Poison of Choice

Hutch stood up from the desk and stretched. "Going to Huggy's?" he asked pulling his jacket from the back of his chair and putting it on.

Starsky signed the bottom of the report he had been working on, tossed it back into the manila folder and dropped that into his outbox. He cleared his throat. "Nah. Not tonight."

Hutch's eyebrows rose. Going to The Pits after work was their usual habit, unless… "Got a date?"

Starsky yawned, grimaced and rubbed his throat. "No. I think I'm coming down with a cold. I'll just head home and hit the hay."

Hutch nodded, "Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow. Same bat time?" Starsky nodded, leaving the joke incomplete. Hutch just shrugged and followed his partner out of the building.

Starsky's jacket hung from his fingers almost dragging on the floor. "Man it's hot. He pulled at the neck of his black t-shirt."

"Sure is," Hutch replied as he turned toward his car. "Goodnight, Starsk."

"Night, Pal," Starsky called back. He unlocked his Torino and tossed the jacket on the seat. He planned on stopping to pick up some whiskey to numb his scratchy throat. He looked down at the holster strapped under his arm. The thought of putting the jacket on to cover the gun made him annoyed. He pulled the strap from his shoulder. Getting into the car, he popped open the glove compartment and tossed the weapon in along with his handcuffs. He felt much better now. He backed out of the parking lot and with a wave at Hutch, headed for the liquor store.

The streets were fairly quiet and he pulled into Howie's Package Store. Only one car was parked out front, a faded blue 1961 Ford Falcon. Starsky glanced inside, clucking his tongue at the sorry state of the vehicle. Strolling inside the store, he headed directly for the whiskey aisle. He scanned the shelf and grabbed a bottle of Bushmill's. It'll do, he thought to himself. He stepped up to the cash register. There was another man ahead of him so he perused the various car magazines displayed below the counter. He became aware of a young girl to his left. He looked up and flashed her a smile. She didn't notice but was staring intently at the man to his right. Starsky turned to look to see what had her attention. That's when he noticed the gun in the man's right hand and the box cutter in his left.

Starsky took a step back and instinctively reached for his gun. His stomach lurched as he realized he had left it behind in the Torino. He looked back up and saw the man was smiling at him in a way that made the bile rise in his throat. The man nodded his head over Starsky's shoulder at the girl. Starsky looked back to his left to see the girl now had a pistol trained on him. He slowly put his arms in the air and froze, his mind racing to figure out how to get himself out of this mess.

The man shoved a paper sack at the elderly clerk who shakily stuffed the entire contents of the register into it. As the thief pulled the sack across the counter with his gun hand Starsky took a step forward. The man's left hand lashed out and Starsky yelled as the box cutter stabbed into his forearm.

"Becca! What the hell?" the man said, dropping the bag back onto the counter and simultaneously aiming the gun at the clerk with his right hand and waving the box cutter at Starsky with his left. "Do I have to do everything myself?" The clerk jumped back, his face paling. He broke out into a sweat.

"Sorry, Pa," the girl whimpered. Starsky realized she couldn't have been more than 15 or 16 years old. The girl came towards him, keeping the gun aimed at him but not close enough for him to make a grab for it. Blood dripped steadily down his right arm but he ignored it and glanced back and forth between father and daughter. 'Pa' put the box cutter on the counter and quickly pulled some rope from his pocket.

"Tie him up," he said, gesturing toward the clerk. Becca shoved her gun into her belt and stepped toward the man.

"Turn around," she said. The man grimaced in obvious pain but did as he was told.

Starsky watched as the girl tied the man's hands and turned him around to face her. "You alright, old man?" Starsky asked.

'Pa' swung the gun to point directly at Starsky's face. "You shut up."

"Look, I think he may be sick."

"I said shut up!"

"I think he's right, Pa," the girl said as the clerk's legs went out from under him and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Shit, let's get out of here, Becca."

The girl stepped over the slumped body of the store clerk and snapped off the light switch as she passed it. Most of the lights in the store went out, leaving only a few along the back wall lit. The thief gestured Starsky toward the door. "Move it."

