking of small creatures, I’ll drive them to school in the morning.”

“You don’t think they could take the bus?”

“Not on their first day,” Hutch replied. “I have to make sure the registration thing is all set and that they get to their classes and meet their new teachers.”

“You want me to go too? I can probably call and tell that rat bastard Fisher that I’ll be late. Make him work a little before he moves on.”

“Nah, I can handle it. Then the next day they can take the bus.”

“And you’ll follow the bus in your car to make sure they get there, right?”

Hutch smiled. “You know me so well.”

“Hey, I’m used to the mother hen thing from you.”

The two men smiled at each other, then Starsky stood up and returned the rest of the salami to the fridge. He took out two more bottles of beer and closed the door.

“I don’t know about you, Starsk, but I’m kinda tired. Maybe we should take those upstairs.”

“It’s only eight o’clock.”

“And your point is…?” Hutch asked, then walked over to the other man and suddenly pinned him to the fridge with his body. He nuzzled his head against Starsky’s neck, planting little kisses on the skin until he reached the Adam’s apple. Suddenly he began to suck on that spot.

“Hey, Blondie, not where it can show, huh?” Starsky said, unable to fend off the other man as both hands still held the beer bottles.

Hutch drew back. His face was inches from his partner’s as their eyes met. Staring for a moment, his gaze deep and loving, he finally tilted his head and their lips met. That was the catalyst and the kiss suddenly turned passionate, with Starsky groaned and pressing back against the lean body holding his in place.

A loud clanking noise surprised them, and they drew back from each other. They both laughed as they realized it was the two bottles of beer banging against each other behind Hutch’s back as Starsky became too involved in the kiss to realize what he was doing.

“C’mon, White Knight, I think we should take this show on the road.”

“The road leading upstairs,” Hutch agreed.

“Well, I have this Enchanted Forest I want to show you,” Starsky teased.

“Lead on, Dark Prince.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two weeks later, Starsky sat at his desk, going through yet another folder. He had already had five interviews that morning, and he had two to go before lunch.

“Pimply faced kids or cynical old farts,” he grumbled to himself. “And not one of ’em with a sense of humor.”

The job as his second in command was actually a pretty choice position and he had twenty applications so far. The applicants had to have attained the rank of sergeant and needed some administrative experience. Starsky had also added the requirement that their firearms skills had to be in the excellent range.

Everyone that he had interviewed so far, he knew he could not get along with on a long term basis. He knew Hutch was right and that he needed someone with an affinity for paperwork and organization. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be a human being, he thought. That Clarkson guy really took the cake. Told him that he would have Starsky ‘straightened out in no time’. Implying that Starsky was somehow in dire need of his services. He was, thought Starsky, but that guy didn’t have to point it out so blatantly, did he?

Resigned to the continuation of interview hell, Starsky opened the next file and looked at the application form. E. Cooper was an ex-marine. That was a plus, he thought. They had a military past in common, anyway. Made sergeant one year ago and had spent time…in the meter maid division? Cooper was a supervisor, but what a shitty job, he thought. No wonder the poor guy was itching for a change. Firearms marks were spectacular. He could definitely teach a couple of classes, just like Starsky did.

Before he could delve further into the file, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he called. Starsky heard the door open and then close, but continued to skim the form. Working towards his BA in Business Administration nights and weekends. That would impress Hutch, he thought. Maybe this guy would be different than the rest of the losers he’d seen so far. Then he looked up.

Standing at full military attention in a sergeants blues was…a woman. Not very tall, Starsky figured she barely made the height requirement. She was lean, with hardly any feminine curves, which was usually the first thing he looked for. She had short dark hair and held her hat under her arm, her gaze fixed on the wall behind him.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Cooper, sir,” she replied, still at attention. “Reporting for my interview, sir”

Starsky looked at her, then back down at the file. Moving aside the application form, he saw the first page of her personnel file which included a picture. She was indeed E. Cooper. Evangeline Cooper.

“Evangeline?” he asked, looking back up.

“I usually go by Cooper, sir.”

“I imagine you would,” Starsky replied, leaning back in the chair, suddenly very interested in this new applicant. “And this ain’t the military, Cooper. You can relax a little.”

“Thank you, sir,” she replied, then moved into an at ease position, hands behind her back.

“Cooper?”

“Yes, sir?” she said, meeting his eyes for the first time.

“Sit,” he said. “Please. You’re givin’ me a stiff neck.”

Cooper sat.

“So, you’re a woman,” he mused.

“Last time I looked, sir,” she replied, meeting his gaze.

Starsky laughed. Now this one had a sense of humor, he thought. Dry as a bone, but it was still there.

“You’re working in Traffic?”

“Yes, sir. Supervisor of the ticketing division.”

“Your choice?” he asked, somehow knowing the answer.

“No sir,” Cooper replied, meeting his gaze.

“Good place to put a woman with an interest in moving up, I imagine,” he commented.

“Yes, sir, I believe that was the reason I was given.”

“Didn’t like that too much, did you, Cooper?” Starsky’s eyebrow rose with his question. He liked this one. She obviously knew she was being fast tracked away from ‘real’ police work because of her sex. So she took the job and did a damn fine job of it, if the reports in front of him were accurate.

“No, sir,” she said. “I had requested a transfer to an opening in Arson. I didn’t get the position. Apparently your sexual organs need to be on the outside of your body in that department.”

Starsky laughed out loud. Oh, he definitely liked this one. Not one to pull her punches.

“Well, why don’t you tell me why you’d like this job, Cooper? All discussion of sexual organs aside, of course.”

And so she did.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Starsk, did you know one of the garage windows is broken?” Hutch asked as he walked through the front door.

“Yeah, can you believe it?” Starsky replied, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a dish towel over his shoulder. He watched as his partner removed his suit jacket and hung it on the stair post as a reminder to be taken upstairs. “Let me,” he said as he moved to stand in front of Hutch and help take off the shoulder holster. Leaning close, he whispered. “I’m so glad they still let you carry the big gun. It’s kinda sexy underneath that serious suit. Makes me hot.”

Hutch’s arms went around his partner, and they kissed a greeting. “You’ll have to cool down until later, hotshot,” he said, then pulled back. “I do hear wild Indians in our backyard, don’t I?”

Starsky smiled took the holster he had deftly unfasted while they kissed and hung it in the hall closet.

“You do,” he replied. “It’s our day to watch the kids. The four of them are out there playing. What you’re actually hearing is a childish rendition of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid.”

“They’ve never seen that movie!” Hutch said with surprise. Then he grew suspicious. “You didn’t tell them about it, did you?”

“It wasn’t me,” Starsky said, walking towards the kitchen. “I believe it was your friend and mine, young Danny Williams.”

Starsky returned to the stove where he continued to stir the sloppy joe mixture in the frying pan. Hutch followed his partner, then stood looking out the porch door. “I think this must be the Bolivia scene. This is great, just great. They’re going to have nightmares from this. Guns and train robbery. They’re only five! Wait until I get my hands on him.”

“You may have a chance shortly. He’s supposed to come over and pick up Tracy and Megan in a few minutes. By the way, it was a rock through the garage window.”

Hutch turned in surprise. “A rock?”

“Yeah, I’m just glad the Torino wasn’t in there. It landed on that side of the garage.”

“You think it was one of the neighborhood kids?”

Starsky turned down the heat, and covered the pan, then walked over to the refrigerator. “I don’t know who else, but these kids are pretty good. Plus we’ve always gotten along with just about all of them.” He walked over to hand Hutch a beer, then stood by his side as they watched the children play. “I just hate to think it was something more than a childish prank.”

“You thinking us as a target, maybe?” Hutch said quietly.

“We’ve been pretty much unscathed until now,” his partner reminded him. “It’s not that we didn’t expect that it might happen.”

“But why now, after all this time?”

“I don’t know, Blondie,” Starsky said with a sigh. “I guess we’ll just have to see if anything else happens.”

Hutch stepped away from the door and stalked over to the kitchen table and sat, slamming down the bottle.

“I hate this!”

“Me too. But don’t let it ruin your day,” Starsky replied. “I have a better way to ruin it. Let me tell you about my interviews.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. How did that go?”

His partner walked over to the table, brushing a hand through Hutch’s blond hair as he passed, then sat on the opposite side.

“It was ugly, let me tell you. You would not believe the jokers who applied for the job. Accountant types, all of them. Asses so tight, a fart couldn’t sneak past.”

Hutch laughed. “They couldn’t have been all bad. There wasn’t a single one you liked?”

Starsky sighed. “Yeah, there was one. Ex-marine, tough as nails, and can shoot like a marksman. Organized as all hell. Going to school nights working towards a bachelors in business. Terrific dry sense of humor too.”

“What the hell are you waiting for?” the blond asked with surprise. “Hire him!”

“Only one problem.”

“What?”

“He’s a she,” Starsky replied, toasting his partner with the beer bottle. “Evangeline Cooper.”

“Evangeline?”

“Goes by Cooper.”

“She’d have to,” Hutch commented. “So what’s the problem? I know she’s a woman, but you’ve worked with Minnie and Lizzie. You have a lot of respect for them.”

“Hutch, it’s not just me,” his partner explained. “It’s everyone else too. This is the Academy. You don’t think the old boys will have a problem with her?”

“Since when do you care what anyone else thinks?”

“Since I’ve already got one big strike against me,” Starsky said quietly. “I’m already challenging the establishment living with you, us having kids. They can’t prove anything, so they don’t bother coming after me. But if I hire Cooper, that’s just one more reason for them to look.”

Hutch reached across the table and grabbed his partner’s hand. “We agreed we wouldn’t stop living. I hate to think we’re constantly having to make choices that deflect attention away from us.”

His hand was squeezed, and then released. “I’m just trying to be sensible,” Starsky replied.

“Oh, fuck ’em, Starsk,” Hutch said firmly. “Hire her, and tell them all to go screw.”

“I could be opening another can of worms.”

“If someone decides to start harassing us, they don’t need any excuse. Do you like her?” Starsky nodded, and the blond continued. “Then hire her. Maybe she can teach you some social graces.”

Starsky laughed out loud. “Oh, now that’s funny. Cooper? Social graces? She’s tougher than old shoe leather.” He took a swig from the bottle. “Halfway through the interview, I forgot she was a girl.”

“Now this one I have to meet,” Hutch replied, smiling. “Maybe everyone else will forget she’s a girl too.”

“You might be right.”

“Hey guys, what’s up!” Danny bounded into the kitchen, obviously having let himself in.

“Ah, just the man we want to see,” Starsky said in greeting, gesturing towards a chair as he pushed it back from the table with his foot. “Have a seat, my boy, we need to talk.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The following night, Starsky was reading in the den, waiting for Hutch to get home. He had spent the early part of the evening replacing the glass pane in the garage, and now he was watching the clock. His own schedule was pretty normal now, going in early and usually able to leave early. Although not as bad as their detective days, there were times that his partner worked much longer hours and he was sometimes called in during the night to look at a crime scene. It could be tiring, but Hutch clearly loved it, and for that, Starsky would put up with the occasionally grouchy and tired partner.

“Hey”

Starsky looked up to see Hutch standing in the doorway of the den, his suit jacket over his shoulder. His blond hair was askew and his eyes red-rimmed.

“Hey, yourself. You looked terrible. C’mere,” he said, motioning for his partner to join him on the couch.

Hutch walked over and draped the jacket on the back of the couch then sat down, sinking into the soft leather with a sigh. Starsky reached over and tugged him down so the blond was lying with his head in his partner’s lap.

“Oh, you have no idea how good this feels,” Hutch said, closing his eyes.

Starsky smiled then began pulling the already loosened tie from around the blond’s neck. Once free, he threw it over his shoulder, then began to run his hands through the fine blond hair.

“Bad day, huh?”

“Understatement of the century, buddy.”

“Is this the one with the graves they found today?”

Hutch nodded. “They’re just kids, Starsk,” he said softly. “Beaten, tortured, and then buried in a field.” He swallowed hard. “Jesus, all I could think about was Adam and Hannah and how I would feel if anything happened…”

“OK, OK,” Starsky soothed. “Adam and Hannah are both sound asleep upstairs.” He continued carding his hands through the silky strands. “Hannah tried waiting up for you.”

“Did I forget something?” the blond man asked carefully, eyes still closed.

“Nah, she just has something to show you.”

“What is it?”

“A picture.”

“Of what?”

“She drew a picture at school of you both on a horse.”

Blue eyes opened. “A horse? Hannah and I?”

Starsky smiled down at his partner. “You’ve been telling her those stories about the farm and riding horses and I guess it’s been on her mind.”

Hutch’s eyes closed again and he smiled. “Is it a good picture?”

“She’s a genius.”

“Of course she is.”

For a time the only sound was the clock ticking on the wall and a few sighs of contentment.

“You fallin’ asleep?” Starsky asked, brushing a hand down a fair skinned cheek.

“Mmmmm”

“I think we should move this party upstairs before you conk out.”

“Mmmmm,” the blond replied, but then started to sit up. Almost in a sitting position, he groaned and grabbed his back. “Shit!”

Starsky stood, then reached down to help his partner to his feet. Finally Hutch was standing, but was still holding his back.

“First a hot shower, then I’ll take care of that for you,” he said, gently pushing Hutch towards the stairs. “It’s tension.”

“Tension and standing out in that field for hours on the uneven ground.”

Soon the men reached the upstairs hallway and they both moved towards the twins’ room. Pushing open the door, Hutch stepped into the softly lit room and moved first to Hannah’s bed. She was breathing peacefully, her blond hair spread out over the pillow and her cheeks slightly flushed. He leaned down and brushed back her hair, kissing her lightly on the forehead. Moving over to Adam’s bed, he pulled at the covers that were tangled around the boy, smoothing them. His nephew could be a restless sleeper, and they often found the sheets and blankets on the floor. After kissing Adam, Hutch moved quietly to the door where Starsky stood watching.

“Shower.”

Hutch nodded, then looked back one more time. He smiled, then followed his partner out the door, closing it behind him. The two men moved into their bedroom and Hutch stripped in the middle of the floor while Starsky sat on the end of the bed and watched. Clothes simply dropped where he stood. Hutch started to move towards the bathroom, then turned as if remembering something.

“I’ll get ’em,” Starsky said, already standing, ready to pick up the clothes. “I don’t know how you lived without me,” he grumbled to himself. “You musta just shoveled the clothes from room to room.”

“I didn’t.”

Starsky looked up to see Hutch smiling at him from the doorway.

“Didn’t what?”

“Didn’t live without you.”

Then he disappeared into the bathroom.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hutch stepped back into the bedroom, briskly drying his hair with a towel. His partner was sitting on the side of the bed, wearing navy blue pajama bottoms and avidly reading a paperback. He looked up when Hutch entered the room.

“You ready?” he asked. At Hutch’s nod, he placed the book on his bedside table, and gestured for the blond to lie down on the bed. As the other man moved towards the bed, Starsky reached into the drawer of the table and pulled out a bottle of sandalwood scented massage oil. Turning, he saw Hutch was already stretched out on his stomach. Kneeling on the bed, he was soon straddling his partner’s hips. He opened the bottle and poured some into his hands then rubbed them together to warm the oil.

Starsky placed his hands on Hutch’s shoulders and began to massage, pressing deeply into the tight muscles, drawing heartfelt groans from his partner. He worked on his neck, then the upper back. Several times he leaned down to kiss one of the many moles that covered the golden skin. When he reached the lower back, Starsky moved so he was resting on Hutch’s upper thighs as he worked. This gave him the leverage he needed to work on the more painful muscles. He started slowly, just loosening and soothing the area. Gradually he pressed deeper and deeper, as he could feel the area relax under his hands.

“Babe?”

“Hmmm?”

“You want me to keep going or you want to sleep?”

“Don’t stop,” the blond man said with a moan. “It’s heaven.”

Starsky smiled, and continued, working a little more on the lower back, then his hands began to circle towards the generous cheeks below. He worked his hands into the flesh of the buttocks, drawing even more groans from his partner. After massaging for a few minutes, Starsky resumed his journey down the long lean body, moving even further backwards, giving himself free access to lightly furred, muscular thighs. Runner’s legs, he thought, using both hands to work each of the long powerful muscles. When he heard what sounded suspiciously like a whimper, he smiled to himself and moved on. Hutch’s legs and feet were a major erogenous zone. He could see that his ministrations were now causing his partner to press his hips into the bed and he knew that the blond was becoming aroused.

