Thru The Eyes Of A Child
Rosie Dobey has some questions
"It's not very pretty," Starsky told her quietly.
"I know. I saw where my Daddy got shot once," Rosie answered. "He told me that's why I should never touch his gun."
"Your Daddy's right. Guns can be very dangerous."
"I know that, silly," Rosie said in a voice that sounded much too mature for her age. "Guns can kill people. They almost killed you."
"That's right but guns by themselves don't kill people. People with guns kill people."
"Bad people," Rosie clarified "Not people like you, Daddy and Uncle Ken."
"Nope, we're the good guys," Starsky told her with a lopsided grin.
"You were shot five times," Rosie said "I heard Daddy tell Mommy."
"Yes, I was."
"And you were in the hospital for a long time…and I couldn't come see you while you were there."
"I know and I missed you."
"I missed you too." Rosie threw her arms around his neck and gave Starsky a kiss on the cheek. "Can I see where you were hurt?" she repeated as she settled back down in her seat.
After a moment of hesitation, Starsky reached down and slowly pulled up the bottom of his tee shirt, exposing his lean, muscular chest. The downy hair that covered his torso had grown back only partially concealing the long slightly red ridges of the surgical scars. The longest scar ran from just below his left nipple to his navel, while three smaller scars ran in parallel lines across his right ribcage. There was a large puckered scar just above the left nipple where one of the bullets that had entered his back exited his body.
Rosie's eyes widened as she looked at the scars. She reached out and gently traced the longest scar with her index finger. Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked into Starsky's sapphire eyes. "Mommy said the doctors made you better," she whispered "But, it was Uncle Ken that made you get well."
"He did. He was always there when I needed him. No matter how bad it hurt, he made it feel better." Starsky said as he smoothed his tee shirt back down over his chest and stomach.
"Did he kiss it to make it all better like Mommy does?"
Starsky chuckled at the image her words brought to mind. "No," he said in an amused voice "But, he made sure I took my medicine and went to all my appointments, and sometimes he just held me until it stopped hurting."
Satisfied with his answer, Rosie curled up next to him and rested her head in his lap. "I love you, Uncle Dave." She whispered as she drifted off to sleep.
"I love you too, Rosie Posie," Starsky whispered back as he slipped his arm around her, holding her close, as a tear slowly fell down his cheek. He swallowed past the lump that was lodged in his throat. Rosie's innocence touched his heart along with her simple acceptance of his scars. He was truly blessed to have her in his life.
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