I'll Dream of You

CHAPTER 1: Starsky Dreams

"Night sweetie", she murmured through a yawn and snuggled into him closer.

"Night babe", Starsky responded kissing the back of her head as he pulled her tighter.

"I'll dream of you", she whispered.

"Uh huh, I'll dream of you too", he replied through his own yawn and drifted into a peaceful sleep content with the feel of her body next to him.



The dream was as vivid as the actual night, and the events slowly replayed in his mind. He and Hutch were coming onto their shift when the desk sergeant stopped them and said a report had just come from a market on their beat. They raced to the scene and as Hutch talked to the storeowner to get information, he continued through the store to the victim. And there she was, laying there, the woman he loved more than life itself. In mere seconds, just a few ticks on the clock, his world would be forever changed.

Starsky woke up with a shudder and laid there motionless, allowing his heart to return to its normal beat. He looked at the clock and made note of the time then turned his head to look at the woman lying next to him. There was enough light coming into the bedroom to allow him to see her features as she slept. He gently moved a strand of hair away from her face and stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger. Ah Babe…

He had this dream off and on since Terry's death, but now when it came; it had an alternative ending which he was finding very unsettling. The dream would always start out the same. They would be called to a shooting. Upon arriving at the scene, he would make his way to the victim. Always female. Always Terry's face looking up at him. Then slowly at some point the dream changed until now it was always her face looking up at him. Always dead.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and just sat there trying to calm his fears, telling himself 'it was just a dream'. With one last look over his shoulder at the woman in his bed, he slipped on his robe and left the bedroom.

He started a pot of coffee and retrieved the morning paper. As he sat there, his eyes focused on the words on the page, but he only saw the pictures in his head. He pushed himself away from the table, dressed and quietly slipped out of the apartment. When the alarm sounded and woke her, all she found was the untouched pot of fresh coffee.



As Hutch returned from his morning jog, he was surprised to see the Torino sitting at the curb outside Venice Place. He quickened his step and took the stairs double time thinking there had to be a problem to bring his partner out this early. He entered his apartment and spotted Starsky comfortably sitting at his kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the morning paper.

"Hey Starsk, getting an early start on the day, aren't ya?" Hutch asked.

"Ya, woke up early so I thought I'd spring for breakfast." Starsky answered as he held up a white bakery sack. "Even got the whole wheat bagels you like."

"Uh huh. What do you want?" he answered suspiciously.

"Nothin'. Can't a guy treat his partner to a bagel?"

Hutch laughed, "Buddy, it's only 6:30 AM and you just bought me wheat bagels without an insult attached to the offer. You either want something, or", he paused and met Starsky's gaze; "you had the dream again?"

"Ya", Starsky responded, looking away and breaking their eye contact. "Go ahead and shower, then we can eat and head to work. We'll surprise Dobey by being early for a change."

"Could be your sub-conscious pulling on your inner fears of losing Sara the same way you lost Terry."

"No kidding? " Starsky replied sarcastically, "Already figured that one out for myself Doctor Freud. What I can't figure out is what to do to make the dream go away."

"You could break up with her", Hutch responded then snapped his fingers, "oh, that's right, you tried pushing her away didn't you and all that happened was you both ended up being miserable."

"Be serious, will ya?"

"Or you could pull her closer, and always be there for her. You know, that love, honor and OBEY thing?"

"Humpt," Starsky groused. "I said be serious."

"I was", Hutch snickered and walked away to shower. He would let his partner think about that one for a while.