Moving back one more time, he sat on his partner’s feet and felt the heels press upwards into his own buttocks. He began working on the tight calves, while enjoying the little bit of participation he had allowed his partner, rubbing against the muscular feet. Finally he moved off the bed, and knelt on the floor at the end of the bed, giving himself free access to his partner’s feet. He reached out and took the left foot in his hands and began to deeply massage the heel and the arch.

Hutch cried out, and tried to pull his foot away, but Starsky held firm. He knew that after an initial sensitivity to having his feet touched, his partner melted like butter over popcorn. Pressing with his thumbs on the ball of the foot, Starsky loosened each muscle individually. He was enjoying the symphony of noises which were now emerging from the bed. Deep groans and sighs joined with what sounded like panting. He smiled to himself, knowing that his partner was past the point of no return. He dropped the left foot and performed the same massage on the right, pressing the muscles and pulling at each toe in a stretch.

“Roll over,” he commanded, removing his hands. At first, there was no movement, then the long, lean torso began to shift as his partner moved onto his back. “You certainly look like you’re having a good time.”

Hutch blushed as he looked down at Starsky. His large penis was fully erect and throbbing against his abdomen. His chest already had a rosy flush that quickly changed to a deeper hue as his arousal increased.

Starsky knew exactly what his partner wanted. He reached out and again took hold of one foot. However, instead of massaging, he was now caressing. Hutch head fell back and he moaned at the sensation, drawing an understanding grin from his partner. Starsky figured that next to his cock, Hutch’s feet were the most sensitive parts of his anatomy. And he had learned to use that knowledge wisely.

He ran his fingers lightly all over the foot, then, holding the foot firmly, he leaned down and traced his tongue across the underside of the toes. Hutch arched up and cried out, then quickly cut himself off. Starsky realized he was trying to be quiet because of the kids. Maybe he needed a muzzle, his seducer thought, as he continued his torment.

Placing the foot back on the bed, Starsky began to run his tongue between each individual toe, looking up through his eyelashes to watch his partner writhe on the bed. The cock that he thought was already painfully hard, was visibly pulsing and had darkened to almost a red wine color and the head was wet with pre-ejaculate.

Abandoning the one foot, Starsky began the process again on the other foot, using first his hands, then his mouth, to arouse and stimulate his partner.

“Starsk, please,” Hutch begged in a broken voice. “I can’t…”

Starsky knew exactly what was needed. Gripping the right foot in his hand and watching his partner closely, he sucked the big toe into his mouth. Hutch body arched up as he thrust his hips into the air and released a sharp cry as he reached a sudden orgasm. Starsky continued to suck the toe as he watched the blond’s cock explode without even being touched. The long body tensed as the cock pulsed again and again.

Finally Hutch collapsed back onto the bed, his muscles now completely lax. Starsky placed the foot he was holding back onto the bed and stood. He walked into the bathroom, then returned with a damp towel which he used to clean up his partner. He stood for a moment, looking down at the other man, then he brushed a few sweaty strands of blond hair back from Hutch’s face. There was no reaction. Starsky realized Hutch was down for the count, and he smiled with the knowledge that he was the one who relaxed his partner so that he could get the peaceful night’s rest that might have eluded him.

Taking the towel back to the bathroom, he placed it in the hamper, then returned to the bed, sitting on the side and turning off the light. He lay down at Hutch’s side facing him and placed his head in it’s familiar position on a shoulder. As he listened to his partner’s soft snores, he soon joined the other man in a deep sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hutch was surprised the next morning that Starsky wasn’t in the kitchen to greet him when he returned from his run. Usually the partners passed in the kitchen, Hutch heading up to shower before getting the kids up for school, and Starsky on his way out to work. The job at the Academy started early, with many classes beginning by seven. Starsky liked to get there early so he was available for any last minute problems before the day began. He also taught a class himself that began at eight o’clock.

It wasn’t that Starsky never went in later, it was just unusual, so Hutch wasn’t worried, just curious. He jogged up the steps and down the hall into the bedroom. The blinds were still closed and the room dark, so he went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, figuring Starsky was sleeping in. Dropping his running clothes onto the top of the hamper, he turned on the shower, adjusted the temperature and stepped in.

As he leaned down to wet his hair, the shower curtain was suddenly snapped back. Hutch looked up to see his partner stepping in to join him. He started to put his head back under the stream of water again, when he was pulled suddenly into an embrace and his lips taken in a powerful kiss. Surrendering to the mixed sensations of hot lips and a muscular body pressed to his, he moved his mouth against Starsky’s and for several moments their tongues dueled. Finally the broke apart and Hutch panted as he looked at the other man. Starsky’s eyes glittered and he stared at Hutch with what could only be described as a predatory stare.

“What are you doing?” the blond asked, breathing heavily.

“If you have to ask, I’m not doing it right.”

“I mean you’re going to be late for work and the kids will be getting up in a few minutes.”

“After that performance last night, you’re telling me you think I should wait until tonight?” Starsky said, moving closer. “Not a chance, baby blue. Turn around and spread ’em.”

Hutch stared at his partner for a moment, then quickly obeyed. He turned, placing his hands against the shower wall, his feet slightly spread. He shivered, not with cold, but with desire, as he felt Starsky move behind him and press his erection into the exposed cleft.

“Hurry up,” the blond urged.

“You got it, babe,” Starsky replied and Hutch felt him move away to grab the lotion they left in the shower for such occasions. He quickly poured some into his hands then reached down and rubbed his fingers between his partner’s cheeks, moving towards the opening, and then pressing inside. Hutch groaned, and pushed his hips backwards, asking for more. Starsky obliged, inserting two fingers, and moving them around, thoroughly lubricating the area.

“Jesus, are you trying to kill me? Just do it,” Hutch demanded.

“Anything you say, sweetcheeks,” Starsky replied, smiling at the snort of laughter he heard from his partner. Moving closer, he pushed forward, sheathing himself in the awaiting channel. Hutch groaned as his lover pressed deeply inside. Once completely joined, Starsky began to move, thrusting back and forth. He angled his hips, seeking his partner’s prostate. A sudden lurch forward by the blond, plus a harsh cry, told him he had found the target.

His hips began to move faster and Hutch joined in the rhythm, thrusting back, to meet each forward surge, their flesh made a satisfying slapping noise. Starsky reached around and grasped his lover’s large, throbbing erection, pumping his hand in a rhythm that matched their hips.

“Fuck me harder,” the blond demanded. “Oh, God, I can’t take it.”

“You’ll take it, and love it,” Starsky said harshly, moving even faster. Suddenly he felt his partner stiffen, then lurch backwards, taking even more than he thought possible. The shaft in his grasp began to throb as the orgasm surged through Hutch’s body and he moaned with pleasure. Starsky felt the spasms tighten the channel around his own erection, and he came to his own completion, his hips moving in a flurry of shallow thrusts. His climax ripped through his body and he cried out, his mouth buried in his lover’s shoulder.

The two spent bodies sank slowly to the floor of the tub, the water pouring on them thankfully still warm.

“That was unbelievable,” Hutch said, leaning back into his lover’s embrace. “You’re a wild man.”

“I was good, wasn’t I?” his partner replied. The blond could hear the Starsky Strut coming through in the other man’s voice.

“You were good, buddy, but we’ve got a problem.”

“What’s that?” Starsky asked.

“We both have to go to work, and I seem to have misplaced my spine.”

The two men laughed, but sobered quickly. The kids would be up shortly, and Starsky really was late for work.

“You do need some rest, Blondie,” Starsky said, kissing the top of his partner’s wet head. “Tomorrow is Saturday. I’ll take the kids to the park. Maybe I’ll even enlist Danny. The boy owes us.”

“That sounds great, babe,” Hutch replied. “Now how ’bout helping me up?”

“I was hopin’ you could help me.”

“Oh, great.”

Between the two of them, they were finally standing. Starsky immediately stepped out of the tub to dry off.

“Don’t you need to shower?” Hutch pulled the curtain aside to ask.

“Nah, I showered while you were running,” his partner replied, stepping out of the bathroom. “Gotta run! See you tonight!” He closed the door behind him.

Hutch smiled, and pulled the shower curtain shut.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Don’t get too far ahead, you two!” Starsky called to the running twins. It was a beautiful brisk, sunny California day and the park was the perfect place to let the kids run off some steam. The outing also gave Hutch some quality down time so that he could play in the garden, read, or do whatever else he needed to do to recharge his depleting batteries.

They started the day at the beach. It was a little cool, being mid-winter, but Adam and Hannah had on their Mickey Mouse sweatshirts, and seemed to thrive in the brisk air. They ran up and down the beach, collecting shells and testing the waves. Four slightly wet sneakers were the result, but thankfully Starsky had thought ahead and brought spares in the trunk, more to save the Torino’s carpet from sand than anything.

Next, they had gone to Huggy’s for lunch. His new restaurant was doing very well and, thanks to the twins, he now had an actual children’s menu. Adam and Hannah had helped him ‘design’ the perfect menu to tempt young palates. Of course, Huggy paid his consultants with a lifetime of free meals from that same menu. The kids adored their tall friend, and Huggy was great with them. He had even been called in to babysitting duty on the rare occasions that Starsky and Hutch had an emergency. Other than feeding them way too much junk food, Huggy was a great babysitter.

Finally, Starsky swung back to their street and picked up Danny. He had enlisted the boy to ‘help’ take the twins to the park. Danny’s own family had gone to their grandparents’ house up in the mountains for the day, but the teenager had stayed behind. Starsky knew they needed a break from each other, so he used the excuse of needing Danny’s help with the kids to cover his own ‘babysitting’ duties. Although at fifteen, the boy was old enough to be left on his own, the Williams’ wanted to make sure there was an adult nearby that was available in case of an emergency.

Upon reaching the park, Starsky let the kids out of the backseat and off they went. They had already played hard on the swingset, and now they were all walking near the wooded area that flanked the park.

“Can I ask you something?” Danny said as he walked beside Starsky.

“Sure.”

“Something kind of…personal?” the boy’s voice took on a lower pitch.

Starsky glanced over at Danny and saw that he was staring straight ahead. After looking for a moment longer, he returned to watching the children as they darted about in a unorganized game of twin tag.

“You got a problem?”

“Ummm…not exactly,” Danny replied, shooting a quick glance to his left. “It’s about…you know…sex.”

The volume of the sentence had lowered until the last word was practically whispered.

“Yeah, I know sex,” Starsky teased, then laughed at his own joke. Danny’s laugh joined his briefly, and then he grew quiet. “Well, I know you’re way too old for the birds and the bees speech, so how ’bout you just ask me what you want to ask, hmmm?”

“It’s about Lisa.”

Starsky smiled, but then raised a hand to cover his face until he sobered. “I figured as much.”

“We’re trying to decide whether to…go all the way, you know?”

“Hmmm, that’s a big decision, Danny,” Starsky replied. “You sure you’re both ready?”

“No, we’re not, and that’s why I wanted to talk to someone. No way I could talk to Dad about this. He’d kill me.”

“You’re father isn’t so old that he don’t remember bein’ fifteen. But you’re right that it’s different when it’s your own kid. Sit down here a minute,” Starsky said, then turned to call to the twins. “Hey, monkeys! We’re takin’ a break! Stay around here where I can see you!” The twins waved an acknowledgement, then returned to the game.

Starsky and Danny sat down on the grass, facing towards where the kids were playing, then resumed the conversation.

“How old were you?” Danny asked, turning to meet the older man’s gaze. “When you first…you know.”

“I was sixteen,” Starsky replied. “Just barely. She was seventeen. And older woman, of course.” The two laughed together.

“So you don’t think fifteen is too young?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think, it matters what you feel,” Starsky explained. “Sex is a wonderful thing, but when it’s an expression of love, it’s so much more. Otherwise, it’s mostly just exercise.”

“So, I should only have sex when I’m in love?” Danny asked, obviously perplexed.

Starsky was wondering where the hell Hutch was when he needed him. He was terrible explaining stuff like this.

“That’s not exactly what I meant, Danny. I mean you should care about your partner. Have feelings for them. Particularly when it’s your first time,” the older man said. “I’m not great with words, so you’ll have to play along with me here. Your first time should be special, and fifteen is still pretty young. I know everything you do together feels pretty great, right?” Danny blushed and nodded, ducking his head in embarrassment. “But going all the way is much more of a commitment. You need to think about Lisa too. Sometimes it can be traumatic for girls.”

“Because she’s got her hymen that will break, right?” Danny asked.

Now Starsky was embarrassed. “Well, yeah, you know all the technical details, but what I’m trying to say is that if what you’re doing is just physical, if there’s no caring behind it, no love, then what do you have left when it’s over? It’s hard enough to deal with all the emotions that go along with sex, without having something to back them up. Your feelings for each other. Am I making any sense here?”

Danny nodded. “I think I know what you’re saying. Or trying to say,” he teased and Starsky cuffed him on the head. They both laughed, easing the moment.

“How long you been seeing Lisa? A month or two?”

“Yeah, two months and eleven days.”

“Eleven days, huh?” Starsky teased.

“Well, she keeps track of stuff like that,” Danny defended himself. “It must be a girl thing.”

“That’s not a lot of time to be together,” the older man commented. “Are you that sure of your feelings for her?”

“Well, I love being with her. She’s fun. And she’s so beautiful,” Danny’s eyes grew distant.

“You’re doing the right thing by talking about it, not jumping right into it. Just think a little more before you take that final step. Besides, there’s lots of stuff you can do without…”

“Intercourse?”

“Yeah, intercourse,” Starsky muttered. “Geez, they teach you all that in school now?”

“Sure, we had sex education three years ago.”

“My sex education was in a treehouse with Minerva Feinstein. She showed me her panties.” The two laughed, then Starsky continued. “Whatever you decide to do, be careful, will you? Use a rubber and take care of her.”

“I will,” Danny said, then they both looked up as they heard Hannah scream.

They both jumped to their feet and Starsky’s heart lurched in his chest when he realized he couldn’t see either one of the twins. Suddenly Hannah came into view as she ran from behind a bush at the edge of the woods.

“Starsky!” she yelled. “Hurry!!”

Starsky ran as fast as he could and stopped in front of the little girl who had tears streaming down her face.

“Hannah, what’s wrong!” he said, grasping her shoulders. “Where’s Adam?”

The little girl just sobbed, and pointed to the bush. Starsky and Danny ran over behind the shrubbery, finding Adam sitting behind it, looking up at him. Like his sister, the boy was crying, but he appeared unhurt. Starsky bent over, put his hands on his knees and took a deep breath of relief.

“You scared the life out of me,” he said, looking over the little boy. “What’s wrong?”

It was then he noticed the mass of matted, brown fur in Adam’s lap. In fact, fur was all he could see. He knew it was an animal of some kind, but he couldn’t tell what it was under all the dirt. He just hoped it wasn’t some wild animal. Adam’s eyes were pleading as he looked up at Starsky.

“Help him! He’s hurt!” the little boy cried.

Hannah stood on one side of him, wringing her hands, and sobbing. Danny stood on his other side, waiting for some direction. Starsky finally knelt in front of the boy and reached out a hand to the animal. Suddenly it’s head turned, and he realized for the first time that it was a dog.

“How do you know he’s hurt, Adam?”

The boy pointed to one of the creature’s paws, and Starsky leaned closer to examine the limb. He saw that there was a small cut and a little blood. Running his hand over the dog, he could tell it was thin. He could feel the ribs along the dog’s side. The dog had no collar, and was truly filthy. Starsky figured it weighed about 15 pounds or so.

“I think he just hurt his paw,” Starsky said. “Where did you find him?”

“He was here,” Adam explained. “He couldn’t move. You have to help him, Starsky. You just have to.”

“He probably belongs to someone…” Starsky said hopefully. “Danny, go run and talk to that group of kids over there. See if anyone knows whose dog this is, will ya?”

“But he’s hurt,” Hannah sobbed. “He might die.”

Starsky reached over, and brought the little girl close to his side. “He’s not going to die, Hannah Banana. He’s just got a hurt paw. A little bandage, a nice dinner, and a bath is all he needs and he’ll be good as new.”

He ran his hand over the dog again and was rewarded by a long tongue licking the back of his hand. Fighting back a grimace, he drew his hand back. Who knew what germs this filthy thing had, he thought. Danny reappeared, and squatted at his side.

“Well?” he asked.