Starsky looked back at the counter. "Look, leave me behind. I won't say a word. I'll just call an ambulance for him and be on my way." Starsky was shoved violently from behind. The bottle of whiskey fell to the floor and smashed into a thousand glittering pieces.

Becca flipped the 'Come In' sign to 'Closed' as they left the store. Becca's father looked around and quickly pulled Starsky to the Falcon. He opened the driver side door and pushed Starsky in. "You're driving."

Becca climbed in the back behind her father. Starsky backed out of the parking spot and glanced over at his car. I wish I took you up on that drink, Partner, he thought as he maneuvered out onto the street.

~ S&H ~

Hutch hung up the phone after trying to call his partner for the second time that morning. Worry nagged at the back of his mind. He's just sleeping in, he reasoned. He said he was coming down with a cold. Hutch glanced up at Dobey's closed door. He knew his boss would soon notice his partner was late. Hutch tapped his pencil on the desk then reached for the phone and dialed Starsky's home number again.

"Hutch," Dobey snapped, making Hutch jump and drop the receiver.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Where is that partner of yours?"

"Uh, I was just trying to call him now."

Dobey looked at his watch and glared at the empty chair that should hold Starsky. He opened his mouth but changed his mind. These two were his best detectives so let it slide for now. Without another word, he stepped back into his office and loudly closed the door.

Hutch blew out a breath and picked the receiver back up. He could hear the phone had just been ringing unanswered. Hanging up the phone, he went back to tapping his pencil.

~ S&H ~

Starsky opened his eyes slowly. Bright sun was streaming in through the slats of the barn where his captives had brought him the night before. After driving out of town, the man had put a pillow case over his head, tied his hands and feet, and pushed him roughly into the back of the car. His badge had fallen from his pocket and he heard his captive pick it up. Nothing had been said about it but Starsky was sure he heard it hit the dirt outside the car door. They drove another 30 minutes until they arrived at wherever this place was.

Trying to stretch the best he could, he groaned as he muscles protested. His shoulders ached, his wrists and ankles were numb where the ropes cut in. He felt the burning pain of where the box cutter had sliced his arm. He coughed and winced at the scratchy throat. Wish I still had that whiskey, he thought glumly.

He heard voices coming closer and strained to listen.

"That guy is a cop, Becca."

"He still has to eat, Pa."

"He's not your goddamn pet," the man hissed out. His voice faded as he walked away, "Dead people don't need no food."

A minute later the barn door opened and Becca came in carrying a bowl and a mug. Starsky eyed her as she made her way over to him.

"I brought you some food," she said as she sat cross-legged on the ground beside him.

"Dead men don't need food," Starsky said bitterly as he studied her face. He thought he saw regret flash there before she forced it away and held the bowl up. She scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal and put it to his mouth.

Starsky took the bland food. After a few more bites he turned his head away. He felt Becca studying him.

She held out the mug of water. "You don't look very good."

Starsky scoffed. "Well, it wasn't exactly like sleeping at the Ritz."

"Are you married?"

"No, you making me an offer?" he sneered.

"I was just asking…is someone going to be wondering where you are?" Becca said looking away.

Starsky paused, his attitude softening. "Someone will be."

Looking back at him she asked, "Girlfriend?"

Starsky smiled sadly and shook his head then clamped his eyes shut as his head swam. Clearing his throat he asked, "Is there any way you could untie me?"

Becca laughed, "Nice try." Starsky opened his eyes to study her. She flitted back and forth from a concerned young girl to a hardened criminal. The father's influence was pushing away the innocence and it made Starsky sad to witness it.

"How about just tying my hands in front of me then? My shoulders are killing me."

Becca's brow furrowed as she considered what he had requested. "I'd have to ask Jack."

"Jack?"

"My father."

Starsky nodded his understanding. He rested his head back against the wooden barn wall and closed his eyes again. "You wouldn't happen to have any aspirin." He kept them closed even when he heard her get up and leave. A few minutes later he heard shouting from somewhere close by. He couldn't make out the words but it was heated. When it got quiet again, Starsky drifted off to sleep.

