A DIFFERENT PATH
An idealistic college student meets an embittered ex-Viet Nam Vet. This is an Alternative Universe story that takes a different slant on how Starsky and Hutch meet.
EPILOGUE
September 25th, 1963
Brooklyn, New York
Rachel Starsky sighed as she sorted through the mail. Still no letter from her eldest son, David, who was stationed in Viet Nam. It had been almost six weeks since she had received a letter from her son, not that uncommon due to the mail delivery between Southeast Asia and the States. But, that didn't stop her from worrying about her oldest child. Especially with all the terrible reports she heard on the news each day about the fighting over there. Everyday, some other mother she knew in the close knit Jewish neighborhood was receiving the news that no mother wants to hear, that their child had been killed in that god forsaken place.
"No letter from Davey?" her youngest son, Nicky, asked hopefully as he watched his mother sort through the daily mail. Rachel shook her head sadly. Despite the four years difference in their ages, the two Starsky brothers were close. At fifteen, Nicky was old enough to understand his mother's concern for David's welfare. He still remembered how upset she had been when David received his draft notice shortly after he graduated from high school. She had been even more upset when he completed basic training and called to tell her that he was being shipped out to Viet Nam.
Every day since then, she had checked the daily mail religiously, hoping to find a letter from David. When she received one, it was a cause for celebration, concrete proof that he was safe. When weeks went by without hearing from him, she worried constantly until she finally heard from him. She had already lost her husband to violence and was terrified of losing her eldest son to the same fate.
Michael Starsky had been a police officer, well liked and respected in their neighborhood. When David was twelve and Nicky was eight, he had been gunned down on the streets that he helped to patrol every day. The close knit family had been devastated by the loss, but his death had hit David the hardest. The angry pre-teen had started hanging out with the wrong crowd and had gotten into a lot of trouble. Finally, Rachel had taken the drastic step of sending him to California to live with his aunt and uncle until after he graduated from high school.
The years apart had not weakened the bond that held the family together. David called religiously every Friday night and spoke to both his mother and Nicky. And every summer, he came back home for six weeks before returning to California. After he graduated, he had been planning to move back home but then he got drafted.
Rachel went into the kitchen to start preparing supper. Maybe she would get a letter from David tomorrow. She heard the knock on the front door and Nicky getting up to answer it. A moment later, the teenager's voice called out, "Ma, there's someone here to see you." Something in the tone of her son's voice stirred Rachel's maternal instincts and she hurried into the living room to see who her unexpected visitor was. She stopped, her eyes widening in alarm and her heart pounding frantically in her breast, at the sight of two men, both dressed in full military dress uniform, standing poised in the doorway.
"Rachel Starsky?" one of the men asked in a formal sounding voice, his dark eyes piercing through to her very soul.
"Yes." she replied "I'm Rachel Starsky. What can I do for you gentlemen?" Rachel was surprised at how calm her voice sounded when she was falling apart inside.
"I'm Captain Lewis and this Chaplin Markett." the man said "I'm sorry to inform you that on September 2rd, 1963, your son, Private David Michael Starsky was reported Missing In Action in Viet Nam and is presumed to be dead."
"Nooooo…" Rachel cried, a long drawn out moan of grief and sorrow at the words that she didn't want to hear. Instantly, Nicky was at her side, slipping a strong arm around her waist to support her when her knees wanted to buckle beneath her.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." the man that had been introduced as the Chaplin said gently. "Is there anyone you would like for us to call for you?"
"I'll take care of it." Nicky said firmly. "Just please go and leave us alone." The adolescent stood tall and proud at his mother's side, struggling to control his own emotions, as he angrily blinked back the tears that stung his eyes. Although he did not know the two men standing in their doorway, he hated them for being the bearers of bad news and wanted them out of his sight.
The two men nodded and turned to leave, walking down the front walk to a black sedan parked at the curb. Nicky shoved the door closed with his foot and gently helped his mother over to the threadbare sofa. Settling the softly sobbing woman down onto the cushions, the teenager reached for the phone to call their Rabbi, who in turn would notify other family members of the latest tragedy to befall the Starsky family.