Chapter 1

The mood in the squad room was very somber and gloomy. It was just yesterday everyone had attended the funerals of Lieutenants Dan Stratton and Joseph Martin. They had been murdered as they were on their way home from work on Monday. Both men had been shot once in the head at close range. Every person in the squad room knew that it could have easily been them. It could have been their families saying their goodbyes.

Starsky and Hutch were sitting at their desks staring into their cups of coffee, not really interested in consuming it. They had worked with both lieutenants many times and were going to miss them. "Starsk?" Hutch asked finally taking a sip of the coffee.

Before Starsky had a chance to answer, Captain Dobey opened the door leading into the squad room and said, "Starsky, Hutch, step in my office please," his voice sounded empty and hollow. He had known Stratton and Martin for a long time and they were good friends of Captain Dobey.

"Sure," Starsky and Hutch said as they slid their chairs back and stood up. Starsky followed Hutch into the office.

Chief McDonald was standing in front of Dobey's desk and shook their hands as they walked in. Starsky took a seat and Hutch sat on the arm of the same chair.

"Are you finally going to assign us to the murders, Captain?" Starsky asked, hopefully.

"No, gentlemen. That's not why I had Captain Dobey call you in here."

Captain Dobey lowered his head, Dobey looked at Starsky and then he looked at Hutch, "What we want is for the two of you to replace Stratton and Martin."

"You mean you want to take us of the streets, Captain?" Starsky sounded hurt.

"Yes. That's exactly what I want," Chief McDonald said. "I want…no, I need the two of you to take their place. You have the most experience and are well qualified for the job."

Hutch sat in silence as his partner jumped up and ranted on, "But me and Hutch well…were partners. I don't want to be some paper pusher. I like things the way they are." Starsky's said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Hutch stood up and calmly put his hand on Starsky's shoulder, "I don't know, Starsk. Let's think about it."

"Think about it. What's there to think about? Hutch, if we do this, we won't be on the streets anymore. We won't be partners. Do you really want that?" Starsky was beginning to become angry and his anger appeared to be directed at his partner.

"I don't think it's a bad idea, Starsk. I mean, after what we just went through with Simonetti and company, I've been thinking about slowing down a bit."

Starsky's face turned red with anger, he clenched his jaw, and his whole body tensed up. "Is this what you want, Buddy?"

"Starsky, cool it," Captain Dobey barked at him. "It's just a request."

"It's not an order, gentlemen. If you're unwilling to take the promotion, I'll find someone else," the chief told them.

Hutch looked at Starsky, who looked away from Hutch and down at the floor. Hutch turned his gaze to Chief McDonald, "We'll do it."

Starsky's voice escalated so loud that everyone in the squad room could hear him, "Some pal you are, Hutch. If you don't want to be partners anymore, I guess you don't want me as a friend anymore either!" He looked at Chief McDonald, "when do you want me to start?"

"Monday morning will be fine. Take the weekend off," the chief said.

"I'll be here Monday morning, Sir, bright and early." Starsky turned to Captain Dobey, "Give Hutch a ride home, will ya." He slammed the door so hard as he left, Captain Dobey though it would break the glass.

"Starsky!" Dobey called after him.

Hutch put his hand on Dobey's arm before he could open the door. "Let him go, Captain. He'll cool down. I'll call him tonight."

"I had no idea this would be such a big deal. Usually the men want promotions, Harold," the Chief said, somewhat stunned by the scene he just witnessed.

"Starsky and Hutch have been partners on the streets quite a while. I'm afraid it's going to take some time for Starsky to get used to the change."

"It's going to take Hutch some time too." Hutch said sadly looking at the door his partner just slammed shut.

"If it's going to be that hard, Harold…"

"No. I want off the streets. Starsky won't accept another partner now we've been together too long. He won't work well with anyone else. He'll take the promotion, Chief. He said he'd be here Monday and he will."

"If you're sure, Detective, I mean, Lieutenant Hutchinson, I need to get back to my office."

Hutch and Dobey both nodded at the Chief and once the chief was gone, Hutch's cheeks filled with air and he expelled it. "That went well." Hutch said as he looked at his captain.

When Starsky left the captain's office, everyone in the squad room was looking at him. He just bowed his head and pretended not to notice the stares as he slammed the door leading out to the hallway. He left the building and got into his Torino. He rubbed the steering wheel and said, "Let's get away from here." He put the car in drive and spun his wheels as he left the police parking garage, smoke filled air. He slammed the car door shut when he arrived at his apartment. He got a can of beer out of the refrigerator, pulled the tab off throwing it in the trash, tossed his jacket over a kitchen chair and flopped on the couch. He stared at the TV and never turned it on. He drank his beer then stood up and put his jacket back on and headed out the door. His destination was The Pits.

Captain Dobey drove Hutch home. Like almost every day since they became partners, Starsky and Hutch drove into work together. Starsky picked Hutch up this morning and it looked like he wasn't in the mood to take him home. Hutch stepped out of the captain's car and thanked him for the ride home.

Hutch walked slowly up the stairs to his apartment. He reached above the doorframe for the key, unlocked the door and replaced the key. He stepped inside his apartment. He looked around and realized that Starsky would not be coming over for dinner, a beer or even just to watch TV. Hutch was alone. He turned the TV on, grabbed a cold bottle of Coors beer out of the refrigerator, and opened it with the bottle opener he retrieved from the table. He flopped on the couch and changed the channel to the news. He flipped through the channels and decided there wasn't anything on he wanted to watch.