~ S&H ~

After an hour had passed and Starsky had not arrived, Hutch told Dobey he was going to see if he could find Starsky at home. Dobey agreed. He was angry but also worried about the detective. Pulling into the apartment complex, Hutch saw that Starsky's car wasn't there and he hoped they had passed each other and that his friend was now looking for him at the station. Hutch let himself into Starsky's apartment and looked around quickly. Nothing seemed out of place and since Starsky was a neat freak, Hutch could not see that the bed had not been slept in the night before. He locked the door and quickly hurried back to Metro.

Striding into the squad room, he didn't see Starsky at his desk but assumed he was being chewed out by their boss.

"Dobey wants to see you right away, Hutch," Benson said as he passed by.

"Thanks, Chuck," Hutch answered with a smile. He opened the door to Dobey's office and was surprised to find the man alone.

"Come in. Shut the door." Hutch's stomach flipped at the serious tone of his superior officer.

"What's going on?"

Dobey motioned toward the chair across from his desk. Hutch sat down. "We had a call about looting at a local liquor store this morning. Folks spotted some kids walking out with cases of beer."

"So?" Hutch snapped, wanting Dobey to get to the point.

"When the cops showed up they found the clerk dead of an apparent heart attack."

"And?" Hutch leaned forward and rested an arm on Dobey's desk.

"He was tied up and the register was empty – apparently before those kids found the place unlocked."

"Get to the point, Captain."

Dobey took in a breath and looked down at his desk. "Starsky's car was in the parking lot."

Hutch stood up abruptly, his chair sliding back toward the water cooler. "What's the address?"

Dobey stood up to meet his eyes. "There's one more thing, Hutch. There was blood on the floor of the store."

Hutch put his palms down on the desk and hung his head. "How much blood?"

"Not a lot but we are having it tested to see what blood type it is. It's a start." Seeing Hutch heading for the door, Dobey called out, "Its Howie's over on West Street."

~ S&H ~

Starsky realized his head was pounding as he woke up. He wasn't sure how much time had passed. He heard a vehicle's engine start and the sound of it driving off. It was obviously a dirt road by the sound of the tires. He tried to list off everything he had learned since he had been kidnapped to try to figure out where he was but his mind was fuzzy. He was cold but sweat slid down the side of his face. Thankfully, his shoulders were now numb and no longer ached but the cut on his arm burned fiercely. His mouth was as dry as cotton. He heard footsteps coming toward the barn. As the door opened, the late morning sun blinded him and his eyes watered.

Becca shut the door behind her and came to Starsky's side. "Sorry, there isn't any aspirin in the house." She held another cup of water out to Starsky. He drank thirstily despite it burning his sore throat.

"Thank you."

Becca reached a hand to touch his forehead. Starsky drew back. "I think you have a fever."

"I just have a cold," Starsky reasoned. He shifted his weight and moaned as the movement made him hurt once again.

Becca watched him for a minute then looked over at the corner of the barn where there was a small pile of hay. She got up and pulled an old horse blanket from a hook and spread it out over the hay. Coming back to where Starsky sat, she pulled a gun from her belt and pointed it at him. When she reached toward him again, Starsky scooted back, afraid. Without saying anything, she reached behind him and unhooked the ropes that tied his hands from where they had been secured to the wall.

She stepped back. "Get up." She waved the gun from him to the makeshift bed in the corner.

Starsky took in a breath and heaved himself to his knees. His head swam and he closed his eyes to shut out the vision of the barn see-sawing before him. After a moment, he stood then leaned against the wall to catch his breath. He stumbled toward the corner.

"Don't sit down yet," Becca said following him over. "Turn around." Starsky did as she asked, too exhausted to question her motives. He felt the ropes being tugged at. Although the ropes still cut into his wrists, he realized she had loosened them enough so that the hands were not held together so tightly. He groaned in pain as his arms were able to relax a bit. "Now sit down. You should be able to slide the ropes under you now."

Starsky carefully lowered himself onto the blanket. He then wriggled the ropes underneath him until his hands rested in his lap. Stars sparkled on the periphery of his vision as he watched the girl quickly pull his wrists together, tightening the ropes once again. Starsky heard her gasp. He followed her gaze down to the cut on his forearm. The wound was angry looking and covered with coagulated blood. He could see a jagged, inflamed red line coming from the cut and running up his arm toward his elbow.