“He’s a stray,” Danny replied, a twinkle in his eye. “The kids say he’s been hanging around here for a couple of weeks, begging for scraps. Somebody probably dumped him here.”

“Figures,” Starsky said under his breath, then looked down at Adam who was still crying as he petted the filthy dog. “We can’t leave him here, can we?” he asked, his voice indicating he wished they could. “I suppose we could take him to the animal rescue center downtown…”

Adam looked up at him, eyes filled with unshed tears. “But he’s hurt, Starsky. We have to help him.”

Hannah leaned into Starsky’s side and said, “He doesn’t have a family.”

Starsky could hear Danny snickering on his other side, and he turned a glare on the boy, then tried to reason with the twins.

“The animal place will fix his paw and make him all better. Then they’ll find him a nice family to live with.”

“We have a nice family,” Hannah said, finally calming, pressing closer against Starsky’s side.

“But we’re not ready for a dog…” his voice trailed off as his gaze met Adam’s. The boy didn’t have to say a word, all he had to do was stare at him with that look of quiet desperation. Starsky hung his head, recognizing defeat when he saw it. “I suppose we could take him home with us…”

Hannah jumped up and down at his side, while Adam wrapped his arms around the dog, holding him close.

“We’ll take good care of you,” he whispered into the dog’s matted fur.

Starsky got a little misty, although he’d never admit it. Rising to his feet, he looked over at Danny.

“Sucker,” the teenager said under his breath, then danced aside to dodge the swat Starsky aimed in his direction.

“I expect you’ll take great pleasure in describing this scene to Hutch?” he said with resignation.

“In detail, my friend,” Danny teased. “In every sappy little detail.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Starsky glanced in the rearview mirror at the twins as he pulled into their street. The dog was on Adam’s lap, lying on a towel that was Starsky’s half-hearted attempt to save the seats in the Torino. The children were petting and cooing at the mangy beast, while Danny just sat snickering at his side. Pulling the car into the driveway, he put the car in park and beeped the horn three times, his signal to Hutch that he needed help with something.

Before he and Danny were out of the car, Hutch appeared at the front door, and came outside, walking down the porch steps.

“What’s up?” he asked, smiling at his partner. His smile faded as he saw the grim look on Starsky’s face.

“Say hello to your partner, Starsky the Sucker,” Danny taunted from the other side of the car. “Thanks for the entertainment. I’ll see you later!” he called as he headed home.

Hutch turned a confused gaze to Starsky, then heard a small voice from the backseat.

“Uncle Ken!” Hannah piped. “Look what we have!”

Hutch stepped past his partner, then leaned down to look into the back seat. He could see Adam was cradling…a dog? A filthy, matted dog? Standing up quickly, he turned to face Starsky.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked, knowing the answer, but hoping for a miracle. His partner simply nodded, unable to go through the sordid details right now. Danny would gleefully cover that for him later. “Starsk, we talked about this.”

“You think I did this on purpose?” Starsky said. “You think I picked this mangy, dirty, fleabag? It was your niece and nephew, not me.”

“Uncle Ken?” Adam’s voice came from the backseat.

Hutch glared at his partner, then turned back to the car. “Yes, Adam?”

“Are you mad?”

“No, I’m not mad, I’m just surprised,” he replied, leaning his forehead against the car. “I didn’t know we were getting a dog today.”

“He’s hurt, Uncle Ken,” Hannah contributed. “We’re helping him.”

Hutch’s voice grew concerned. “Hurt?” he asked, looking back at Starsky.

“He’s got a cut on his paw,” the other man explained. “Mostly he just needs food and a bath.”

“You can say that again,” Hutch replied. “Well, what’s done is done. Let’s get it into the house so we can give it a bath. That’s obviously our first priority.”

As he reached into the car to take the dog from Adam, he heard a growl. Pulling his hands back quickly, he stared into the backseat. The dog, which had been completely placid, was now baring his teeth at Hutch. He stepped back, and turned to his partner.

“He’s vicious! Are you nuts!”

Starsky looked at him in surprise, then stepped past the blond. He reached into the car, and instead of a growl, his hand was licked in gratitude. He grabbed the blanket and lifted the dog into his arms, freeing Adam to get out of the backseat. As he stood there holding the dog, Hutch stepped closer to exam it. Again there was a growl, and Hutch moved back.

“Guess he doesn’t like you, Blondie,” Starsky commented with a smile.

Hutch just glared at him. “Are you sure he’s OK with the kids?”

“He’s been sweet with everyone. Everyone but you, that is.”

Adam’s voice interrupted them. “It’s because he’s the Dark Prince,” the boy explained, looking at his uncle.

“The Dark Prince?” Hutch asked in confusion.

“That’s Spike, the Dark Prince’s faithful companion,” Adam said, pointing at the dog. Hannah nodded in agreement, as if her brother’s comment made perfect sense.

Hutch stared at the children for a moment, then met his partner’s gaze. “Well, Dark Prince, looks like you’ve got yourself a Spike.”

“That’s just terrific.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So what kind of dog do you think it is?” Starsky asked, dropping down onto the sofa next to his partner.

“Who can tell under all that long, curly fur?” Hutch replied, putting down his book and stretching. He reached out and pulled Starsky closer, so the two were sitting thigh to thigh. “You’ll have to take him to the groomers sometime next week.”

“Me?” Starsky squeaked. “Why me?”

“Well, he won’t let me touch him,” the blond replied, sneaking a quick glance at his disgruntled partner. “You can’t deny that he’s got a thing for you.”

“That dust mop is gonna have thing with my foot if he doesn’t stop following me around.”

“Where is your little shadow anyway?”

“Sleepin’ with Adam,” Starsky mumbled in reply.

“Starsk…”

“Now, don’t say it, I know we agreed. He’s supposed to sleep on the blanket we put on the floor.”

“So?”

“So, how am I supposed to say no to ‘he’s cold, Starsky’, ‘he’s afraid, Starsky’, ‘he’s got no one to love him, Starsky’? Hmmm? I’d like to see you try it.” Hutch started to stand up, only to be tugged back down. “Are you kidding me? You could say no to that?”

“Yes, I’m kidding you,” Hutch replied, then chuckled as his partner elbowed him in the ribs. “Guess we might as well face it. We’ve got ourselves a dog. And an ugly one at that.”

“The groomers,” Starsky said in disgust, “I can’t believe we own a dog that needs to go to a friggin’ beauty parlor.”

Hutch took his partner’s hand in his, and the two men sat staring at the fire for a few minutes, enjoying their closeness. Eventually Starsky moved his arm behind the blond and began to run his fingers through the fine strands. Hutch arched his neck back, enjoying the light massage. Freeing his hand from Starsky’s, he began to rub the jean clad thigh that lay next to his. Soon, they turned to each other, and embraced, their lips joined in a deep kiss that was quickly turning passionate.

Suddenly Hutch froze. Starsky pulled back and looked at his partner in surprise.

“Whatsamatter?” he asked.

“Don’t you hear that?”

“All I hear is my heart going a mile a minute,” Starsky replied. “What am I supposed to hear?”

“You don’t hear that growling?”

“Growling?” Starsky was silent for a minute and listened. He heard it too. Looking over his partner’s shoulder, he saw Spike sitting directly behind Hutch, baring his teeth and growling softly. “Don’t make any sudden moves, Blondie, or you’ll be re-enacting the Spike story.”

“Starsk, if he bites my ass, I swear, I’ll shoot him.”

“Calm down, Bronco,” Starsky teased. “I think he’s just defendin’ me.”

“Well, he better learn pretty quick that I’m going to be touching you. Often.”

Starsky smiled and met his partner’s gaze. “Yeah?”

“Always,” Hutch replied with a soft smile, then froze again as the growl grew louder. “Do something about that thing, will you?”

His partner reluctantly left their embrace, stood up, and stepped around Hutch who was sitting motionless. He reached down and picked up Spike, whose little stub tail was wagging a mile a minute. As soon as he was in Starsky’s arms, he began to bathe the man’s face with his long, agile tongue.

“Quit it, will ya!” Starsky said, holding the dog away from him with one arm, while he wiped his face with his sleeve. “Dog germs. Yuck!”

“My hero,” Hutch teased.

“Yeah, well I’m takin’ the hairball back upstairs and shutting the door this time. I got plans for you that definitely require close contact. Uninterrupted, close contact.” Looking down at the dog, Starsky shook his head as he left the room. “Spike. You don’t look nothin’ like a Spike. Now maybe Petunia…” His reply was in the form of a yip. “Yeah, well, brave or not, you look like a rag mop, not a real dog. Now a real dog is a Lab, or a Shepherd…”

Hutch shook as head as he listened to his partner talk to the dog all the way up the stairs. Starsky could say what he wanted, but he was already developing a soft spot for the new member of their little family.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The weather had begun to warm as spring slowly approached. March had come in like the proverbial lion, but as the days passed, the rainy season subsided, and the days grew bright and sunny, typical for southern California. Adam and Hannah were doing well in school, settling in to their new classes. Hutch’s job continued to be a challenge as he worked his way through another round of classes. And Starsky had Cooper.

“She’s a goddamn dream come true, I tell ya,” Starsky bragged to his partner as they put together a picnic basket in the kitchen. “I need a file, she finds it. I’m supposed to be at a meeting, she reminds me. I need an incident investigated or a report written, I don’t even need to ask, it’s done. I get in late, she starts my class for me. And she even took the earliest class.”

“So what’s she look like? You’ve never told me.”

“Huh? What do you mean, what does she look like? Didn’t I just tell ya how good she is?”

Hutch just shook his head. For the most part, Starsky didn’t even realize Cooper was a woman, and it was probably better like that. He still hadn’t met this paragon of organizational skills, but he hoped to soon.

The two men had just finished packing the basket for their surprise outing, when the phone rang. Starsky grabbed the receiver.

“Dave’s Tortilla Palace…oh, yeah, Danny, what’s up?…sure, but we’re heading out…horseback riding, if ya can believe it…hold on,” Starsky looked at Hutch as he held the phone to his chest. “Can we take one more? Danny sounds like he needs to talk.”

“Sure, no problem,” Hutch replied.

“Hey, Danny, sure, we’ll be leavin’ in about twenty minutes…no, we’re bringing the grub…food, Danny, that’s what the cowboys call food…never mind, smartass, just bring yourself…ok, see ya.”

“What’s up?”

“I don’t know, but I guess we’ll find out,” Starsky replied. “I wonder if he decided to do the wild thing with Lisa?”

“What are you talking about?” Hutch asked, putting the sandwich bread away.

“Danny asked me if he should go all the way with Lisa.”

“He asked you that?” the blond said in surprise, turning around to look at his partner. “Why did he talk to you and not me?”

“I don’t know, babe. Maybe he wanted to talk to someone with…a bit more…ya now…experience.”

“More experience!” Hutch exclaimed. “What are you talking about? I’ve had lots of experience. Just as much as you. Probably more!”

“Yeah, maybe,” Starsky replied calmly, shrugging his shoulders. “Danny’s just a kid. He makes assumptions. Maybe I just seem like I’m the babe magnet.”

Hutch rolled his eyes in response, then continued. “Yeah, well, at least he talked to somebody,” he sighed. “So, what did you tell him?”

“What do you think I told him?” his partner teased.

“Please say you didn’t tell him to go for it.”

“Well,” Starsky said turning his back on Hutch to hide his smile, “he’s at that age when aman’s got to get experience wherever he can. And, hey….if Lisa is willing…”

“Starsky!” Hutch exclaimed in horror. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t,” the dark haired man replied, turning around and smiling at his panicked partner. “What do you think I am, a barbarian?”

“Do I have to answer that?”

“Moron!” Starsky cuffed a now laughing Hutch on the top of his head. “Hey, Can we tell the kids now?”

Hutch shook his head, chuckling. This was only the hundredth time his partner had asked the same question. They had been planning to take the kids horseback riding for about a month, but had waited until the weather improved. The outing was a secret, but as usual, Starsky had a major problem keeping it. Horses had made their way into the nightly story time, and twice Hutch had slapped a hand over his partner’s mouth to keep him from spilling the beans. But finally, the day had arrived.

“Yes, now you can tell them.”

Starsky walked to the porch door and opened it, calling to the kids. As soon as he stepped outside, he heard a familiar yapping bark and he looked down to see Spike sitting at his feet, looking up at him adoringly. Following close on his heels were the twins. They skidded to a stop in front of him.

“I have a surprise for you two,” he said, smiling as the twins started bobbing up and down. Their motion started the dog jumping as well. “Geez, it’s the Mexican jumping bean club.” The twins started giggling. “How would you like to go to a farm and ride a horse?!”

“Horses!” the twins shouted in unison.

“Yep, me and Uncle Ken are taking you horseback riding.”

“We’re going to ride a horse?” Hannah yelled. “For really and truly?”

“We sure are,” Starsky replied. “Now go in the house and use the bathroom before we go.”

“But I don’t have to…” Adam started to reply.

“You have to at least try,” their uncle said, herding them into the house. He’d quickly learned to always force the issue after several unscheduled stops on car trips of any distance.

“Uncle Ken, we’re going horseback riding!” Hannah shouted on her way through the kitchen. “I’m first in the bathroom!”

“No, I’m first!” Adam demanded, trying to push past his sister.

“One of you can use the bathroom upstairs,” Hutch refereed. “And don’t you forget to go before we leave,” he said, pointing at his partner.

“Me?” Starsky pointed to himself.

“Yes, you, babe,” Hutch teased. “You know you have the smallest bladder on the west coast.”

“Yeah, yeah, always the comedian,” Starsky grumbled. “At least I don’t have the smallest anything else.”

“For that I am forever grateful,” the blond replied, then swatted his partner’s behind. “Let’s get the show on the road.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The merry group arrived at the ranch in their trusty red and white steed. Pulling into the parking lot, oooh’s and ahhh’s could be heard emerging from the backseat. They were so caught up in examining their surroundings, none of them noticed another car pull in behind them and park on the far side of the lot. Inside that car, an enemy watched and waited.

Starsky and Hutch emerged from the car first, then Adam got out of the front seat where he had ridden between the two men. Hannah and Danny had occupied the back seat, and soon joined the group.

“Hurry, Uncle Ken, Hurry!” Adam urged, already pulling Starsky towards the fence. “I can see them!”

“Hold your horses, there pardner,” Hutch replied, then laughed. “Hold your horses…that’s funny.”

Starsky rolled his eyes. “C’mon, buddy, let’s go. The kid is pulling my arm out of it’s socket.”

The group soon reached the fence and stared at the large paddock and the group of horses fenced inside. Their presence was noticed immediately by a large palomino mare who trotted over to the fence. Hutch had just reached out his hand to pet the animal, when Starsky grabbed it and pulled it back.

“Are you nuts!” he exclaimed. “He coulda bit you!”

Hutch pulled away his hand. “Starsky, first of all, it’s a she. Secondly, she is not going to bite me, are you girl?” His voice took on a melodious note as he reached out again and petted the horse’s neck. “She just loves the attention. What a pretty girl, such a beauty.”

Hutch felt a tug on his jeans and looked down. Adam stared intently at his uncle’s interaction with the horse. “Can I…?” he begged.

“Of course you can, Adam,” he replied, bringing the boy closer. The palomino obligingly leaned her head down towards the boy. “Here, take this.” Hutch produced a sugar cube from his pocket and placed it in Adam’s hand. “Hold your hand open flat with the sugar in the middle.”

“Hutch, are you sure about this?” Starsky asked nervously, holding Hannah at his side protectively. “That thing has huge teeth.”

“I’m sure, Starsky,” he replied. “Watch.”

Adam held open his hand and the mare delicately took the cube from his palms with her lips and it quickly disappeared. Then she leaned down and snuffled at Adam’s neck, scenting him. Adam giggled. Hutch reached into his pocket and gave two more cubes to Adam and a couple to Danny who was waiting patiently.

“My turn!” Hannah called, leaving Starsky and moving closer to the fence. “Can I give her sugar too?”

“Sure, pumpkin, here you go.” Another sugar cube disappeared in an instant and another child was marked.

Hutch turned around to look at his partner who was standing several feet from the fence watching the three kids with the horse. “Hey, babe, you want to feed her?”

“I don’t think so,” Starsky replied, staring at the horse. “She’s kinda big. You sure they’re OK with her?”

“I’m sure,” Hutch said, turning back to see the children examining the mare. She seemed just as interested as they were. He turned back. “Starsky, I thought you wanted to do this.”

