All usual disclaimers apply, I don't own the rights, I don't get money and this is for entertainment only. Please excuse any errors, they are entirely mine. A Colonel Sonny McPhearson POV/missing scene from the episode "Survival" includes dialog from the show. I am not claiming that dialog is mine. Beta work done by Sue David.
Sonny
By Starsky's Strut
Colonel Sonny McPhearson was on reconnaissance patrol in the fifth sector of occupied France when he noticed some fresh skid marks on the Canyon road. Curious, he pulled his bicycle off to the side of the road to investigate. Damaged foliage further pointed to trouble. Some fellow soldier may be in need of his help. He began to sing, loudly, to let the person know that an American soldier was on his way. Then he heard a voice hollering for help from down the side of the canyon.
The voice claimed to be trapped in his car. The desperate cry echoed and reverberated off the walls of the canyon.
That is when I awoke. I know that type of desperation, that fear. I am the part of Colonel Sonny McPhearson that knows he is not in France and that the war was long over with. That part is me, Sonny. I was a soldier. I am now a civilian. I am a coward. It was me that lost his nerve in the war when the shells hit too close and the blood and body parts of my friends and fellow soldiers had fallen on me in a grotesque rain. Not The Colonel though, The Colonel was, is brave. I need The Colonel. He has protected and kept me safe since that horrible day. He protects me now. That's why the Colonel sang so loudly, he sang to encourage me, Sonny.
"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the comin' of the Lord" 'I have to protect the kid, he gets scared so easily.' The Colonel thought as he sang his favorite song
Again the voice came, it sounded American but The Colonel knew it could be a German soldier, a spy even...
Cries for help came again from the desperate man.
The Colonel walked with military precision down the trail, still singing "...Glory, glory halleluiah... And His truth goes marching onnnn!" He finished singing as he stopped a few feet from the trapped man.
I cringed 'This man is in a bad way, blood, look at the blood on his face'
'I'll handle this Sonny' The Colonel looked at the trapped man. Hmm, blond hair, blue eyes. Very Aryan features. 'I think he's a German spy. I'll ask him some questions. If I'm right, Sonny, it's another medal for me!'
The blond spoke again, relief was evident in his voice. "Am I glad to see you, I was beginning to think I wouldn't make it. You wouldn't happen to have any water, by chance?"
'Give him some water Colonel, please?' I whispered.
'I don't want to waste it on a spy'
'Please, he can't hurt us, he needs it'
'Hurt you Sonny, you. He can't hurt me, no one can. I'm The Colonel' He handed the trapped man his canteen.
The man took it in a shaky grip and drank from it. He dropped it and the precious fluid poured out. The Colonel grabbed it up and capped it.
The man's head dropped back to the dirt. The man asked The Colonel to take some of the pressure off his leg.
The Colonel put the canteen away.
'We should help him, he's hurt bad'
'He could be a jerry...we ain't helpin' no jerry!' The Colonel shined his boot, giving himself time to think. "Are you with the 105th?"
The man did a good job of looking confused. "What? I'm a police officer."
"MP, huh?" The Colonel moved closer and crouched down, looking hard at the man. "Where's your uniform, MP?" 'Let's see him answer that!'
The man claimed that he didn't wear a uniform and that he was a detective with the police department.
'He's a cop, a police officer, Colonel, we gotta help' I whispered.
'Nah, he ain't boy' The Colonel rubbed his boot again, considering his next move.
The man squinted at The Colonel, a worried look in his eyes and asked who he was talking to.
'Sonn-' I began to say before the Colonel cut me off.
'I'll handle this, boy' "Colonel Sonny McPhearson, 53rd Infantry" He said it with pride.
The man asked "Where are we Colonel?"
"What'sa matter boy? Get knocked on the head? This here's occupied France" 'Whooo boy! I got 'em!' He watched as the man raised his head and looked him straight in the eyes. The man's head dropped back down, as though too heavy to hold up any longer.
"I ain't gonna ask you again, ARE you with the 105th Armor or ain't cha'?"
The man agreed with The Colonel and claimed that he had gotten separated from his outfit. He then begged for The Colonel to help him. And to "... TAKE SOME OF THE PRESSURE OFF THIS LEG!"
'Got 'im!' "You speak pretty good English, for a jerry" The Colonel smiled "Ya see, there ain't no 105th Armor!" The Colonel laughed "HOT DAMN! I got me a spy!" He scooped up the Magnum that the man had been trying to reach with his rearview mirror.
Fear shone in the jerry's eyes as he told The Colonel that he had him all wrong.
"Nah, nah, I ain't got nothin' wrong! You're a German soldier in civilian clothes" He rubbed dirt off the gun as he told the man that he could shoot him right now. The Colonel looked down the barrel of the gun to make sure that it hadn't been damaged in the crash. "I'm gonna get myself another medal"
'NOOOO! Don't shoot him Colonel! Please! He's not a spy, he's a cop! They'll put you away! Us away... me away...' I was terrified. There would be medicines and treatments and other horrors that would be used to try to separate The Colonel and me. These things had been tried before. The Colonel was always able to come back, but I feared that they might succeed in making him or I disappear for good. This was something I could not live with. I couldn't live with out The Colonel to protect me. I could come and go as I pleased at the VA as long as The Colonel was there. I need that. And for an all too brief moment, I was undivided, not Sonny the frightened man, not The Colonel, just Sonny McPhearson. Me.