"Shit," he said as he lay back onto the hay.

~ S&H ~

Hutch pulled into the parking lot of the liquor store and jumped out. He slowed as he passed the Torino, his heart skipping a beat. Entering the store he wove his way through the investigators.

"Hutch, over here," Doug Truesdell called from his right. Before Hutch could ask anything, Doug ran down the case. "Howard McDowell, 69, died of an apparent heart attack. Coroner already took him out. They figure T.O.D. was around 2200 last night." Hutch rubbed his forehead as he realized that was around the time he and Starsky left the station. Truesdell moved closer to the counter and pointed at the floor. "Blood found here is being tested right now. We will at least be able to tell if it was Starsky's or not – hopefully. It trails out the door and into the parking lot where it stops." Truesdell followed the line of blood to the doorway. "One broken whiskey bottle here and by the looks of how evaporated it is, it was done last night not this morning when the vandals came in."

Hutch stooped down. He pulled a pen from his pocket and flipped the label of the bottle over. Bushmill, Starsky's poison of choice. He slowly stood up and turned to Truesdell. "Anything else, Doug? What about Starsky's car?"

"Nothing there. Locked up, nothing out of place that we can see. We have a locksmith on the way to open her up."

Hutch pulled his car keys out of his pocket and held up the Torino key on the ring. "Forget the locksmith." Hutch stepped out of the store and unlocked the car's passenger side door. Pulling a hanky from inside his coat he carefully opened the door. After looking around the front and back seats he popped the glove compartment open and stared at the contents.

Truesdell saw Hutch suddenly stopped moving and peered over his shoulder. Seeing the gun, his heart went out to Hutch as well as Starsky. "We'll dust this for prints as soon as we are done inside. But I don't think we'll find anything of use."

Hutch rested an elbow on the roof of the car and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Me neither," he replied. Doug patted Hutch on the shoulder but didn't say anything more. He walked back into the liquor store. Hutch remained standing at the Torino until one of the investigators moved toward it to dust for prints. Stepping away, he put his hands on his hips and stared at the cars and people moving up and down the street. Where the hell are you, Partner? With one last look back at the store, he climbed into his car and headed to the only place he could think of to go: The Pits.

~ S&H ~

Starsky felt cool wetness on his forehead and opened his eyes. He struggled to focus. Becca was rinsing a cloth in a basin. She placed the cloth back on his forehead.

"Thanks, Becca," he croaked.

"Rebecca," she replied and Starsky looked at her, confused. "I like to be called Rebecca. Jack calls me 'Becca' and I don't like it."

"Then tell him," Starsky said as he started to shiver. Rebecca pulled the blanket he laid on around him as she shook her head.

"I can't tell him that. He just yells. He yells at everything I say. How are you feeling?"

"Like hell," Starsky said as he assessed himself. "I'm cold and hot. My head is splitting. My stomach is starting to hurt." He looked around and noticed there was no sunlight coming in from outside. "How long was I out?"

"About eight hours. I've been trying to keep your fever down with this," she said removing the cloth and flipping it over to the cooler side. "But I'm not having much luck."

Starsky's head reeled at the thought of being out that long. "Rebecca, I need help." He watched her as she simply removed the cloth and rinsed it in the basin again. "Please. I need to get home. Someone is looking for me. I need to get to them. They are worried about me."

Rebecca placed the cloth back on Starsky's forehead and put her hands in her lap. Starsky hoped she would help him but then she shook her head.

"I can't. He'd kill me."

"No," Starsky said reaching for her until a wave of nausea came over him. He swallowed and fought the urge to vomit. The room began to spin so he closed his eyes to wait for it to pass. "No, I'll protect you. You'll never see him again…if that is what you want." He reached for her with his right arm. She stared down at the festering wound. Starsky looked down and studied it. The angry red line was now past his elbow and snaking up in the inside of his bicep. He let her go and slumped into the hay. Just the effort of lifting his arm exhausted him. "Please," he whispered.

"I think you have blood poisoning."

Starsky opened his eyes and looked at her. Trying a new tactic, he asked. "How do you know that?"

"I wanted to be a nurse when I grew up."

"Wanted? You still can."