“I do,” he replied. “It’s just, well, they’re bigger than I thought they’d be. They didn’t seem that big in the movies.”

“Starsk, they’re mostly very gentle creatures. Especially the horses they have at these riding ranches. They have to be.”

“I’ll be OK,” Starsky said, trying to sound confident. “Let’s go get this over with.”

Hutch shook his head, then rounded up the twins and the group headed to the entrance. Once inside, the ranch manager set them up with three horses. One each for the adults, and one for the children to ride around the ring. Starsky eyed his horse, a black gelding, with some suspicion.

“I don’t think he likes me, Hutch,” he said, standing just out of nipping range. “He’s got a mean look to him. I thought stallions could be dangerous?”

Hutch laughed, fixing the stirrups of his own horse, the palomino mare. “He’s not a stallion, Starsk. He’s been gelded.”

The dark haired man stared at the horse. “You mean they…”

“Yup.”

“No wonder he looks mean,” Starsky replied. “I’d be pretty ticked off too if they cut off my…”

“Yeah, me too,” Hutch commented, smiling as Danny laughed. “OK, kids, you ready to try some riding?” The twins chorused their agreement. “Who goes first?” Adam raised his hand. “That’s right, we did decide this already. Good plan there, Starsk.” Hutch lifted the boy up into the saddle of the large bay mare that was chosen for the children. With a name like Puddin’, Hutch figured she was considered pretty tame. “Now hold on tight,” he instructed, and watched as Adam gripped the pommel. When it looked as if the boy was settled, the ranch hand took the reins and started leading the horse around the ring. Hutch walked beside them in case Adam started to fall.

“I’m riding, Uncle Ken!” Adam exclaimed. “Starsky, I’m riding!”

Starsky smiled wanly from the edge of the fence. “Just hold on tight!” he called, then looked at Danny. “You like this horseback riding?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of fun.”

“You needed to talk about something now that we got a few minutes here?” Starsky asked. Hutch and Adam were on the far side of the ring and Hannah was waiting impatiently on the outside of the fence.

“I…we…” Danny swallowed. “We decided to wait. You know.”

Starsky nodded. “I’m glad.”

“You are?” the boy asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I am,” he replied. “It was a man’s decision. It’s so easy to give in to your hormones, but you thought it out first, discussed it with your partner, and came to a decision. I think you made the right one. Nothin’ wrong with waiting. If your feelings are real, they’ll still be there when you are ready.”

Danny nodded, pleased with being called a man. “Thanks.”

“Welcome,” Starsky replied, then clapped him on the shoulder. “Here they come.”

Hutch and Adam had reached the fence in front of the rest of the group and Hutch reached up and swung Adam out of the saddle. “Next!” he called, and Hannah quickly moved to his side and was placed in the saddle. She quickly grabbed the pommel in a death grip.

“Uncle Ken!” she squealed.

“You’re alright, pumpkin, just hold on.” Hutch started to motion the ranch hand to move, when he realized Hannah’s eyes were closed. “Hannah?” There was no reply. Realizing his niece was frozen in fear, he quickly placed his foot in the stirrup and swung himself up in the saddle behind her. She relaxed back into his embrace. “OK now?” he asked softly. She nodded in reply. “You want to walk around the ring?” She nodded again. The ranch hand allowed Hutch to take the reins and he slowly lead the horse around the circle. Hannah trembled in his arms, but he knew she was relaxing. When they completed the circuit, he lifted her down to Danny who placed her on the ground, then he also dismounted the horse.

Adam rushed over to his sister. “Were you afraid?” he asked curiously.

Hannah nodded and leaned against Hutch’s leg. He looked down at the little girl. “Sorry about that, Hannah, I thought you would like it.”

“They’re too big,” she replied. “I was way up high.”

“You were,” her uncle agreed. “Well, it’s Starsky’s turn. He’s going to ride around the ring on his horse to get used to him before we go for a real ride. C’mon, buddy, bring Thunder over here.”

Starsky grumbled, but led the horse over to the ring and through the gate. With his partner’s help, he was soon in the saddle, and gripping the pommel as tightly as Hannah.

“Starsk?” Hutch asked. “You have to open your eyes.”

“I’m OK,” Starsky replied quickly, trying to be brave in front of the kids.

“Just hold the reins and he’ll just walk around the ring,” the blond explained, then handed the reins up to his partner. As soon as Starsky had hold of the reins, Thunder decided to go for a quick trot, right across the ring.

“Huuuutch!” Starsky yelled as he bounced in the saddle, trying to hold on. The horse suddenly stopped, turned his neck and tried to nip at his rider’s leg. “Hey!” Starsky scrambled out of the saddle and almost fell, but at the last minute held on to the pommel until his feet hit the ground. As soon as he was off the horse, he turned and ran. He passed the ranch hand who went over to bring the horse back.

Hutch was trying not to laugh, but Danny’s snickering was enough to set him off. “S-s-sorry, I don’t m-mean to laugh.”

Starsky glared at the duo who continued to chuckle. “It’s not funny. I told you that horse hated me.”

Wiping at his face, Hutch tried to sober himself. “Here he is now. If you try again…”

“I ain’t gettin’ back on that horse.”

“Starsky,” Hutch said. “What about our ride?” The plan had been for the group to take the three horses for a ride on the trail. Danny on one, and Starsky and Hutch each on their respective horses with a twin.

“I can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “Hutch don’t make me.”

“I won’t make you,” the blond replied. “I guess we can go in shifts.”

“I want to stay here with Starsky,” Hannah said, reaching out to hold his hand. “We’ll wait here and feed the horses.”

Hutch looked at the pair. “If you’re sure…”

Starsky nodded, pleased with the new plan. “Hannah Banana and I will be fine. You three go ahead.”

Soon Hutch was on the palomino, with Adam perched in front of him. Danny had decided that Starsky’s experience with Thunder was one he didn’t want to emulate, so he chose Puddin’ as his mount. The pair of horses with riders soon disappeared up the trail.

“That trail takes about an hour,” the ranch manager explained. “You two want to help me hay the horses?”

Starsky looked down at Hannah with a raised eyebrow. She smiled and nodded and the pair followed the man into the barn.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Danny and Puddin’ took the lead and Hutch, Adam and Sunshine, the palomino, followed closely behind. The day was bright and clear and the trio was enjoying the quiet sounds of the horses and the birds in the surrounding trees.

“You like this?” Hutch asked his nephew. Adam nodded vigorously. “Why did I know you’d be the one to enjoy this the most?” he mused.

“Can I have a horse?” Adam asked.

Hutch laughed. He had known this would come up. “Our yard isn’t big enough for a horse. We have nowhere to keep it.”

“Yeah,” the boy agreed, sadly.

“And what if the horse stepped on Spike?” Hutch teased, smiling as Adam and Danny laughed.

“You’d be heartbroken too!” Danny said over his shoulder.

“Hey, quiet up there in the peanut gallery!” Hutch called.

Suddenly there was a movement in the bushes and a loud crack. Both horses were startled, but Puddin’ was closer to the noise and at first, she just skittered to the side of the trail. But when her escape was thwarted on the narrow trail, she reared up. Danny held on for a moment, but was unprepared for the motion and lost his balance, falling backwards off the horse. Hutch watched in horror as Danny fell and hit his head on the ground. The horse’s hooves were very near his head as she continued to dance around the path. Hutch scrambled from his own saddle and quickly lifted Adam to the ground.

Moving his nephew to the side of the trail away from the anxious horse, he commanded “Stay here!” then rushed over to help Danny, who had yet to move. He hit Puddin’ on her flank to move her away from the fallen youth.

“Danny!” he said, kneeling on the ground and checking the boy for injuries. He was relieved to hear a groan, then Danny opened his eyes. “Don’t move.” Hutch said as he finished checking for any broken bones. “How do you feel?” he asked.

“Like I just fell off a horse,” Danny said, smiling weakly, then winced. “Geez, my head hurts.”

“Any dizziness?” Hutch asked.

“A little,” Danny replied.

“Is Danny gonna be OK, Uncle Ken?” Adam said, standing next to his uncle.

“I thought I told you to stay put,” Hutch said sharply, glancing at his nephew, then looking around to see that Puddin’ had left the immediate area. His voice softened as he saw the fear on the boy’s face. “Danny just hurt his head a little, buddy.”

“I want to get up,” Danny said. “Help me up.”

“I don’t think we should move you. Your neck might be injured and I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Hutch, I’m OK. I just hit my head.”

“You fell pretty far, Danny. Please just stay still.”

“Hutch, I’m gonna be sick…” Danny said, starting to retch. Hutch cradled his neck protectively as he turned the boy to the side, so he could vomit and not aspirate. Once Danny was calm again, the blond man laid his head back down carefully. Vomiting and dizziness were two signs of a concussion and he hoped that was all that was wrong.

Standing up, he looked around as he thought about his options. Puddin’ was long gone, but Sunshine was standing placidly, her reins trailing on the ground. He took the only course that was open to him.

“Adam, you stay here with Danny and I’ll take our horse back for help.”

Hutch squatted down and looked at Adam. “You watch out for him, Adam. Keep him still for me and I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”

Adam nodded then sat down on the ground next to the older boy. “I’ll take care of you, Danny. Stay still for Uncle Ken.”

Danny closed his eyes. “Thanks, squirt.”

“Danny if you have to get sick again, please don’t get up. Just turn your head, OK? Adam will help you.” Adam nodded, placing his hand on his friend’s arm for comfort.

Hutch hurried over to Sunshine, and mounted the horse, turning to head back to the ranch at a fast clip. He hoped it wasn’t a wild animal out there that caused the disturbance, but he really didn’t have a lot of choice other than to leave the boys and go for help. At least between the two of them, they were more likely to make enough noise to keep most interested animals at bay.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After getting Danny to the hospital and calling the Williams’, the weary Hutchinson/Starsky/Walker family trudged into the house.

“Is Danny going to be OK?” Hannah asked again.

“He’s going to be fine, pumpkin,” Hutch reassured her. “He has a bump on his head. His Mom and Dad are going to be taking him home in a little while and you can see him tomorrow. But he’ll probably need rest, so you’ll have to be quiet.”

“We’ll be quiet like little mice, right Adam?”

Adam nodded. “Spike too”

The dog chose just that moment to start barking at the commotion in the front hall.

“Quiet!” Hutch snapped and the dog growled back. “Starsky, do something with that floor mop, will you? He’s giving me a headache.”

Realizing his partner was at the end of his rope, Starsky reached down and scooped up the dog without protest. He held him as far away from his body as he could, trying to avoid being licked. “Troops?” The kids looked up. “Atten’shun!” The twins stood up straight, lining up, Hannah behind Adam. “Forward march, hup two, three, four, up the stairs and ask for more, five, six, seven, eight, hurry now and don’t be late…”

The twins started giggling, but marched up the stairs as directed by their drill sergeant. Starsky turned back to Hutch. “I’ll put them to bed.”

“They need a bath…” the blond protested unconvincingly.

“I’ll give ’em a quick wash. It ain’t gonna kill them to go to bed a little dirty one night.”

Hutch smiled wearily at the parade. “I’ll meet you in the den.”

“It’s a date,” he replied, then marched after the twins up the stairs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“What a day!” Starsky exclaimed when he finally settled beside Hutch on the couch. “We thought that would be fun?” He reached out and lifted the open beer from the coffee table, taking a swig, then leaned back, closing his eyes.

Hutch moved closer to his partner, and rested his head on Starsky’s shoulder. “Shoulda been,” he replied quietly. “I like horseback riding.”

“Yeah, well, this was nothin’ like Roy Rogers, I’ll tell you that.”

“Maybe Gunsmoke.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Starsky agreed. “They didn’t fall off their horses much, though.”

“Yeah, but there was usually a bad guy.”

“Bad guy?”

“I don’t know, Starsk. I think I saw something right before Danny’s horse reared.”

Starsky opened his eyes. “Yeah? Like what?”

“The more I think about it, the more sure I am. There was this figure in the bush then I heard a loud crack,” Hutch tried to explain. “Almost like someone hit a branch against the tree.” He shook his head. “Of course, I could be imagining the whole thing too.”

“You thinking someone did this on purpose?”

Hutch sighed. “I don’t know. Seems a little ridiculous, but you know when you get that feeling? Something isn’t right?”

Starsky nodded. “It’s saved us on the streets more than once. But why?”

“The better question would be who.”

The partners sat quietly for a few moments, thinking about the possibility of being targets of some prankster. Suddenly Hutch turned his head and licked Starsky’s neck.

“What was that for?”

“You taste good,” Hutch said with a smile, then pressed a kiss onto the neck in question, sucking slightly, then drew back. “Hmmm, kinda like horse.”

“This some kinky thing you forgot to tell me about?”

“Maybe”

“Well, c’mere and tell me some more,” Starsky replied, placing his hand around the blond’s neck and pulling him up for a kiss. A kiss that quickly turned passionate as Hutch levered himself up and began to dominate the embrace. Suddenly Starsky was lying back on the couch, his partner on top of him, grinding slowly against his body.

As Hutch’s mouth left his and started to move down his neck, Starsky moaned as the mouth began to suck on his Adam’s apple.

“Horses, huh?” he gasped.

“Oh, yeah,” Hutch agreed then moved further down his partner’s neck, nipping along the way.

“Ride ’em, cowboy.”

“I intend to,” he replied, then began to unbutton his partner’s shirt, kissing and sucking at each new exposed patch of skin. Hutch smiled as he felt his partner pressing his hips upward into his abdomen. Soon he was kneeling on end of the couch, opening Starsky’s belt, then unsnapping the now overly tight jeans. His hands managed to rub the straining bulge several times during the process.

“Jesus, Blondie, would ya hurry up?” Starsky complained, pressing his hips closer to the tormenting hands.

“What about the kids?” Hutch asked, glancing towards the staircase, even as he rubbed his partner’s jeans again.

“They’re sleeping…oh, God, Hutch, please!” Starsky begged. “You can’t stop.”

“But…”

“We’ll hear them, oh, please…”

Hutch looked towards the stairs one more time before making his decision. If he could do this fast… He pulled the zipper open slowly then reached inside to release the straining cock, freeing it carefully. He leaned down and licked at the weeping head, taking some of the fluid into his mouth. Starsky gasped, then bit his lip to keep from crying out. Hutch ran his tongue under the rim of the head, seeking out the most sensitive places. Then suddenly he gripped the base of the cock with his hand and engulfed the entire head in his mouth, moving his head up and down quickly.

Starsky made one moan, then began panting, thrusting upwards into the sucking mouth. He didn’t know if it was leftover adrenaline from the afternoon or just his talented, knowledgable partner, but it didn’t take long before he felt his body tense, then explode with almost unbearable pleasure. He thrust several more time into Hutch’s mouth, before sinking back on the couch. The blond sat back on his heels, swallowing and wiping his mouth. He smiled down at his thoroughly debauched partner.

“Good?” he asked.

“I don’t know, was I?” Starsky replied and the two men shared a smile. “C’mere, Blondie,” he said, holding up his arms. Hutch carefully lowered himself onto his partner’s reclined body and sighed. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“Me too,” Hutch replied, then sighed again.

“You really think we got something to worry about?”

“I don’t know, Starsk. Maybe.”

“Won’t be the first time,” Starsky said quietly.

“But we should be done with this!” Hutch said fiercely. “We don’t do that kind of work anymore.”

“Hey, hey,” Starsky replied, rubbing his hands up and down his partner’s back soothingly. “Maybe it’s nothin’. Let’s not go getting all upset when we don’t know what’s going on. We’ll just be extra careful, watch the kids a little more closely…”

“The kids,” Hutch groaned, burying his head against Starsky’s neck. “I never thought of that. You think someone would use them to get to us?”

“Hutch, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill. We don’t even know if there is a someone yet, right?”

“Yeah”

“Then let’s not get into a twit just yet, OK?” Starsky said quietly. “Danny is gonna be fine, we’ll be careful and there’s probably nothing going on.”

The two men lay quietly in their embrace, enjoying the closeness and quiet of the house.

“Hey, Blondie? You fallin’ asleep?” Starsky asked.

“Hmmm? No, I don’t think so…” Hutch sighed.

“If you haveta think about it, you probably are,” he teased. “Can we move upstairs? I kinda like the company, but my back ain’t gonna be thankin’ me in the morning. Not like you are, anyway.”