He drank the last of the beer and set the bottle on the coffee table then he stood up and took his gun holster off. He placed it over the bedroom door and took his shirt off. He went into the bathroom and turned the water on for his shower as he finished getting undressed. He emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist and was drying his hair with another one. He sat on his bed and looked at his favorite 8x10 picture that was sitting on the nightstand. He smiled as he picked it up and looked at it. The picture was taken by Marcie, a friend of Starsky's and Hutch, who was a professional photographer. The picture was of the two of them standing next to each other, both wearing tuxedos and they had their hands on each other's shoulders. Patting each other on the shoulder was an everyday occurrence for them. Always being there for each other no matter what they faced, they worked through it together. Hutch smiled as he put the picture back. They were uncomfortable in the tuxedos, but had to admit to each other they dressed up nice. He remembered Starsky's tux had become so damaged the rental store wouldn't take it back and Hutch never had the time to take his back so they both ended up keeping them. It was just one of several fond memories Hutch had of his years as Starsky's partner. Hutch decided he'd like to go to have a chat with a bear. He put on a pair of tan pants and a dark blue t-shirt and then he put his gun holster back on, threw on a jacket and headed out the door.

Starsky was already at The Pits when Hutch came walking through the door. Hutch stood in the doorway a minute before going in. Starsky was sitting at the bar instead of their usual booth. Hutch sighed at the sight and looked like he just lost his best friend. Hutch sat two stools down on Starsky's left. Huggy shook his head and handed Hutch his usual beer without saying a word. Huggy stood behind the bar between his two friends. Starsky and Hutch never said a word to each other or Huggy. Starsky finished his beer, paid Huggy and left. As Starsky walked out of the door, Huggy said, "Hutch, what's with you two this time? If it's another woman…"

"It's not a woman, Hug. This time I don't think we can fix it," Hutch said sadly. Downing the last sip of his beer, he set the money for the beer on the counter, "thanks, Hug," and left before Huggy could ask him anymore questions. He didn't want to answer any questions even from Huggy.

The weekend seemed to drag on forever for both Starsky and Hutch. Hutch knew that lieutenants were expected to be out on the streets some, but not nearly as much as the detectives were. Most of his duties would now include reading reports and assigning cases to his men. His men; Hutch thought that had a nice sound to it. He had seen the men around the station before, and now they were going to be under his command come Monday. He was a little nervous about his new position and he was even more nervous about not having Starsky there back him up.

Starsky told the chief that he would accept the promotion and he did. On Monday, he would have twelve men under his command and he made up his mind to get to know each of them. He would never be as close to anyone as he was Hutch, but he could be their leader. He never thought much about moving up in the ranks, he was comfortable as a detective with Hutch as his partner.

Monday finally arrived and Starsky had a meeting with Chief McDonald and Captain Dobey before he was taken to his new office. Everyone that saw Starsky could tell by his demeanor, that his heart wasn't really in it.

Starsky opened the door to his new office and just stood in the doorway a minute. He never wanted a desk job, but here he was and he was going to make the most of it. He huffed as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. He walked by the bookcase touched some books with his index finger as he silently read the titles. Most of them were law books. He looked at the two file cabinets with four drawers each. Next, he saw his desk. It was a light-brown and just a little smaller than Captain Dobey's. There was nothing on the top of the desk except for a small round container that had a couple of pens in it. Starsky hung his head down as he walked behind the desk and sat in the large black leather chair. He folded his arms behind his head and leaned back putting his feet on the right corner of his desk. "I might get used to this after all," he said out loud. There were two chairs on the other side of the desk and he remembered how he and Hutch would share a chair. There was a knock on the door and Starsky quickly sat upright in the chair as he said, "come in."

Captain Dobey came in with carrying a small plant in one hand and some folders in another. "Starsky, I just wanted to give you a little present," he said as he put the plant on the corner of the desk.

"Are those my cases?"

"No. These are the files of the men under your command." Captain Dobey took half of the files and laid them in front of Starsky.

"Are those his men?"

"Yes, these are the files of the men under Hutchinson's command."

Starsky looked unimpressed and opened the first file in his pile. There was a picture of a young-looking officer whose name was Conner Blanks. Starsky started reading about the young man when Dobey said, "Starsky, you'll be just fine."

Starsky stopped reading and looked at his captain by lifting just his eyes, "Don't worry about me; I'll make it work. You worry about him," Starsky said as if he couldn't bring himself to say Hutch's name. Dobey reminded Starsky that he was still his captain, his office was just down the hall and he would continue to always be available to him for anything. Starsky only nodded.

Dobey shook his head and left Starsky alone to read the files on his men and the cases they were working on. Starsky continued going through the files of his men. He needed to know everything he could about the twelve men he was now responsible for.

Hutch had already met with Chief McDonald and Captain Dobey when he entered his office. He too, had a bookshelf full of law books and two file cabinets. In fact, his office was identical to the one that Starsky had. Captain Dobey paid Hutch a visit and handed him the files of the men under him. He also set a small potted plant on the edge of Hutch's desk. Dobey wished him good luck before leaving his office. He reminded Hutch that his office was just down the hall and his door was always open and that he was still his captain, just as he told Starsky. Hutch didn't say a word, but nodded. Hutch started looking at the files of the twelve men and women under his command.

Hutch had gone through the files and stood up and stretched. He opened his door and headed down the hall for a cup of coffee. He poured himself a cup and was headed back to his office when he almost bumped into Starsky. Their eyes met but only briefly. They shifted them toward the floor as if they couldn't stand the sight of each other. Hutch stepped to the right allowing Starsky to pass. There were no words spoken between them and everyone noticed the difference between the two former partners and friends.