Rebecca hung her head and shook it sadly. "No. I don't even go to school anymore. Jack won't let me go and we move around too much."

There was a silence between them for a moment. Rebecca lifted her head and looked back at Starsky. "What's your name?"

Starsky offered a weak smile. "Dave."

"I'm sorry, Dave."

"You don't have to be, Rebecca. Please help me get out of here. Please take me home. I need…" Starsky doubled up and wretched at the pain in his abdomen. Rebecca came closer and put her hand on his shoulder, steadying him until the shudders subsided.

"You'll have to go back to where you were tied. If Jack finds you here, he'll kill us both. He'll be home later and even if he's too drunk to come in here tonight, he'll find out in the morning."

The thought of being hog tied the way he had been frightened Starsky and his eyes widened. "No, don't do that to me." He realized he was breathing too fast and tried to calm down but he couldn't. The world around him grayed and then went black.

~ S&H ~

Hutch slumped into the booth he and Starsky used. Huggy slid a cup of coffee in front of him and he grunted a thank you.

"Sorry, Hutch, I haven't heard anything. Nobody seems to know anything about what happened at Howie's. The phone at the bar rang and Huggy motioned to the barmaid to get it.

Hutch scrubbed his face and took a gulp of the coffee. He grimaced as it burned his throat. "As far as I can figure, he walked into a hold-up and the thief took him with him."

"Hutch," Cindy, the barmaid called to him. "Phone call for you."

Hutch slid out of the booth and quickly strode to the bar. Picking up the receiver he said, "Hutchinson."

Hutch, its Dobey. Son, the blood type matches Starsky's.

Hutch again pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. Huggy reached under the bar and pushed a bottle of aspirin toward him.

It doesn't mean it was his but… Dobey's voice trailed off.

"Yeah, I know," Hutch replied.

There's something else. Someone turned in Starsky's badge. They found it alongside the road over near Winchester.

"Winchester? Did they have any more information? Did they see who dropped it? A description? A car?" Hutch peppered the questions into the phone.

No, sorry, they just picked it up thinking it was a wallet. It was covered in dirt. No other prints were found on it but they have some prints from the liquor store. We are running those now.

"Dammit!" Hutch exclaimed pounding his fist on the bar, making the aspirin bottle and the glasses of the patrons rattle. "Sorry," Hutch said to both Dobey and the people around him. "I'm on my way in."

Hutch hung up the phone. He threw two of the aspirins into his mouth and walked back to the booth to rinse them down with a swig of coffee. He wished it was whiskey he was drinking and he wished Starsky was there to drink it with him. "Huggy…" he began

"I'll let you know if I hear anything," Huggy said sadly.

By the time Hutch got back to the station, Truesdell had a match on the prints found at the liquor store.

"These were found on the door handle. They belong to Jack Raymond."

"Never heard of him," Hutch said.

"Nobody around here has. That's what took us so long to make the prints. He's a two-bit hood who was from LA. Looks like he made it up our way. Lucky us," Truesdell said with a sneer.

"What do you have on him? Any local address?" Hutch asked.

Truesdell shook his head. "Last known address was in LA. This is the first sign of him here in Bay City. We have an APB out on him.

Hutch paced the squad room. "I need more information!" he shouted to no one in particular.

Dobey's door opened. "Doug, a moment. Hutch, you too." The two men entered the office and shut the door. Dobey didn't sit down but turned to stare out the window into the falling darkness. "I just had a report of a body found." Hutch and Doug looked at each other sharply.

"And?" Truesdell asked when he realized Hutch was too afraid to say it.

"He was found floating in the bay with a knife still in his back. White male, mid to late 30s. Brown hair, blue eyes." He turned to face Hutch who stood with his eyes wide in horror. "Jeans and a black t-shirt."

"Where?" Hutch managed to eke out. Dobey handed Truesdell a slip of paper with an address. Hutch looked over at the detective.

"Let's go, Hutch."

Hutch followed Truesdell out of the room as he looked back at Dobey. He knew Elmo Jaskson was on the older man's mind at this moment.