Slowly the two men levered themselves up off the couch, Hutch pulling his crushed partner to his feet and then helped pull up the open zipper. Slowly. The trip up the stairs after this process went much faster.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The figure sat in a car that was parked a few doors down the street, watching the lights extinguish first from the lower floor and shortly thereafter, from the upper. Fingers pressed forcefully into thighs, nails digging into flesh. A mistake! It wasn’t the partner, it was some kid that was hurt. Stick to the plan. First the partner, then the kids, then he would be the only one left…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I’ll be home in another hour or so.”

“Starsky, don’t worry about it,” Hutch replied into the phone. “I had no trouble getting out early. The kids are here and we’re eating right now. Take all the time you need.”

“Thanks, buddy, I appreciate it,” Starsky answered, smiling as he sat back to take a quick break. “So what’re you guys eating?”

“Filet mignon.”

“Asshole,” he replied. “No, really.”

Hutch’s voice came from a distance as he held out the receiver. “Kids, tell Starsky what we’re having.”

“Sketties and meatballs!” called Adam’s voice.

“And garlic bread!” Hannah contributed. “Yum!”

Then Hutch’s voice was back. “How’s that?”

“Sounds delicious,” Starsky said with a sigh. “Save me some?”

“Didn’t you eat?”

“Just a sandwich,” he replied in a pitiful voice. “Nothin’ like your spaghetti and meatballs.”

“So you like my meatballs, huh?” Hutch’s voice had dropped an octave.

“Mmmm, you know I do,” he replied with a grin. “They’re nice and big and moist…” Starsky smiled devilishly when he heard his partner groan, then his voice got softer. He knew the other man had dragged the receiver out of the kitchen.

“That’s just cruel, Lieutenant Starsky,” Hutch complained. “Calling to say you’re going to be late then teasing me like this.”

“You started it, Blondie.”

Hutch sighed. “Yeah, I know. Well, hurry and finish and come home and I’ll give you my meatballs and a nice long piece of spaghetti…”

“Promises, promises,” Starsky teased. “Just save me some garlic bread if you think you’re gettin’ any later. You know it only works if we both eat it.”

Hutch groaned. “Say goodbye, Starsky”

“Goodbye, Starsky” he replied, laughing as he heard the kids chiming in saying “Goodbye, Starsky” as he hung up the phone.

Turning back to the pile of work on his desk, he heard a noise in the office that adjoined his. Don’t tell me she’s still here, he thought.

“Cooper?”

His assistant stepped into his office and looked at him inquiringly.

“Yes, sir?”

“Why are you still here?”

“Where should I be, sir?”

“How about home? You do have a home, don’t you Cooper?”

“Yes, sir, but may I point out that you have a home as well and you’re still here.”

“That’s because I have to finish these reports. They pay me more than you, Cooper. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you have to be.”

“I’d just as soon stay, sir, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Dammit, Cooper, don’t you have a life? Get yourself a date or something.”

“My husband might object to that, sir.”

“Your…husband?” Starsky replied in shock. Cooper had a husband? How had he missed this?

“Yes, sir. I’m married. We do still have a date once in awhile, but that’s usually for a special occasion.”

“Since when are you married?” The ‘and how come I don’t know about it’ was implied.

“Since July 16, 1980, sir,” Cooper replied calmly. “It was a lovely Saturday, if I remember correctly, and I’m sure I do.”

“Where’s your ring?” Starsky asked suspiciously.

“At home, with my husband, who is also home.”

“Where you should be, and so my point is made.”

“Actually, no sir, it’s not,” she said patiently. “My husband is busy writing and wouldn’t even know if I was there or not.”

“Cooper, you don’t have to put up with that kind of an attitude…”

Cooper finally let a smile slip past her normally serious demeanor.

“Thank you for the advice, sir, but I’m not a neglected wife. My husband is a writer and when he hits a ‘hot spell’ as he calls it, he just buries himself in his writing. Believe me, I’d much rather have him writing and happy than blocked and not happy.”

“If you say so, Cooper.”

“I do.”

“Apparently said that before, haven’t you?”

“Yes, sir. But just once.”

“Keep it that way. Go home.”

“Yes, sir. As soon as you do.”

“I’m not going to win, am I Cooper?”

“No, sir,” she said with another brief smile, then she turned to leave the room.

“Cooper?” she turned back. “What does your husband write, anyway?”

“Romance novels, sir,” she replied.

“Romance novels? Like those ones with the covers featuring bare chested guys pulling the dresses off the busty women?”

“Yes, sir. Those are the ones.”

“But I thought only women wrote those.”

“No, sir, my husband does. He does use a pseudonym, though. Because most people think that only women write them. People like you.”

“What name does he use?”

“Elizabeth Sanders”

“You have a strange marriage, Cooper. You try to disguise your gender on transfer applications and your husband changes his on his books.”

“Yes, sir. But we’re never bored.”

“I imagine not,” Starsky replied, smiling at his assistant. “You got a copy of one’a those novels I could borrow?”

“I have one in my desk I can get for you.” She started to leave the room, then turned back. “Looking for pointers, sir?”

“You never know what I might pick up.”

“Be sure to let me know. My husband would be interested.”

“I’ll do that. And Cooper?” he called after her. “Go home.”

“Yes, sir, I’ll follow you out.”

Starsky sighed and returned to his work.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two weeks had passed without further incident and Hutch finally began to relax. A threat seemed much more substantial now that he and Starsky were responsible for two additional lives, little lives that depended on them for everything. But it appeared as if he was worrying for nothing.

Danny was recovered, and back to school, and their own family life went on normally. Hutch smiled as he set out the paper plates. As normal as family life could ever be, he thought. With the kids, the dog, and their jobs, it seemed like they rarely had time to breathe. It was worth every second, though. Once he and Starsky had committed to each other, he never thought this kind of life was in the cards for them. Life could change in an instant, and it had for them. He could never imagine going back unless it was to bring back his sister and her husband. But that, he thought sadly, was not to be.

He heard the rumble of the Torino’s engine pulling into the driveway and quickly finished getting their impromptu lunch makings on the table. The kids were at the zoo with the Williams family, Sandy and Bob’s way of paying them back for all the time Danny had been spending with them. No payment was necessary, they had protested, but the kids wanted to go and it gave he and Starsky a rare weekend day by themselves.

They had no special plans other than to kick around the house and relax. Hutch had spent some time gardening that morning while Starsky read in the hammock. Now his partner had run out for their favorite sandwiches from the shop in town, another treat. As he heard Starsky open the front door and walk down the hall whistling, he reached into the fridge and removed two bottles of beer, expertly flipping off the bottle caps and turning to hand one to his partner, leaning in for a quick kiss.

“Now that’s what I call service,” Starsky said, smiling as he placed the bag on the table. “Just for sandwiches. What would you do if I brought a pizza?”

“Attack you at the door?” Hutch replied, standing beside his partner as he dug into the bag, removing the subs. He held up one that had grease marks on the side.

“I’ll have to try that one tomorrow,” Starsky said, bumping his hip into Hutch’s as he grabbed the sandwich. “That one’s mine. Steak Bomb.” He quickly opened the wrapper and put it on a plate, adding pickles on the side. “What?” he said, noticing Hutch staring at him.

“I still don’t know how you can eat that and not have indigestion,” the blond said, then pulled out his own sandwich. “Now this, on the other hand, is delicious, healthy, and guaranteed not to give you heartburn.”

Starsky watched with a grimace as his partner opened the wrapper and sprouts fell from the sandwich. “Well, I can’t understand why anyone would eat all that green stuff when he could have some good old fashioned beef. Except for maybe a sheep or something. Whadda they call them. Herbisores?”

“Herbivores, Starsk.”

“Whatever,” the other man replied, lifting his sandwich to take a quick bite, chewing with great relish, then swallowing. “I’m much happier as a meat-a-vore.”

“You’re not a carnivore, you’re an omnivore.” He lifted his plate in one hand, beer in the other, and carried them both out onto the porch, knowing his partner would follow. “That means you should eat more than just meat.”

“Hey, I got mushrooms and onions on this!” Starsky replied, placing his own plate next to Hutch’s on the small table between the two Adirondack chairs. “We forgot the chips.”

“I’ll get ’em,” the blond replied, heading back into the house.

“I’ll help you,” Starsky replied, following.

Hutch turned to face his partner when he stepped into the kitchen. “I don’t need help…” He was cut off as Starsky pulled him close for a kiss. “Hmmmm,” he moaned into the kiss, then pulled back, smiling into his partner’s blue eyes. “That Steak Bomb tastes good,” he teased, then leaned in for another taste. Suddenly the men heard a growling noise on the porch.

“Spike!” Starsky exclaimed, realizing they had left the food unattended, something that they had learned could have dire consequences. The small dog could scarf down a hamburger in five seconds flat.

They opened the screen door and stepped out to see Spike growling at Hutch’s sandwich…which was now on the floor in front of the table.

“That goddamn dog!” Hutch exclaimed. He stepped over to shoo the dog away from his sandwich, which still looked salvageable. He quickly drew back his hand when the growling increased in volume. “Starsky, would you mind?” he said, gesturing to the dog. Hutch knew that only his partner could get between the dog and any kind of food.

Starsky was laughing, and as he approached, he was shocked to see Spike lift his leg and urinate right on the sandwich.

“Did he just…on my sandwich…?”

“Spike!” Starsky shouted. “Bad dog!” Spike put his tail between his legs and walked over to sit contritely at his master’s feet. Starsky looked down at the dog then over at his partner, who was still staring down at his sandwich in shock. “Guess he doesn’t like the vegetarian special with extra sprouts.” The humor of the situation finally got to him and he broke down laughing. “Ev-v-veryone’s a c-critic!” he sputtered. Spike’s tail started to wag as it appeared his master was happy again.

Hutch didn’t think it was funny at all, as he started to clean up the mess. “That dog hates me,” he grumbled, using a napkin to lift the now soggy sandwich onto the plate. “You can stop laughing any time now, buddy. This just means I’m getting your sandwich.”

“Hey, I didn’t piss on your lunch!”

“No, but your dog did.”

“He’s not my dog, he’s Adam’s dog.”

“Yeah, right,” Hutch replied, walking down the porch steps and over to the garbage can by the gate. He dumped in the foul mess then walked back to the porch and into the kitchen to wash his hands, his partner and his faithful companion at his heels. “Whaddya call this then?” he said, motioning at Starsky’s feet where Spike now sat. “And you never discipline him.”

“I do so!” Starsky protested. “I told him he was a bad dog, didn’t I Spike?”

Hutch just shook his head, and went back on the porch and lifted the remaining sandwich and split it, taking the bigger half. Starsky noticed, but chose not to comment. He put some chips on each plate, and the two men began to eat their lunch.

“Don’t even think about it,” Hutch said quietly as he noticed a piece of meat about to hit the floor.

“But he’s hungry.”

“Then why didn’t he eat my sandwich when he had his chance?”

“Hutch, no one would eat that sandwich…” he broke off at his partner’s glare. He looked down at the dog and shook his head sadly. “Sorry, Spike, old pal. Not today.” The dog finally gave up begging and curled up at his feet.

When the sandwiches were gone, the men sat back and enjoyed their beer, hands eventually reaching across the table to join in the middle.

“You still mad?” Starsky asked.

“No,” the blond replied. “How could anyone stay mad on such a beautiful day?”

His partner shook his head. “You are so corny, but I love you anyway.” Hutch squeezed his hand in reply. “You wanna take a nap?”

“A nap? Now?”

“Sure, why not?” Starsky replied. “We could lie down in the hammock or…we could go upstairs for a little afternoon delight.” When Hutch turned to look at him, he waggled his eyebrows.

“Afternoon delight? And I’m the corny one?”

“Yeah, cuz I’m the horny one,” Starsky smiled as his partner groaned. “Race ya!”

He was out of the chair and into the kitchen before Hutch was even able to get out of his chair. Footsteps thundered up the stairs as the men chased each other, Hutch finally tackling his partner and landing on top of him as they tumbled onto the bed. They were both laughing and breathing hard until their lips met. Then they were just breathing hard. They kissed and nipped at each other, rolling, each one taking the dominant position for a moment, until he allowed the other to force themselves on top.

Hutch found himself on top of his partner, then grabbed his hands and held them over his head, leaning down to kiss and suck at the vulnerable throat. As he turned his head, he noticed the dog sitting on the other side of the bed. Watching.

“Starsk?” he whispered.

“Hmmm, that feels good,” his partner replied.

“Starsk?” his voice a little louder, still looking at the dog.

His partner finally opened his eyes. “Why’d ya stop?”

“He’s watching us.”

“Who?”

“Spike”

Starsky glanced over to where the blond was looking. “He’s not gonna bother you. He ain’t even growling. Now c’mere,” he said, freeing his hands from a now lax grip above his head. He grasped his partner’s face. “Look at me, not the dog.”

Serious blue eyes met laughing ones. “Starsk, I can’t do it while the dog is watching.”

His partner groaned, and his head fell back against the bed. “It’s just a dog.”

“He knows what we’re doing.”

“So, we’ll do it doggy style just for him.”

“Starsk…”

“OK, OK, I’ll shut him outta the room,” Hutch rolled to the side, letting his partner get up and walk around to the other side of the bed. “C’mon, Spike, old man. Show’s over for you.” He picked up the little dog and carried him over to the door, placing him outside. “Find your own date,” he said, shutting the door.

Starsky turned around and leaned back against the door. “You OK now?”

“It just felt creepy to be making out in front of the dog.”

“Not one for public sex, huh?”

Hutch shook his head, smiling softly at his disheveled partner. “But any sex sounds good right about now.”

“Yeah?” Starsky said, strutting slowly towards the bed. “Any sex?”

“Whatever you want…within reason,” he amended, rolling over to make room for the other man. As he did, there was a thud. “What was that?” he asked, reaching over the side of the bed and picking up the source of the thud, a heavy paperback. “What’s this?”

Starsky reached over quickly to grab the book, but the blond managed to keep it away from him. He glanced at the cover then over to his partner, who blushed. “‘Viking Lust: Passion on the High Seas’? You been holding out on me, Starsk?” he teased, starting to page through the book.

“It’s written by Cooper’s husband,” he explained. “I’m reading it as a favor.”

“You didn’t tell me her husband wrote romances,” Hutch said, turning the look at the cover again. “As Elizabeth Sanders. You just said he was an author.”

“I forgot.”

“I bet you did,” the blond teased, again opening the book to the center. “‘His large hands grasped her bodice, tearing the thin fabric and freeing her milk white breasts. Her chest heaved even as her pink nipples tightened.'” His eyebrows lifted as he continued reading. “‘He pulled her close to his body, his straining member pressing against her through her thin shift.'” He looked up at Starsky, who was shuffling his feet. “This is some hot stuff.”

“No shit, Hutch, you wouldn’t believe it. This stuff is as explicit as most porn you can buy.” Starsky marveled. “And women read this all the time!”

“You’re reading this as a favor?” Hutch teased.

“Well, I kinda just wanted to see what her husband wrote. I never expected this. The first one was even hotter than this one…”

“Oh, ho! The ‘first one’. So you’ve bought more?”

Starsky’s blush deepened. “I kinda like them.”

Hutch placed the book on the bedside table and sat up on the side of the bed, reaching out to pull his partner close, and then pressed his face against the lean abdomen in front of him. He smiled as he felt his partner’s arms drape around his shoulders.

“You are such a puzzle to me sometimes,” he said. “Just when I think I know everything…”

“Ain’t it nice we can keep surprising each other?”

“Mmmm,” Hutch made a noise of agreement, then pulled back, looking up at his lover. “So those books teach you anything?”

“Remember the other night?”

“You mean…?” Hutch’s eyebrows rose as Starsky nodded. “Well then, by all means, keep reading.” They laughed as the two men again joined each other on the bed. And the afternoon passed with the sound of laughter, groans, and finally snoring emerging from the room.

Hutch awoke later and glanced at the window shade, noticing that the sun’s direct light was now gone. He yawned and stretched, looking over at his still slumbering partner. A glance at the clock confirmed his suspicion. It was now late afternoon and the kids would be home soon.

Suddenly there was a thump outside the door. He stood up quickly and pulled on his jeans, hoping Starsky had locked the bedroom door. He threw the comforter over his partner, then stepped to the door, opening it. Hutch looked down, but didn’t see a child. His glance went further down and there sat one of his best running shoes, lying on it’s side, all chewed up, only half a lace still attached, several holes in the toes.