'Okay, Sonny, I won't shoot him'
'Promise?'
'I promise'
'Thank you Colonel'
'You're welcome, Sonny'
I was tired out by my argument with The Colonel and I drifted off to sleep.
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It was nighttime when I awoke. I had used a lot of energy to keep The Colonel from shooting the man. The Colonel's hate for the murdering German soldiers was so strong. But I had talked him out of shooting the trapped man. Then I got so tired after that, I had slept.
That happened sometimes. I would go to sleep and not wake up for hours or days. This was a blessing and a curse. A blessing not to be scared all the time. A curse that I was frightened that one day, he wouldn't let me come back again. That one day the Colonel would be on his own and I would be gone, forever.
'That'll never happen, Sonny' The Colonel's voice was soothing. 'I would never leave any man behind'
'A coward' I whispered.
'A MAN' The Colonel was adamant.
He can be so wise. 'Tell me a story, Colonel' I knew he loved to tell stories. 'Tell me our favorite story again, you know the one'
'Sure, Sonny' "There must have been 15,000 of us, marching down Pennsylvania Avenue Washington D.C. We were living in tents, shacks, made out of old newspapers-"
"Sonny, I'm gonna die, if you don't help me..." The German spy interrupted The Colonel. He shivered in the cold night air. His breath was visible in the faint light of the campfire.
"COLONEL!" How dare that spy interrupt his story telling?
"You have to HELP me!" The trapped man pleaded, demanded.
"You're a jerry. I don't have to help you. Do you know how many of my people, my friends that you killed?" The Colonel's blood began to boil. He fingered the Magnum.
'Colonel, please!' Old memories, old horrors washed over me. 'I don't want to see any more blood!' I shrieked silently at The Colonel. 'No violence! Please? Colonel?'
'Fine' The Colonel then told the trapped man that he did not have to stay.
"HUH?" There was a lot of fear in that small utterance from the trapped man.
The Colonel tossed the dregs of his coffee out and hopped off the car. His mind made up, he informed the man that he could have an armored patrol come pick him up.
The man was frantic, frightened. He begged The Colonel not to go. He begged to hear the story about meeting MacArthur, again. The man had pride, but to be trapped and alone...
And I could sympathize with his fear. 'Yes Colonel, tell us again' I didn't want to think about the man's fear and how close it was to mine own unending fears. Fears I had lived with since the war. Those stories where comforting. 'Yes, tell us'
The Colonel eagerly went back to the story "15,000 of us... We were living in tents, shacks, made out of old newspapers-"
"Colonel, take this please? It's my ID. Take it to Sergeant David Starsky of the Metropolitan police department" The man pleaded as he tried to hand his ID to The Colonel.
"You don't wanna hear nothin'. You don't wanna hear no how!"
The Colonel was agitated and getting confused. I rarely took control of the body we shared, but my heart went out to the trapped man and I made a bid to speak to the man. The Colonel was not willing to grant me control. The internal battle was waged with minimal external signs. The Colonel won for a moment.
"NO! I don't have to listen to you! My name is Colonel Sonny McPhearson!" The Colonel stood up.
The trapped man made one more attempt to reason with the stubborn Colonel "The war is over... HELP ME!"
And it was I who slumped down by the overturned car, having finally gotten control. It was I who spoke audibly for the first time in over thirty years. All the helplessness that I had felt when I first became shell-shocked rushed over me once more.
"I can't help. I can't" Now that I had control, I was too scared to do anything with it. I was ashamed that I could do no more. Fear once again won over my limited determination.
Sensing this, The Colonel stepped back in and took command of the situation once more. He would send an armored patrol for the spy. He once more began to sing as he climbed back up the hill to his bicycle for the long ride back to the barracks where the rest of his men were bivouacked in occupied France.
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I rested and gathered strength for the next skirmish that night as The Colonel slept at the Veterans Administration. The next day, I had to convince The Colonel to go to the Metropolitan Division of the Bay City police department to look for this Sergeant Starsky fella.
'He's a sergeant, Colonel, military' I used all my skills of manipulation to get The Colonel to the station. 'You need to report this so you can get another medal'
The Colonel grinned at that. It had been awhile since he had gotten a medal. 'Why do you want this so much, boy?' The Colonel asked.
I never could get anything past The Colonel 'It's the right thing to do' was the only thing I could think of. 'Please, Colonel?'
'Alright, Sonny, you win'
The Colonel made his way through the halls of the police department, occasionally asking for directions. A police officer pointed in the general direction of a large black man and a curly haired man through the large glass windows to the bullpen. He made his way into the room as the large man answered the phone.
"I'm lookin' for sergeant Starsky?"
The curly headed man looked up "What?"
The black man told the curly headed man that he had a kid on the phone who had been receiving radio messages from what he thought was an injured officer.