~ S&H ~

Something pulled Starsky out of his stupored sleep. Shouting; he heard shouting. He looked around the barn, lit now only with moonlight coming down from a hole in the roof. Remembering where he was, he put his hands, still tied at the wrists, against his forehead to try to quell the pounding inside his skull. Hearing the argument escalate, he dropped his hands and listened. He could make out Rebecca's voice yelling to her father to just go to bed and sleep it off. There was a crash following by another loud noise. A door slamming? Starsky strained to hear Rebecca but only continued to hear thumps and crashes.

Knowing he needed to try to help the girl, he rolled off the makeshift bed onto his stomach. The movement caused him blinding pain and his stomach lurched and heaved. He turned his head and vomited. Gasping for breath, he wiped the sweat from his eyes with the ropes binding his wrists. He started to pull himself across the dirt floor of the barn.

"What are you doing there?" The voice drifted into Starsky's consciousness. He lifted his head and saw Rebecca kneeling in front of him holding a lantern in her hands, the light from it casting eery shadows around the barn. Starsky gasped and backed away before pain overtook him. He writhed in agony.

Rebecca put the lantern down and went to Starsky's side. "Dave. Dave, it's me Rebecca." She rolled Starsky gently over onto his back. As she did so, she felt his fever so intense it almost seemed it could blister her skin. She ran to the corner and wrung out the cloth and picked up the mug of water she had left for him. Gently wiping the dirt and sweat from his face, she then lifted his head and put the mug to his lips. "Drink."

Starsky tried to swallow the cool liquid but coughed it up. He looked up and realized where he was. "Rebecca, are you alright? I heard you fighting with him. I'm sorry. I couldn't…" he coughed again.

"You couldn't what?"

"I couldn't get to you. Did he hurt you?"

Rebecca sat back on her heels, shocked. "You were trying to help me?" Starsky tried to nod but again the movement made him sick. He rolled away from the girl as he tried to keep from vomiting again. He started to shake violently again. He heard Rebecca get up from the floor and leave the barn.

"Rebecca? Don't leave me," Starsky called out. He closed his eyes to hide from the ghastly shadows playing on the wooden walls. A few minutes later, Starsky heard someone coming and rolled onto his back to see who it was. Seeing a knife glinting in the dim light, he recoiled. "No, please. I need to get home, he's looking for me. He needs me."

"Don't worry, Dave. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to hurt you anymore," Rebecca said determinedly. She cut through the ropes on his wrists and then moved to his ankles. The release of the bindings caused blood to flow back into Starsky's feet and hands and he relaxed a bit. "Do you think you can stand? He's passed out," she said referring to her father. "We have to get out of here now."

Starsky struggled to clear his head. Nodding, he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Slowly Rebecca helped him onto his feet. He leaned heavily onto her and she waited for him to steady himself before leading him to the barn door and out into the darkness of the yard. Starsky stumbled over an exposed root but Rebecca managed to keep him upright and get him over to the old Ford. She pushed open the passenger side door and sat Starsky down. Picking up his legs she pushed them in and shut the door as quietly as she could. Looking nervously back at the house, she pulled the keys from her pocket and got into the car. Before starting the engine she tried to prop Starsky up in the seat to make him more comfortable. His head lolled to the side and his eyes tried to focus on her.

"I don't have a license so I am breaking the law for you," she said. She smiled back when Starsky managed a tired grin.

Quickly she started the car. Jack had left it parked at an awkward angle between the house and the barn so she made a u-turn despite it causing the headlights to shine into the windows of the house. She didn't care; she was finally getting away. She almost wished he would come running out after her.

~ S&H ~

Doug Truesdell drove down the narrow road leading to the pier. Hutch sat quietly beside him. Nothing had been said on the drive there. As lights of the police cars up ahead came into view, Truesdell could see Hutch shift in his seat and lean forward. Parking the car, he looked over at the senior detective. "Wait here and I'll…"

"No," Hutch stopped him. "I have to do it."

The two men slowly exited the car and made their way to the edge of the crowd which parted for Hutch as if they knew this was a person of importance. Truesdell gestured to the other officers to let them know that they should allow Hutch to view the body.