Hutch stared in disbelief, then reached down to pick up the now ruined shoe. He looked down the hall and saw Spike sitting on the top step, staring at him, lip curled. The dog was obviously prepared for a quick getaway. He drew a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

“OK, dog, you got me this time. But it’s just one battle in a war I intend to win.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Why was it the police thought they were protected on their own territory? It was ridiculously easy to get onto the grounds looking like a member of a cleaning crew. Of course, the car stood out like a swan at a duck farm. Slipping under the car when the parking lot was clear and making one little snip…and the plan was back on course.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Starsky hurried from the building, glancing at his watch. He had twenty minutes to get home and pick up the kids from Sandy’s. Her two had appointments at the dentist and she had asked him to pick up the twins at 3:30 to give her time to get downtown with the girls.

Opening the door of the Torino, he slipped inside and turned the key in the ignition, listening to the satisfying growl of the engine. Hutch teased him about how old the car was getting, but the Torino was a classic, and as long as proper care was taken, there was no reason he couldn’t keep her on the road for years to come.

Normally he avoided the freeway whenever possible, taking an alternate route home. However, today he hadn’t left himself enough time and he was forced to use the overcrowded road. Starsky prayed there was no accident that would slow traffic to a crawl. He kept the mars light and siren in case of emergency, but he knew Hutch frowned on him using it while off duty.

Moving on to the freeway and into the fast last, Starsky picked up speed and kept up with the rest of the traffic. Listening to the radio, he shook his head as he was cut off for the third time since he got on the road. These bozos didn’t know how to drive fast safely. He drove over the speed limit too, but at least he’d had some training.

Just as that thought passed through his head, yet another car slipped in front of him without signaling. He quickly put his foot on the brake, then frowned as he felt little resistance to the pressure of his foot. Pressing again, the pedal sank right to the floor. He looked out at the car in front of him, still mercifully about two car lengths away, but he could see brake lights further ahead, and knew traffic was about to stop. His heart pounded as he realized he would not be stopping, at least not with his brakes. He quickly assessed the situation, seeing cars on his right, behind him and directly in front, all about to stop. So he chose the only path he could, and turned the wheel into the median barrier. As he did so, his last thought was of Hutch, then everything went black.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The phone rang just as Hutch was finishing his last file for the night. He wondered if he should pick it up, then decided he’d better. The Sacramento office still might need help with the Fielding case.

“Hutchinson”

“Is this Special Agent Kenneth Hutchinson?” asked a male voice.

“Speaking,” Hutch replied.

“You are the next of kin of one David Michael Starsky, is that correct?”

Hutch paled and sat back in the chair, his heart suddenly pounding.

“What’s this about?” he asked sharply. “Is Starsky OK?”

“He’s been in an accident,” the voice replied calmly. “I was told to notify you and ask you to come down to Bay City General Hospital as soon as you can.”

“Please,” Hutch choked on the word. “Please tell me he’s not dead.”

“He’s not dead, Agent Hutchinson,” the voice replied more kindly. “He was in a car accident and is injured, but that’s all I can tell you right now.”

“I’ll be right there.” Hutch replied, and hung up the phone. Pulling his jacket from the back of his chair, he hurried out of his office and took the elevator down to the parking garage. All the way to his car he chanted under his breath “please be OK, please be OK.” As he got behind the wheel and pulled out of the garage, he began to pray.

In what seemed like hours later, but was actually only ten minutes, Hutch pulled into a parking place in the emergency room parking lot. He hurried up to the entrance and blew through the door at top speed. He was immediately flanked by a young woman in a police uniform who started walking beside him.

“Special Agent Hutchinson,” the officer addressed him as she subtly steered him away from the admissions desk and towards the hall. “Lieutenant Starsky is going to be fine. He’s already been moved from the trauma room to an observation room on the third floor. This way, sir.” She directed him to the nearest elevator then pressed the up button, then continued her report. “His right shoulder was dislocated and he has three fractured ribs. The doctors have already repaired his shoulder and his chest has been wrapped. As I’m sure you know, there’s not much that can be done for fractured ribs other than to let them heal.”

The elevator door opened and Hutch followed the young officer onto the elevator, grateful to hear that his partner was going to be fine, but still a bit bemused by his tour guide. Slender and not very tall, her dark hair was worn short and layered. If she was dressed in something other than a uniform, he thought she would be quite attractive, in a pixie kind of way. So this was Cooper, he thought.

Meeting his eyes, she resumed speaking. “One of the officers on the scene recognized the car and called and asked me to come down to the hospital. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to notify you myself, but I was taking care of the Lieutenant. As soon as I arrived, they had started working on his shoulder, and he was a little hard to handle when they were trying to put his shoulder back in place. That’s a very painful procedure, even with all the medication they gave him.”

“Yes, I know,” Hutch responded, fascinated despite the circumstances. “And you had no trouble with him?”

“Well, I wouldn’t quite say that, sir,” she replied, a slight smile creased her lips then was gone. “His language was a bit colorful and I’m sure the ER nurses were glad when he was able to be moved upstairs.”

“I imagine so,” he agreed smiling. “I assume you’re Sergeant Cooper?”

Cooper’s spine immediately stiffened. “Sir, I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t even introduce myself, sir.”

“No problem,” Hutch replied as the elevator doors opened. “This isn’t a tea party.”

“Come right this way, sir.”

Cooper led him down yet another hall and knocked briskly on the door of room 312 before pushing it open.

“Lieutenant?” she said as they walked into the room. “I’ve brought Agent Hutchinson.”

“Hussh!” Starsky called from the bed. “You’re here! C’mere, I can’t see you alla way over there.”

“He’s been heavily medicated,” Cooper said in a low voice as if in apology.

“Yes, I can see that,” Hutch replied with a smile as he walked towards the bed. His stoned partner was truly a beautiful sight, bandages and all. A sling was wrapped tightly around his right shoulder and there were bandages covering most of his chest.

“Hussh, I was lookin’ for ya, but I couldn’t find ya,” Starsky said, continuing to slur his words. He smiled blearily up at his partner. “Did Cooper find ya?”

“She did,” he replied, then reached out to rest his hand on Starsky’s forehead. “Are you OK?”

“Me?” Starsky said loudly. “Why, don’t I look fine?” he demanded, then started laughing at his own joke. Hutch smiled in response, brushing his hand through his partner’s hair.

“So what happened?” he asked. “Do you remember?”

Starsky looked up at him in confusion. “I don’t…” his voice trailed off as he glanced towards Cooper.

She stepped closer to the bed. “Before he was medicated, the Lieutenant reported feeling his brakes get soft and then completely lax. He swerved his car to avoid the traffic in front of him and he hit a barrier. That’s all he remembers. The Torino has been towed away and I’m having it examined at the police garage for possible evidence of foul play.”

Starsky smiled and pointed at Cooper. “Isn’t she somethin’, Hussh? Didn’t I tell ya?”

“You did tell me,” Hutch replied, smiling at the younger officer’s slight blush.

Starsky grabbed the blond’s hand and held on. “Don’t scare the kids, huh? Tell ’em I’m OK.”

“The kids!” Hutch exclaimed. “I forgot all about the kids! How could I…”

Cooper’s voice interrupted him. “I’ve already notified Mrs. Williams. She’ll keep Hannah and Adam until you can get home. She said she would keep them overnight if you needed her to, but I told her you would probably want to pick them up.”

“I do,” he replied, very surprised that everything had been taken care of. A very unusual situation for him.

“The Lieutenant will have to stay overnight,” she said to Hutch, then looked down at Starsky. “I’ll take your class in the morning and make sure the exams are performed as scheduled. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

“A goddamn dream, right Hussh?”

Hutch smiled at his partner. “You’re right, Starsk.”

“Cooper?” Starsky said.

“Yes, sir?”

“Go home,” he said to her, then looked up at Hutch, pulling on his partner’s hand. “Hussh, make her go home. She works too much and she needs to go home. You can take care’a me now, huh?” Starsky’s eyes started to droop as he fought off sleep.

Hutch glanced at Cooper who nodded and started towards the door, halting at Starsky’s voice.

“We should marry her, Hussh.”

“Who, Starsk?”

“Cooper,” he replied quietly. “Couldn’t we marry her? She’d take care’a us alla time…” his voice trailed off.

Hutch smiled at the young woman standing by the door, then answered his partner. “I don’t think that would be very practical, do you Starsk?”

“No, prob’ly not,” he sighed. “Her husban’ wouldn’t like it, thass for sure.” Starsky stared dreamily up at Hutch. “Did I tell ya she always calls me sir? Me? Do I look like a sir?”

“Not right now,” Hutch said with a smile, glancing over at Cooper who still hadn’t moved. “Why don’t you tell her to call you ‘Starsky’?”

“I tell her, Hussh, I tell her alla time.”

Starsky yawned as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Hutch could tell he was moments away from healing sleep so he humored him by continuing the conversation. He was also curious to see what Cooper thought of unvarnished Starsky.

“Maybe it’s because you’re her commanding officer?” Hutch suggested to his sleepy partner.

“But she’s my friend, Hussh, don’t she know she’s my frien’…?” Starsky’s voice trailed off as he drifted off to sleep.

Hutch looked up at Cooper who met his gaze, then she looked down at Starsky. He could see the emotion in her eyes, then a mask dropped into place as she turned and stepped towards the door.

“Cooper?”

She stopped but did not turn. “Yes, sir?”

“Thank you for everything,” Hutch said quietly.

“You’re welcome,” came the reply and then she was gone.

Hutch stood looking down at Starsky then back up at the closed door. He had heard endless stories about Cooper since Starsky had hired her. She managed to organize, coddle, harass and even outwork his dedicated partner. He knew a bond had grown between them and was glad he was finally able to meet her, even under the circumstances. Hutch could see she was fiercely devoted to Starsky and if she would have taken a bullet for him before, now she would fall on a ticking bomb to protect him. God knows he needed all the help he could get with Starsky. And with the unknown threat which had suddenly become all too real.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hutch pulled his car into the driveway and turned off the headlights, sitting for a moment, reviewing the last couple of hours. He’d stayed at the hospital until he was sure Starsky was resting comfortably, then headed for home. He knew telling the kids that Starsky had been injured wasn’t going to be easy, but hopefully they would be fine knowing he would be home the next day.

As he stepped from the car, he smiled as he saw the twins running down the sidewalk towards him, followed by Sandy Williams.

“Uncle Ken, Uncle Ken!” Hannah piped, running up to him and clinging to his legs. “You’re late! We ate already!”

“We saw you from the window! We had macaroni and cheese. And meatloaf!” Adam contributed as he skidded to a stop behind his sister.

Hutch leaned down and gave Hannah a quick kiss and ruffled Adam’s hair then walked over to open the garage door and turn on the light.

“That sounds delicious!” he commented. “How about you take your book bags inside and put them away and I’ll be right in. I just need to talk to Mrs. Williams for a minute.” The twins both nodded and started towards the inside door when they halted at his voice. “What do you say?”

“Thank you, Mrs. Williams!” they chorused.

“Goodnight, kids!” she called, walking up beside Hutch. She returned their wave then watched as they walked into the house. “How is he?” she asked.

Hutch wiped his face with his hand then replied, “He’ll be fine. He had a dislocated shoulder, which they’ve already fixed, and a couple of cracked ribs.”

“It was a car accident?” she asked, resting her hand on his arm for comfort.

“Yeah, although I’m not sure if accident is the right word,” he said quietly. “Sandy, we’re not sure, but it’s possible someone is trying to hurt Starsky or myself.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know right now. But until we do, we’re going to have to keep an extra watchful eye on the twins, just in case.”

“You just let me know what you want to do, and we’ll help in any way we can.”

“Thanks, Sandy,” Hutch replied with a soft smile. “You’re a good friend.”

She smiled. “Take care of yourself and call me tomorrow, OK?”

“Will do,” he said and he watched her turn and head back to her own house. He waited until she’d reached her own front door, scanning the street for anything out of the ordinary. Once she was inside, he closed the garage door behind him and entered the house. Hearing the TV, he headed for the den, smiling as he saw the twins side by side on the couch, already enthralled with the Muppet Show. He sat down and waited for a commercial, before turning off the TV.

“Where’s Starsky?” Hannah asked. “He was supposed to pick us up.”

“Well, that’s what I need to tell you,” he said quietly. “Starsky was in an accident.”

As soon as the words left his lips, he realized he had made a serious mistake. Those were the exact words he had used to tell the twins that their parents had been killed. Hannah reacted as she had the first time. Her “No!” was screamed at the top of her lungs, and she bolted out of the room. He rushed after her and caught up with her in the kitchen.

“Hannah, listen!” Hutch picked her up and held her as she fought in his arms. “Starsky is fine! He’s going to be OK!” Finally the words began to penetrate and she calmed, crying into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he chanted, petting her hair with his hand in a comforting gesture. “Starsky is fine, please, Hannah, stop crying.”

“Starsky isn’t dead?” she asked quietly.

“No, pumpkin, he’s not. He’s in the hospital and he’s a little bit hurt, but he’ll be home tomorrow,” he replied. “I promise.”

Suddenly he remembered Adam and quickly carried Hannah back into the den. What he saw knocked the breath from his body. Adam was sitting on the couch, frozen in the position he had been in when Hutch left the room. There was no color in his face and his eyes were blank. There was no crying, no tears. Just…nothing.

Setting Hannah on the recliner, he kissed her forehead then stepped over to the couch, pushing aside the coffee table and knelt in front of his nephew.

“Adam, listen to me,” he said firmly, holding small shoulders in his hand. “Starsky is not dead. He’s fine.” There was no reaction. “Adam, can you hear me?” Still nothing. Hutch was getting scared. This was not unlike Adam’s reaction on learning of his parents death, but for some reason, this seemed much worse. At least before there were tears. Now all Hutch could see was frozen silence and he had no idea what to do.

Then Spike jumped up on the couch and crept over to Adam, leaning against his side. Hutch started to push the dog away, when he noticed a slight reaction from his nephew. The small boy shuddered, then his arm stretched out and pulled the dog into his lap. Hutch nearly cried with relief.

“Adam, can you hear me?” The boy nodded. “Starsky is fine.” Adam’s eyes filled, but he shook his head in a negative gesture. “He is not dead.” Again, the head shake.

“He doesn’t believe you,” Hannah’s voice came from behind him and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

Hutch turned to see her serious face then back to his nephew. “Adam, he really is fine.” The boy just buried his head in the dog’s fur and hugged the little body tight.

Hutch tried to decide how to handle this. He could call and get Starsky on the phone, but it didn’t seem like enough. He figured the only way Adam was going to snap out of this was to actually see his beloved Starsky. His partner would probably still be sleepy, but most of the drugs he received to make him relaxed for the procedure should have worn off by the time they got there… Making a decision, Hutch stood and walked over to the phone and opened the book of emergency numbers beside it. This was going to be tricky, but he knew just the person to ask.

“Cooper?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hutch didn’t know how she did it, but in less than an hour he was walking down the hospital corridor, a twin holding each of his hands, while Cooper ran interference at the nurse’s station. When they reached the door of Starsky’s room, he quickly pushed the door open and brought the kids inside, closing the door behind him. The room was darkened, but there was a light over the bed illuminating the figure resting there. A soft snore emanated from the bed as he and the children walked over to stand beside it. Hutch held a finger to his lips and both children nodded.

“Starsk?” he called quietly. Nothing. A little louder, he called again, “Starsk?”

His partner’s blue eyes opened and looked around in confusion, blinking. “Hutch?”

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked, smiling and reaching out to brush a hand against his partner’s flushed cheek, discreetly checking for a fever.

“Terrible,” Starsky replied, then yawned loudly. “What’re you doin’ here? Where are the kids?”

“Starsky!” Hannah called, no longer able to keep quiet. “We came to see you!”

Hutch shrugged his shoulders at his partner’s questioning look and reached down to lift Hannah to stand on the chair beside the bed so she could see Starsky.

He smiled when he saw her bright face. “Hey, Hannah Banana, what’re you doin’ here?”

“We came to see if you were dead,” she replied bluntly. “But you’re not.”

Starsky looked at his partner in surprise. Hutch leaned down and lifted Adam into his arms. The boy clung to him, his face buried in his uncle’s neck, refusing to look at the figure on the bed. Hutch turned his eyes toward Adam and Starsky picked up on the gesture immediately.

“Adam?” he called. “Adam, I’m OK. Look at me.”