The Colonel took his hat off (one must remember ones manners) and declared to the room full of people "I'm Colonel Sonny McPhearson! I captured a German spy up in the hills"
The curly headed man snapped at him "What was he carrying? A fifth of Muscatel?" He then ordered someone to "get this drunk outta here"
The Colonel was not used to being talked down to and was ready to leave right then.
'Please, Colonel? Try again!' I begged.
The Colonel did try, explaining that he was Colonel McPhearson.
The large black man told someone named Norton to "see the old gentleman home"
I finally had to speak up, it was that important to me, to that poor trapped man "No, No, you have to understand!" but this Norton fella just ushered us out the door. The world went a familiar gray as I once again slipped back into the background of The Colonel and as I did, I managed to ask "why can't anyone listen to anyone anymore?" No one answered me.
The Colonel and I were both mute on the way back to the Veterans Administration. It had been disappointing day. I let The Colonel take his rightful place. Perhaps I should just fade way. What was the point? No one listened. No one seemed to care.
'I care' The Colonel said gruffly. 'I ain't gonna let you give up, boy! I'm right proud of you! You took a stand today'
'But I didn't, they didn't listen to me!' I was miserable 'I couldn't make them listen!'
'Well, I heard ya just fine, boy! You're gettin' some spine back now! That's twice in two days that you've stood up to me!' The Colonel nodded. 'But don't make too much a habit of it, that's insubordination ya know!' The Colonel winked to let Sonny know he was just kidding about the last part.
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The Colonel was enjoying his afternoon smoke. His weathered hands wrapped around the pipe, contemplating the next move of his troops and their much needed supplies.
Me, well, I hid and floated in the gray, as I often did, in the far corner of The Colonel's mind and listened to him plan. Then a voice called to him.
"Colonel?"
The Colonel looked the curly haired man up and down. Noting his posture and correct military stance, knees slightly flexed, hands resting in the small of his back; the proper 'at ease' posture of a seasoned military person. The Colonel approved. "Sorry, I can't give you those extra rations. Had to send them up to the 4th Battalion, they're all out, ya know"
"Colonel, sir" The curly haired soldier introduced himself as sergeant Starsky. "You came to see me about a German prisoner?" The man had an anxious and intent look about him.
One hundred percent of his focus was on The Colonel.
The Colonel thought for a second "Oh, yeah, the 5th sector. Now, I've sent an armored patrol to take care of him. Where I could use you, if you're available..." He moved his hand over the maps to the sector he wanted to send the sergeant to.
"Colonel" the sergeant interrupted.
"...is over here, in the west end"
"Colonel, sir, I've been ordered to pick him up"
The Colonel looked at the sergeant "Why? he is to be shot. German spy, you know, civilian clothes and all that"
"Allied Command, sir, they want him. They think he might be very important"
The Colonel's heart beat rapidly "Really?"
"Yes sir, they think he might be key to the war" The sergeant pointed at the map "Is this the 5th sector?"
The Colonel contemplated for a moment "Important, huh?"
"Yes sir"
I noticed that the sergeant's body was humming with barely restrained energy, a need to act.
The Colonel noticed this as well "I found him, you know" It was a statement of fact. I will be getting' another medal!
That poor trapped man will finally be getting the help he needs I thought.
The sergeant's dark blue eyes met The Colonel's and held "Yes" He then asked The Colonel to tell him exactly where to go to pick him up.
The Colonel told the sergeant in exacting detail how to reach the spy.
The sergeant stared hard at the map, memorizing the location. When he finished, he looked at the Colonel "Thank you, sir!"
The Colonel saluted.
The sergeant saluted back, than bolted off across the foot bridge in a most un-military fashion.
'Ya did good, Colonel' I whispered.
'We did good, Sonny'
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One month later, The Colonel and I sat by the pond, near the foot bridge watching the ducks paddle by. I was in charge of our body and The Colonel waited in the background, taking a little rest.
"Colonel?"
I looked up to see sergeant Starsky and the man who had been trapped under the car, he stood with crutches and his left leg was in a cast that went up almost to his hip. I stood to greet them and put out my hand "Sonny" I said.
The men exchanged questioning look and shook my hand. I mentally nudged The Colonel
'There are some men here to see you, Colonel'
'It's ok, Sonny, you handle it'
'But...?' I was nervous
'You can do it boy! I know you can. It's been a long war. It's getting about time for my retirement. 'Bout time you start to handle more things now. I'll be right here.
"We have something for you" the sergeant said and he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket.
I opened the small box 'Colonel, it's your medal!'
'No, Sonny, it's yours. You've earned it' The Colonel beamed with pride.
"Thank you!" I said it to both the men and to The Colonel. I then shook their hands again. I sat down as my knees grew weak from the excitement. The men smiled and started off across the foot bridge.
'Sonny, the gun, give that man back his gun'
'Oh, right!' "Sergeant?" I called after the men; they both stopped and turned around. I trotted up to them. I dug in my pocket and gently handed the Magnum to the blond.
"Uh, thank you, Colonel" The blond said and gave me a shaky salute, while balancing on his crutches.
"Sonny" I said with a smile.
The End