Squatting down, Hutch froze momentarily. All he could hear was the sound of the waves on the pier and the blood rushing in his ears. He reached toward the tarp, hesitated then pulled it aside. Dropping it quickly, he turned his head toward Truesdell. "It's not him." Hutch's voice cracked. He stood up and breathed in the cool air to clear his swimming head.

"You okay, Hutch?" Truesdell asked quietly.

Hutch looked away from him but nodded and said, "For now."

"Come on, I'll take you back to Metro."

~ S&H ~

Starsky moaned as the car jolted over the rough road. He was drifting in and out of consciousness. "I'm sorry, Dave, but I need to hurry and get you to a hospital," Rebecca said reaching over to prop his head more comfortably against the headrest.

"No," Starsky mumbled. "Call."

"Call? Call who?"

"Call him. He's looking."

Rebecca turned on the overhead light and reached to pull Starsky's wallet from his back pocket. Without slowing down, she rifled through it until she came across a stack of Starsky's business cards. "We'll be near town soon. I'll call him, Dave," she said but wasn't sure the man could hear her as his head dropped forward onto his chest.

~ S&H ~

Hutch violently pushed the door to the squad room open. The noise startled the men working there. He mumbled that he was sorry and sat down at his desk. His left hand pulled at his hair as he pushed through the papers on the desk. After a moment, he flung the paperwork aside in anger.

Chuck Benson, who had answered a ringing phone, stood up suddenly. "Hutch!" Hutch jumped from his seat and came toward him. Benson covered the mouthpiece. "It's a girl, pick up line two." He gestured to Hutch to pick up the phone on the next desk. Once Hutch was listening, Benson lifted his hand from the mouthpiece. "Can you repeat that?"

Hutch heard an exasperated huff and then what sounded like a young girl. "I said, I have Dave Starsky here. He needs help. He's really sick."

"Where is he? What's wrong with him?" Hutch asked.

Not seeming to realize or care that another person was asking the questions, Rebecca continued. "I'm on Highway 10 about 20 miles West of Winchester. I'm in a blue Ford Falcon at the old gas station."

Hutch scribbled the information down on a piece of paper and tossed the pen aside.

"Please hurry. He won't let me take him to a hospital. I'm afraid."

"I'm on my way. Don't move, you hear me?" Hutch waited until he heard a faint 'yes' in reply before slamming down the phone and running out the door.

"I'll have an ambulance meet you there!" Truesdell shouted after him.

Hutch ran out into the parking lot behind the building and pulled open the door of his car when he spotted Starsky's car against the fence. It had been towed there from the liquor store. He slammed his door shut and ran for the Torino, knowing he would make it there faster that way. Gravel and dust flew up from the tires as he raced onto the street and toward Winchester. He slapped the bubble light on the roof and sped through every intersection swearing and honking the horn at anyone that dared cross his path.

Once he left the city limits, the streets became easier to maneuver since most sane people were asleep at this time of night. Eventually he neared the area that he believed the call had come from and slowed the car but still pushed above the speed limit. The moon had set and the street had no working street lights. He looked to his right as he sped past an old gas station. Dirt sprayed as he swung the Torino around and pulled up next to the old car parked there.

Stumbling from the Torino, he could make out Starsky's pale face in the other car's overhead light. The driver's side door opened and someone got out. Hutch pulled his Magnum from its holster and aimed it wildly.

"Freeze, don't move!" He heard a gasp and saw the girl put her arms up.

"I'm not armed. Don't hurt me. I am the one that called you."

Hutch blinked into the darkness and saw the young girl's face. He recognized her voice from the phone and dropped the weapon back into its holster. He pulled the car door open and caught Starsky's limp fevered body as it slid toward the ground.

"Starsky? Buddy?" Hutch said frantically. He eased Starsky onto the ground. He knelt beside him cradling his neck with his left arm and pushing Starsky's hair from his forehead with his right. In the distance the sound of an approaching ambulance could be heard.

"You're the one." Rebecca whispered and Hutch looked up at her, tears in his eyes.

"What?"

"You're the one he said he needed to get home to."

Hutch let out a sob and nodded his head at her before looking back down at his partner. "I'm here, Starsk. I'm here."

"Hutch?" Rebecca was the one to utter his name, not his partner. Hutch looked back at the girl. "He kept mumbling that word. Is…is that your name?"