A sob shook the small body as he lifted his head and looked down at Starsky. He suddenly reached out his arms and Hutch carefully lowered him onto the bed next to his partner. Starsky winced a little then brought his good arm around the boy who clung to his side sobbing. Both men’s eyes met and filled with tears at exactly the same time.

“Oh, Adam,” Starsky said, hugging the boy tighter. “Kemo sabe, calm down. I’m right here.”

Hutch stepped next to the chair Hannah was standing on and pulled her close to his side. She clung to him while she watched her brother and Starsky on the bed.

“He was scared, Starsky,” she said matter of factly.

“I can see that, sweetie,” Starsky replied. “But you can both see I’m gonna be fine. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Sorry about this, Starsk,” Hutch said, smiling softly at his partner. “I wasn’t sure what to do. Things got a little out of control.”

“S’OK,” Starsky replied, then turned to the figure at his side, whose sobs had quieted. “Adam?” The boy looked at his through tear filled eyes. “Hey, buddy,” he said as if the boy had just come in the room. “You gonna say hi?”

“Hi,” the sound was more of a croak and they all laughed, even Adam.

“Sorry I scared you there, buddy,” Starsky said. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It was my fault,” Hutch explained to his parnter. “I didn’t exactly handle this the way I should have…”

“No problemo,” Starsky replied, then smiled. “How the heck did you three get in here, anyway?”

“Cooper did it,” Hannah replied. “She’s nice, Starsky. We like her.”

Starsky laughed, then winced as the pain shot through his chest.

“OK, that’s it,” Hutch said quickly, lifting Hannah to the ground. “We need to go now and let Starsky get some rest.” Looking at his partner, he said, “I’ll tell Cooper to send the nurse in with some pain meds, OK?” Starsky nodded his thanks. “Adam, we need to go now. Say goodbye to Starsky.”

“I love you, Starsky,” Adam whispered as he clung to the man for a moment.

“I love you too, buddy,” Starsky whispered, kissing the top of the small blond head, pulling back as Hutch carefully lifted the boy from the bed. “You too, Hannah Banana. You both be good for Uncle Ken and I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“We will,” Hannah replied. “Bye, Starsky!”

Hutch handed the kids off to Cooper who magically appeared at the door, then stepped back to the bed. “Sorry about that…”

“I told ya, it’s OK. Tell me the story later. Take the kids home.”

Hutch leaned down for a quick kiss. “I love you,” he said quietly. “I’ll be back in the morning to get you.”

“You better, Blondie, or I’m breakin’ outta here on my own.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Hutch teased with a smile. “More likely you’ll flirt with one of the nurses to get yourself a ticket out of here.”

Starsky winked, then said, “Go!”

“Bye, Starsky!” the kids called quietly from the door as the group left the room and the door closed behind them.

Starsky buried his head in the pillow smiling. “I knew they couldn’t live without me…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Danny, hold the car door open so it doesn’t close again and hit him.”

“We can do it, we can do it!” the twins’ voice chirped.

“Danny’s got it, kids, now stand back and let Starsky get out of the car.”

Hutch leaned into the car to help turn his partner, who was still facing forward. As he swung his legs out of the car, Starsky groaned.

“I told you to take those pills before we left the hospital…”

“Hutch?” the voice was very soft. Hutch leaned closer.

“Cool it, huh? It hurts, I have to go to the bathroom and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of the kids.” Hutch nodded and Starsky’s eyes closed for a moment then opened as he moved to stand up. Hutch put his arm around his partner’s good shoulder and between the two of them, the injured man was on his feet.

“Thanks, Danny,” Hutch said as they started moving forward slowly. “Can you get the front door open? Adam?” The little boy stepped closer. “Can you grab Spike and put him in the backyard for now? He might trip Starsky.”

Adam lifted the dog, who was sniffing at his favorite human’s feet, definitely in the way. With the dog in his arms, the boy scurried up the front steps and disappeared through the open front door, giggling as he sidestepped Danny’s foot raised as if to trip him.

“What can I do, Uncle Ken?” Hannah asked, bouncing beside them, worry in her voice. Hutch was concentrating on moving Starsky up the steps and didn’t answer, but Danny responded for him.

“Hey, squirt, how about running up and getting Starsky’s pillow off of his bed and bringing it down to the couch?” Hannah rushed up the steps and was gone. “You guys OK?” The two men had finally made it onto the porch and stopped for a moment.

“Shit, this hurts,” Starsky groaned softly. “Let’s get it over with.”

“Danny, can you make sure no one is in the bathroom? I think that’s our first stop.”

The older boy stepped into the house, followed more slowly by the adults. Finally they made it to the bathroom, much to Starsky’s great relief, and shortly thereafter he was ensconced on the couch, pillow behind his head, a bottle of root beer on the coffee table, newly swallowed pain pill starting to work, and an audience of four, five if you counted the rag mop lying on his feet.

“We’re glad you’re home, Starsky,” Hannah said from where she sat in Hutch’s lap. “We missed you.”

“I missed you all too,” Starsky replied, then closed his eyes.

“That’s it,” Hutch declared, moving his niece out of his lap and standing. “Starsky needs to rest. Let’s give him some quiet time.”

“You want me to take the twins home with me?” Danny asked as they moved from the room, the kids running on ahead.

“No!” Starsky’s voice was sharp. “Hutch, they should stay here with us.”

Hutch leaned over the back of the couch and placed his hand on his partner’s head. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered. You rest.”

Starsky relaxed back onto the pillow. “I just think…”

“Don’t think, it uses too much energy,” Hutch teased, leaning down to place a kiss on a damp forehead. “You need the rest, now sleep.”

Hutch stood up and walked over to join Danny, who still stood in the doorway, a confused look on his face. He followed the older man into the kitchen. They could both see the twins in the backyard being chased by Spike.

“What’s wrong?” Danny asked. “It wasn’t an accident, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Hutch replied. “Please don’t tell the kids, we don’t want to scare them.” The boy nodded, and they both sat at the kitchen table. “We don’t know who and we don’t know why, but apparently someone is trying to hurt one of us.”

“This is crazy,” Danny said, then he looked thoughtful. “Hey, wait a minute. My accident too?”

“It’s possible someone thought you were Starsky.”

“Shit.”

“Danny, watch the language,” Hutch teased. “Your mother will think you learned it here.”

“Well, I think I did.”

Hutch laughed. “You probably did, but now there are other little ears to hear.”

“Yeah, I know,” Danny replied. “Got some of those same sized ears at home too. So what’re you gonna do?”

“Right now, just be careful.” The older man leaned back in his chair. “Cooper will be over tonight with some files. We’re going to have to go through them and see if we can figure out who might be after us.” Hutch looked thoughtful for a moment. “It wouldn’t be the first time…”

Danny’s eyes widened. “You mean like Gunther?”

“Unfortunately, yes, but this is too much of an amateur job to be anyone like Gunther,” Hutch mused. “It’s like it’s very personal.”

“What can I do?” Danny asked. “I want to help.”

Hutch sighed, looking across the table at the earnest teen. “I wish I could tell you to stay out of it.” He held up a hand to stop the protest he could see coming. “But it would be a waste of my time. You’re part of our lives, and whether I like it or not, you’re in just as much danger as all of us. Better that you’re involved, informed, and alert.”

Danny sat back with a sigh. “I wouldn’t leave, you know.”

“I know,” Hutch replied, smiling at the boy, then looked thoughtful. “You’re yet another hostage to our fortune.”

“Fortune?” Danny’s eyes widened and the blond man laughed.

“Not that kind of fortune,” he explained. “It’s from a very old quote by Francis Bacon. ‘He that hath wife and children, hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.’ It means…well, it sort of means that you’re not alone anymore. You have people in your life that are important to you and they’re affected by all the things that happen to you, good and bad.”

“Why does he say ‘impediment’?”

“Well, if it’s just you alone, you can do whatever you like,” Hutch explained. “You can seek out great things, without worrying about anyone else. And if you’re in trouble, no one else in your life is at risk. Once you have people in your life, a wife, kids, lover, friends, they become a factor in everything you do.”

“And that’s bad?” Danny sounded confused.

“I wouldn’t give up Starsky or the kids or you for anything in the world,” Hutch replied firmly. “You’re my family, my ‘hostages to fortune’. Whatever good might happen to me, you’re a part of, and unfortunately we all take the bad with the good. When it used to be Starsk and I, it was ‘me and thee’, but now our perspective has changed and we need to think about you and the kids when making our decisions about how to handle this threat.”

“Whatever you need me to do,” Danny replied.

“I think the best way for you to help us now, is to keep your eyes open. We live at the end of the street, and there are alot of people around, you included. Let us know if you see anything strange. Particularly someone sitting in a car, or someone you don’t think belongs here.”

“OK”

“I’ll call your Mom and Dad and let them know what’s going on. Your Mom already knows a little, and the more eyes that are watching, the better off we all are.”

“So you don’t want the twins to come over to our house?” Danny asked.

Hutch smiled. “Not right now. Both of us are a little too edgy. We’re not used to having this many people to worry about, particularly tiny ones that are making way too much noise in the backyard…”

Danny stood up. “I’ll hang out in the yard with them for awhile, keep ’em quiet so Starsky can rest.”

Hutch stood as well. “Thanks, Danny.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The sound of paper rustling woke Starsky. He opened his eyes slowly, then relaxed back into the pillow, staring at the man on the other side of the room. Hutch sat in his recliner, a pile of manila files on the table next to him, one open in his lap. He was wearing reading glasses. Starsky’s eyes widened.

“You’re wearing glasses,” he said hoarsely, then cleared his throat.

Hutch looked up in surprise, then quickly removed the glasses, folding them up and putting them in their case. He stood and and walked over to the couch, sitting on the coffee table and facing his partner.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, running a hand through thick curls and smiling.

“You were wearing glasses…”

Hutch blushed. “It must be the medication,” he replied. “You’re imagining things.”

“I don’t think so, Blondie. I might be hurt but I know what I saw.”

“OK, so I need reading glasses,” the blond replied defensively. “I only need them for close work.”

“I like ’em,” Starsky replied. “You look sexy like that, all studious and intense.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah, babe, very sexy.”

Hutch leaned down for a kiss then sat back. “I was afraid to tell you. I felt like an old man.”

“Nah, you’re not old, you’re a classic.”

“Well, I suppose that’s better than being an antique.” The two men smiled at each other, then sobered. “We’ve got some work to do.”

“Cooper’s been here?” Hutch nodded in reply. “You’ve got quite a stack of files there.”

“Yours are in that box,” he said, pointing. Starsky turned to look, then groaned, laying back against the pillows. “Starsk, if you don’t feel up to it…”

“I feel better, just frustrated. I thought we were past all this crap.”

“Crap’s a bad word, Starsky,” a small voice piped from the end of the couch. The men turned to see Hannah standing there watching them.

“Hey, pumpkin!” Hutch replied. “I think we can forgive Starsky one small bad word, don’t you think?”

Hannah nodded then stepped closer to Hutch, leaning against his side and looking down at her other beloved uncle.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, leaning forward to place her small hand on Starsky’s forehead, unconsciously mimicking her Uncle Ken.

Starsky reached up with his good hand and pulled her small hand to his mouth and kissed it, the kiss quickly transforming into a loud raspberry, causing giggles to emerge from the girl.

“I’m better, Hannah Banana,” he replied, smiling. “What have you guys been up to?”

Hutch left Hannah with Starsky, the young girl filling her uncle in on their adventures of the day, Starsky nodding in all the appropriate places.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“You ready for bed?”

“Whatcha got in mind?” Starsky asked, attempting to rise from the couch. Hutch moved forward and helped him to his feet.

“Bed. Sleep.”

“That’s all?” the voice was disappointed.

“I believe that’s all you can handle right now, Mr. Starsky.”

Hutch walked beside his partner, who was moving stiffly, but walking unaided. They started up the stairs, Starsky ascending first.

“We could play doctor,” he suggested hopefully, concentrating on the stairs.

“We could,” Hutch replied, “But I think you need sleep more than fooling around.”

“Says you,” Starsky teased as he made it to the top of the stairs. “I really have this thing for Dr. Hutchinson…”

“Well, Dr. Hutchinson is tired and just wants to make sure his patient gets some rest. Go to bed and I’ll be in as soon as I look in on the kids.”

“Spoilsport.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lying in bed side by side, Starsky was waiting for the medicine to kick in. The task of undressing, washing up, and getting in to bed had exhausted him, and his shoulder and ribs were throbbing.

“Guess you were right.”

“About what?”

“I’m not up to fooling around.”

Hutch rolled carefully on to his side, and smiled at his partner. “You always were one to try to bite off more than you could chew.”

Starsky turned his head to the side and winked. “There’s a lot to chew on…” he said, chuckling when Hutch blushed, then wincing as his laughter jolted his injuries. “Don’t make me laugh.”

“Sorry, I won’t do it again,” the blond replied in mock contrition. “Pain pill kick in yet?”

“It’s starting to.”

“Before you drop off on me, I wanted to ask if you thought it was alright for the kids to go to school tomorrow.”

Starsky looked over at the blond man. “What do you think, babe?”

“I think they should go,” he replied. “I’ve taken a couple of days off and I can drive them in and pick them up. I’ll let the principal know what’s going on so the teachers can keep an eye out for anything strange. I’d hate to disrupt their routine, particularly since we don’t even know if they’re at risk.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. This just pisses me off,” Starsky said with frustration, then yawned loudly.

“Be pissed off tomorrow, sleep tonight,” Hutch said. “Cooper is going to drop by again tomorrow after work and give you an update on work.” Starsky reply was smothered by another yawn. “Sleep, babe.” And they did.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Nothing!” Starsky said with disgust, slapping yet another file onto a tilting pile of already reviewed files on the kitchen table. “I wish we had something more to go on than vague threats.”

“I don’t know how vague your injuries are, sir,” Cooper replied, sorting through yet another pile of folders.

Hutch smiled at the comment, and went back to his own folder. The three were sitting at the kitchen table after dinner the following night. The twins had gone to school without incident, and other than a nap for Starsky, the two men had spent most of the day reviewing files, making calls, and talking, trying to figure out who might want to hurt either of them. Fortunately, it seemed Starsky was feeling much better, and was moving around more easily.

Cooper arrived as Hutch was serving dinner, a chicken noodle casserole from the freezer, and had been persuaded to stay and eat. The kids clearly enjoyed her company, and she soon warmed up to her superior’s partner, and finally agreed to call him “Hutch”. Starsky, of course, remained “sir” or “lieutenant”. Apparently the rules of protocol only stretched so far. After dinner, Hutch bathed the twins and they were now playing quietly in the den. Starsky had promised them a story before bed.

“Are we going to have to wait for him to make another move?” Starsky asked in frustration. “I hate this.”

“Go tell the kids their story, Starsk. Take a break.”

The darker man sighed, and nodded. “Should we wrap it up? Cooper needs to get home to her husband.”

“No need,” Cooper replied, not looking up from the folder she was examining.

“Of course there’s a need, Cooper. Do you know how many marriages suffer from neglect?”

“Been reading the women’s magazines at the supermarket again, Starsk?” Hutch teased, then ducked the mock swing his partner aimed at the top of his head.

“She works too hard,” Starsky said firmly.

“No harder than you, sir.”

“Your husband misses you.”

“No, he doesn’t even know I’m not there.”

Starsky turned to Hutch. “See? You think that’s not neglect?” Hutch raised his arms in surrender, smiling to himself at the familiar battle, proof that his partner was feeling much better.

“He’s not home.”

“Not home? I thought he worked at your house?”

“He does.”

“You sure he’s not stepping out on you?” Starsky asked suspiciously, clearly worried about his sergeant.

“He’s on tour.”

Starsky blinked. “Tour?”

“It’s a book tour. He’s in New York.” She looked up and smiled calmly. “He’s not home to miss me.”

“You know, there’s a lot of temptations in New York…”

“Starsk,” Hutch complained. “Leave her alone.”

“I’m just worried about her.”

“Don’t, sir. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I could have my Ma give him a call…”

“He’s with mine.”

“What?”

“He’s with my mother. That’s who he’s staying with.”

“Oh,” Starsky replied, temporarily taken aback. “She know about these books he writes?”

“Starsk, enough!” Hutch protested, laughing. “Leave her alone and go tell the kids’ story. It’s getting late.” Starsky left the room, mumbling under his breath.

“That doesn’t make you crazy?” Hutch asked.

“He’s a good lieutenant,” came the reply from the head bent over the folder.

“In other words, you’ll put up with his eccentricities for a good boss?”

Cooper looked up and smiled at Hutch before bending again to the work. Hutch chuckled and opened his next file.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Do you drive like a maniac, Starsky?”

Starsky looked down in surprise at his nephew’s comment. He was sitting on the couch, one twin tucked on either side, telling the latest installment of the long running fairy tale. Spike lay in Adam’s lap, snoring softly.

“Where did you hear that, Adam?”

“The nurse,” Hannah replied for her brother. “We don’t like her anymore.”

“What nurse?” Starsky asked.

“The nurse at school,” Adam answered. “She said you drive like a maniac and are a bad flu…”

“‘fluence,” Hannah finished.

Starsky’s brow drew together as he listened. “Influence?”

“Yes, that’s what she said,” Hannah confirmed. “We don’t like her, Starsky.”

“Was this today?” he asked, trying to keep his temper under control and not scare the kids. All he had to do was prod on his talkative neice and he’d get all the details he needed.

“No, she said that last week. Then she didn’t come back anymore and we were glad, weren’t we, Adam?” Her brother nodded his head vigorously in agreement. “She was always talking to us, asking us about you and Uncle Ken. First she was nice, then she scared us.”

“Hutch!” Starsky called, summoning his partner. “Hold on a second, sweetie, I want Uncle Ken to hear this.”

“What’s up, Starsk?” Hutch asked as he walked through into the den. Cooper stood in the doorway.

“Tell Uncle Ken what you told me, Hannah,” Starsky urged the little girl.

“The nurse called Starsky a maniac and we don’t like her.” Hutch looked at his partner in confusion.

“The kids said that this nurse at school has been asking them questions about us,” he explained. “She apparently told them I drive like a maniac and am a bad influence.”

“What!” Hutch exclaimed. “That accident wasn’t your fault.”

“Last week, Hutch,” Starsky said, meeting his partner’s gaze. “She said this last week.”

The blond man sank into the recliner, looking stunned. “The school nurse?” he said softly to himself. Then he sat up straight and looked at the children. “Kids, what was her name?”

“Nurse,” replied Adam.

Starsky was following Hutch’s line of thought and was stunned. “You think…?”

“Don’t you?”

“Call Sandy,” Starsky suggested. “She works as a lunchroom mother sometimes. Maybe she knows the nurse’s name.”

Hutch stood and walked to the phone, dialing quickly. All eyes were upon him. Starsky’s simmering with anger, and Cooper and the children’s were confused.

“Sandy? It’s Hutch….yes, he’s doing better thanks. Listen, you work at the school sometimes?…Do you know anything about the school nurse?” There was a long pause, and Hutch’s face creased with worry and anger. “How long ago?…Do you know her name?” Hutch’s eyes closed at the answer, then quickly opened again, meeting his partner’s and nodding. “Thanks, Sandy. We need you and the family to be on alert. I think that nurse might be the one we were talking about?….No, we’re fine for now. Just keep your eyes open and I’ll let you know what’s going on….No, I don’t think she’ll try anything, but at least now we know….It’s a long story…” he laughed softly. “I will, I promise. Thanks.”

“I’ll go make some calls in the kitchen,” Starsky said. “Cooper, can you help me?” The two left the room.

“Uncle Ken, did we do something wrong?” Hannah asked, biting her lip nervously.

Hutch quickly took Starsky’s place between the twins. “No, neither of you did anything wrong. In fact, you make good detectives.”

“We do?” Adam asked excitedly.

“Yes, you both kept your eyes and ears open and you might help us solve a case.”

Hannah’s eyes widened dramatically. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Hutch answered, having no intention of telling them of any danger at this point. He would kill that bitch Diana Harmon before she got anywhere near his family. “But we’ve all had enough excitement for the night. It’s bed time!”

The twins groaned and protested the shortened story, but followed their uncle up the stairs and into bed without too much complaint. Hutch kissed them goodnight and promised a much longer story time the following night. Spike was tucked in right beside Adam. As much as the dog annoyed him, Hutch was glad for a little extra piece of mind that night. He turned on the Mickey Mouse nightlight and left the room, pulling the door almost shut.

Returning downstairs, he found Starsky on the phone, talking urgently into the receiver. Cooper sat at the table avidly reading one of the files. The Diana Harmon file. No need for Hutch to read it, he was all too familiar with it’s contents.

Starsky hung up the phone. “She’s out.”

“Goddammit, I thought she was in that place to stay,” Hutch replied in frustration. “She’s a fucking psycho!”

Starsky stepped closer to his partner, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him. “Diana has been in the Pleasant View Psychiatric Hospital since she was sentenced. Apparently her family came from back east six months ago and convinced the doctors to examine her again. They said she’s cured and they set her free.”

“Oh, that’s bullshit. If she’s cured, why the hell is she here stalking us?” Hutch looked at his partner, eyes filled with pain. “Starsk, she was with the kids!”

Starsky’s arms went around the blond man in comfort and the two embraced. “I’m sorry, Blondie,” he soothed, running a hand through fine blond hair. “They’re fine and now we know who is after us, we’ll be able to catch her and put her back where she belongs.” His eyes met Cooper’s past his partner’s shoulders. She was looking at them in sympathy. He winked and she smiled.

Finally the two men parted and moved to sit at the kitchen table. Hutch spoke first. “Sandy said that she had been fired for inappropriate behavior, erratic hours, that kind of thing. Nothing affecting the kids, thank God.”

“Martin is going to call back with a current address,” Starsky said. “As soon as we find out where she is, we’ll go get her and bring her in.”

“We have no evidence.”

Starsky laughed humorlessly. “You think we’re gonna need evidence? She’s a fruit loop. As soon as she sees you and we talk to her, she’ll flip again, guaranteed. Martin and Jorge agreed to meet us wherever she is, so we can wrap this up.” He looked at Cooper. “Would you stay with the kids when we go? You’re the only one I trust to keep them safe.”

Cooper’s eyes glowed. “I’ll treat them as if they were my own.”

Starsky looked intrigued. “You have kids you’re not telling me about?”

Hutch’s “Starsky!” as well as the ringing phone, ended that line of questioning. Soon they had their information, and in less than five minutes Hutch’s car was moving quickly down the street and out of sight.

Cooper closed the front door and locked it. She then checked all the windows and the back door, making sure they were closed and locked. Her firearm was removed from it’s holster and she checked to make sure it was fully loaded. She hadn’t used her gun for anything other than firearms training for several years and just wanted to reassure herself.

She walked up the stairs and looked in on the twins. Neither she nor her husband had any desire for children, but it was certainly nice to be able to spend some time with the lieutenant’s children. They all made such a nice family. Spike looked up at her from Adam’s bed. Just as he put his head back down, there was a cracking noise from the back of the house. Spike jumped from the bed, barking madly, and went tearing out of the room and down the stairs. The barking woke the twins who each sat up in bed and looked at Cooper.

She smiled at them reassuringly, although her heart was beating wildly. “Spike just heard an animal or something. You two stay here and don’t come down. I’ll get him and bring him back. But stay here, OK?” They nodded, wide eyed and she quickly left the room, closing the door behind her.

On her brief visits to the house, Spike had never proven to be a dog that barked constantly, so something had surely spooked him. Once the children’s door was closed, she pulled her gun and quickly moved down the stairs. She could hear Spike barking at the back door, so she quietly moved down the hall and stood outside the kitchen door, out of sight of that entrance. Leaning around the edge of the door, she saw a face through the glass in the door and pulled back quickly. There was someone there!

Spike continued to bark, but apparently the intruder didn’t seem worried about the noise. Cooper gasped as one of the glass panes suddenly broke, the glass raining down around the dog, who backed up in surprise. A hand came in through the opening and quickly turned the knob. As the door opened, Cooper moved into the door frame, gun extended, and called “Stop! Police!”

The door continued opening, revealing a woman standing there holding a knife. She smiled at Cooper and started forward. Cooper again called the warning and the woman finally stopped. Spike chose that moment to start his attack and rushed the women, sinking his teeth into her ankle. She lifted her foot shaking him off, then kicked the small dog across the kitchen. There was a yelp and then silence. Cooper’s heart lurched, but she dared not look away from the intruder.

“Diana, can I help you with something?” she asked quietly.

The woman blinked, looking confused. “Who are you?”

“Can you put down the knife so we can talk?”

Diana clutched the knife tightly and shook her head. “I want Ken. Where is he? Is he with that pervert?” She shook her head in confusion. “He took him away from me. He should have loved me, not Starsky! The kids told me about him. I know what he does.” She smiled, seemingly happy. “I need to get rid of him, and then the kids have to go. You know that, don’t you? They’re in the way. He’s mine. I need all his love…” She started forward again.

“Diana, stop! I can get Ken for you and then we’ll all sit down and talk.”

The woman looked at her in confusion. “Who are you? Do you want him too? He’s mine! You can’t have him!” Diana, infuriated at the thought of another rival, lost control and rushed forward, attempting to attack Cooper with the knife. Cooper fired.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Zebra Three, what is your location?”

Starsky picked up the mike and responded to the voice he recognized as Jorge Jimenez. “We’re just arriving at Orange Drive, what’s your ETA?”

The voice replied quickly, “Starsky, get home now. There’s a shots fired reported from your address.”

“Fuck!” Hutch exclaimed, then turned the car in a fast u-turn and switching on the siren. Starsky quickly put the mars light on the roof and the car sped in the opposite direction.

“Jesus, Starsky, if anything happens to the kids…”

“It won’t,” came the calm reply. “Cooper’s there. She’s the best shot there is and she would never let anything happen to the kids.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am,” Starsky said. “I have to be.”

It took them less than 10 minutes, speeding through the quiet streets, to reach their street. As they turned the corner, they could see flashing lights in their driveway, and all their neighbors out on the sidewalk. As the car screeched to a halt, Hutch’s heart lurched when he saw an ambulance had followed them down the street.

Hutch jumped out of the car and rushed for the front door, Starsky following a little more gingerly, everyone parting to let them pass. They stepped into the house and were pointed into the den. Cooper and the twins were all kneeling on the floor in front of the recliner.

“Cooper?”

Hutch’s voice alerted the children to their presence, and Hannah jumped to her feet rushing to them and was quickly picked up in Hutch’s embrace and hugged tightly. Cooper stood, but didn’t leave Adam’s side.

“The children are unhurt, sir,” she said, looking directly at Starsky. “But the dog…”

Hannah sobbed in Hutch’s arms and Starsky moved to kneel beside Adam. He could now see Spike was lying on an afghan that had obviously been pulled off the couch. The dog was conscious, but unmoving, whimpering softly. Adam’s small hand was slowly petting the dog’s head. Starsky saw that tears were running down the boy’s face. He looked up at Cooper.

“What happened?”

Before Cooper could reply, Adam said softly “Spike saved us.”

“He’s right, sir,” Cooper said. “Spike did save us. He alerted us to the intruder’s presence and tried to attack her. He was injured in the attempt.”

“What were the shots fired?” Hutch asked, still soothing Hannah.

“The intruder came through the back door. After she…injured the dog, I subdued the suspect.” Both men realized Cooper was trying to watch her words in front of the children and decided to wait for the details. Spike obviously needed some attention.

“Spike needs to go to the vet,” Starsky said, leaning down to pick up the dog, wincing as his shoulder protested the move. When the suffering animal was in his arms, he turned, seeing Hutch putting Hannah down.

“I’ll take him,” Hutch said, stepping up and taking the wrapped dog from his partner. “You’re needed here, Lieutenant.” He nodded his head toward Cooper, who looked rather ashen.

“You sure?” he asked, knowing how Hutch felt about the dog.

“He saved the kids,” the blond replied quietly. “Now we have to save him. I’ll take the kids with me.”

Starsky snorted. “Yeah, like you’d get Spike out of here without them. Go. We’ll get their statements later.”

Hutch quickly left the room with Spike in his arms, trailed by the twins. Hannah sobbing, and Adam very stoic.

Starsky turned to his sergeant. “Before I ask you for a report, I want to say thank you. You protected our kids. We owe you everything for this.”

Cooper took a deep breath and nodded. “Just doing my job, sir,” she replied, visibly regaining her composure. “Now let me give you my report…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Much later that night, Starsky lay on the bed, waiting for Hutch to come out of the bathroom and join him. He sighed deeply, unable to believe the night that had just passed. Finding out who the stalker was, then the house and kids under attack, Spike’s injury, Diana’s death, Cooper’s heroism…oh yeah, he could do without nights like this.

The kids were finally sleeping. They had returned with Hutch two hours after they left for the vet. The emergency animal hospital had examined Spike and done x-rays. Fortunately there seemed to be no internal injuries. The dog was apparently suffering from injuries similar to Starsky’s own, an injured shoulder and two broken ribs. They had kept him overnight, to keep him sedated and quiet, but promised that Spike could return home the next day. According to Hutch, Adam had wanted to stay with the dog, but was convinced it was better that Spike rest. He had been intrigued by the hospital and hadn’t stopped talking about it since he’d been home.

Cooper had killed Diana. Although her report was thorough and complete, she had confided to Starsky that she briefly thought of shooting her in the shoulder. However, her training had won out and she had shot her in the chest. Starsky convinced her she acted correctly and that protecting herself and the kids was the most important thing.

The kids had not seen the kitchen nor had any idea that the intruder had died. They knew only that someone had hurt Spike and been taken away. The men would do everything they could to keep that knowledge from the twins. As far as Starsky was concerned, he had no regrets.

Hutch stepped out of the bathroom and turned off the light, taking away Starsky’s highlighted view of a lightly muscled chest and low slung pajama bottoms. He sighed again. At least the vision was heading this way.

Once his partner was in bed, Hutch rolled over and put his head on Starsky’s good shoulder. Starsky took the blond into an embrace, and the two remained motionless. Hutch started to speak, but Starsky put a finger over his lips.

“No ‘what ifs’, Blondie, no guilts, no ‘I coulda, I shouldas’, ” Starsky said quietly. “It’s over. We’re fine, the kids are fine, Cooper did what she had to, and Spike will be fine.”

Hutch bit the quieting finger lightly, then sucked it in, running his tongue over the appendage lightly, drawing a gasp from his partner.

“Hutch?” Starsky moaned. “What’re you doing?”

The finger was removed from the enticing mouth with a slurp. “Just shutting you up,” he replied, then chose another finger and continued the torture.

“Ummm, Hutch?”

Another slurp, then a soft reply “Yeah?”

“You’re not going to analyze this to death…oh, my God, do that again,” Starsky groaned at the sensation. The tormenting mouth had moved from his fingers to his chest, and a nipple was bitten lightly and then soothed by a talented tongue.

“Nope,” was Hutch’s response. “Just gonna love you.”

“Oh, OK,” the dark haired man replied, then arched his head back as his partner inserted his tongue into his navel, drawing a gasp. “I just thought…”

“Don’t think…” came the sultry reply. “Feel…”

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and a small voice called “Uncle Ken? Starsky?”

The two men groaned and Hutch fell back on the bed and cleared his throat. “Yes, Hannah?”

“Adam’s scared, can we come in?”

“Just a second,” Hutch replied loudly, then said quietly. “Are you ready for the troops? We should have expected this.”

“I know, I know, but you owe me for this.”

“I always pay my debts,” Hutch replied, leaning over to kiss his partner. Lips clung for a moment, before both men rolled apart and Hutch stood up and walked over to the door. “Ready?”

“Go for it,” Starsky replied, then smiled as the door opened. The twins stood side by side at the door in their pajamas. “So what’s up, monkeys?”

“Can we sleep with you?” Hannah asked. “We miss Spike.”

“Sure,” Hutch replied and motioned to the bed. The twins rushed past him then halted at his voice. “Easy, remember Starsky is still hurt.” The twins nodded and carefully climbed in, both in the middle of the bed. They quickly snuggled down and by the time Hutch shut the bedroom door and climbed in his side of the bed, all was quiet.

After several minutes had passed with only the sound of steady breathing, Hutch sat up on his elbow and called softly, “Starsk?” There was no reply. It seemed all of his family needed a good night’s rest, he thought as he smiled and lay back down, letting the events of the past few days settle in his mind. This life was certainly different, definitely not the one he’d seen in his future, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. With a sigh he placed his arm across the kid’s bodies, letting his hand rest on Starsky’s chest. Wrapped gently around his family, his ‘hostages to fortune’, he followed them into sleep.

THE END

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