Hutch nodded and reached out for the girl's hand. "Yes, I'm Hutch. Thank you. Thank you for bringing him back."

~ S&H ~

Hutch paced the waiting room of the small rural hospital occasionally glancing down the hall toward the curtained off emergency room bay. Nurses, doctors and technicians came and went but no one came to let him know how Starsky was. He had managed to sit down long enough to get the story of what happened from Rebecca. He called Metro to have a deputy pick up Jack Raymond.

"What's going to happen to me?" Rebecca said as she watched him pace.

Hutch stopped and looked at her. He sat down across from her and thought for a minute. "You have been involved in serious crimes, Rebecca." She nodded and looked down at her hands. "But your father is the one that will be punished for that." The girl looked back up with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "I'm not saying this will be easy but what you did for my partner will be taken into account. There will be some hard questions. You may go to juvie but I don't think so."

Rebecca brightened. "Can I go back to school?"

Hutch tipped his head to the side and regarded the young girl he was beginning to admire. "Of course you can, sweetie."

Hutch heard footsteps and looked up to see a doctor coming toward them. He stood up to meet the woman.

"I'm Dr. Scotton. You are Detective Hutchinson?"

"Yes, how is he?"

"Well, he has a serious case of blood poisoning and is very sick but I think he will pull through." Hutch let out a breath and leaned forward, his hands on his thighs. "We've got him on strong IV antibiotics and fluids. We are admitting him, of course. He'll be brought upstairs within the hour."

"Can I see him, please?"

"Of course."

Hutch took a step forward and then turned back toward Rebecca who was standing wide-eyed behind him. "Come on," he said smiling.

Hutch stepped around the curtain and looked at Starsky lying there. His face was as white as the pillow case beneath his head and sweat still beaded on his forehead. Pulling a stool beside the bed, Hutch sat down and took his friend's hand in his. Starsky's eyes fluttered open. He looked down at his hand and then up at Hutch.

"Hey."

Hutch laughed quietly, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Hey yourself. Well this is another fine mess you've gotten into."

Starsky smiled weakly. "Sorry, Ollie."

"That's okay, Stan."

Starsky heard a soft giggle and looked over at Rebecca. He reached out his free hand to her.

"Watch out for your IV, Dave," she said, concerned.

Starsky looked over at Hutch. "This is Rebecca. Have you two been formerly introduced?" Hutch nodded. "She is going to be a nurse, aren't you?"

"I hope so," Rebecca said with a bright smile.

"I know so," Starsky said before dropping back to sleep.

~ S&H ~

Starsky walked into the squad room and was greeted by everyone shaking his hand and welcoming him back.

"Thanks guys," he said smiling.

"It's about time you showed up, Stan," Hutch said pulling out Starsky's chair for him.

"Why thank you, Ollie," Starsky said and went to sit down but stopped. "You wouldn't pull that out from under me would you?"

"Aw, come on Starsky. I wouldn't do that to you."

"You've done it to me at least three times."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't do that to you today," Hutch laughed.

Hearing another laugh, the partners looked up. "Rebecca!" Starsky exclaimed and came over to take her free hand. Her other hand carried a stack of school books. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm on my way to my first day at my new school. My foster mother is driving me there and I asked her to stop here so I could say thank you again."

"How are your foster parents?" Hutch asked.

Rebecca shrugged, "They are okay. Not the best but I am grateful for them taking me in and I'm going to school; that's what I wanted."

Starsky tilted his head and studied the spines of the books in her arms. "Advanced biology? Can you handle that?"

Rebecca leaned back and with an impudent expression on her face said, "Heck yeah, I can handle that."

Starsky leaned a hip against his desk and folded his hands on his lap. He regarded Rebecca and then looked over at Hutch. "She's a bit sassy for a 15-year-old, don't you think?"

Hutch laughed. "I agree with you but sassy gets a girl far. Just look at how far you've come, Buddy."

Starsky looked sharply at Hutch. "Hey, I resemble that remark."

Rebecca laughed and turned to leave, "Bye, guys."

Starsky waved. "Keep in touch, Rebecca. You're gonna be a star one day."

She stopped and came back next to Starsky and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks to you."

The End