The Assignment.
Hutch knew he was dead long before he opened his eyes. For the last hour he could hear voices murmuring around him, sad, melancholy, professional voices none of which he knew personally but he did know they were Doctors and Nurses. He opened his eyes slowly and, from his vantage point in the corner of the room, he looked around at the scene before him. Low lights flickered over a quiet bed on which lay a still form, a form he knew was his own… yet he felt unattached from it. Doctors were filling in forms, checking and double checking actions taken, verifying time of death. Everything was cold, clinical and Hutch felt a sense of finality. Life was over!
More aware now he looked around, his eyes searching for the other half of himself. Starsky was nowhere to be seen and he began to hope…maybe one of them had survived the explosion.
Hutch concentrated hard on his partner and he found his consciousness leaving the room and visiting every room in turn along the corridor from his own. It was in the seventh room he found what he was searching for and he almost floated along the corridor to Starsky's side. Looking at his former partner Hutch barely recognised the face before him. Battered, burnt and bloodied Starsky's face remained unmoving, tubes and wires seemed to fill every visible inch of his body but the monitors at the side of the bed showed he was alive…barely.
Hutch reached out to touch his partner but found he couldn't, his hand simply passing through that of Starsky and Hutch felt such a sense of loss for a moment it was unbearable. He felt rather than heard the other presence in the room and he slowly turned to see a stranger smiling at him from the corner of the room. Hutch knew without asking that the stranger was, as he was, dead and could only wonder at his presence in his friend's room. His face must have registered the question as the stranger moved slowly to stand at his side and look down on the bed at Starsky.
"I'm here for both of you Ken but Dave still has a need before he can leave. He needs to know the children were safe so he is fighting to stay." Hutch shook his head gently, remembering the fatal episode. The car chase, them closing in on their prey... until the moment a ball appeared, bouncing as if in slow motion across their path, the horrified look on Starsky's face as he instinctively knew that a child would follow. In this case it was not one child but two, the elder girl desperately reaching for the younger boy, trying to stop his forward motion. Starsky swung hard on the wheel and the Torino spun out of control across the highway into the path of the fuel truck, It only took seconds for the explosion to occur which had taken Hutch's life instantly and left Starsky barely hanging on.
"And?" Hutch looked at the stranger. "Are they?"
"Not yet, the younger one is still in a coma, he has his own fight. His parents are with him and his sister. But he will be". The stranger paused before adding "Then you and your partner will be together again and you can begin your journey. In the meantime though there is one thing you can do to help Dave, if you are up to the challenge?"
Hutch swung his gaze back to the still form on the bed in front of him, looking hard for any sign of his friend and partner needing anything but apart from the obvious there was nothing to be seen, Hutch tuned and walked back into the corner of the room, the quiet stranger following.
"What exactly do you mean…help him?" Despite everything that had happened to him Hutch felt an overwhelming sense of calm, somehow this all seemed so natural and normal. "Who are you anyway?"
"Jonathan… my name is Jonathan," The stranger smiled and Hutch felt nothing but total peace. "You and Dave will both get to know me much better soon but your first assignment is a solo."
"Assignment?" Hutch tilted his head questioningly.
"Yeah… assignment" Jonathan grinned at Hutch. "Welcome to my world friend. Your assignment is a special one too. Dave needs your help…or at least the young Dave Starsky does!" Jonathan paused waiting to see the affect his words were having.
Hutch turned slowly back to his partner but as he did the still form began to get fuzzy and Hutch blinked and shook his head in an effort to clear his vision. Instead Starsky, the bed, indeed the whole room began to move away from him, away from view, away from his reach and he felt an overwhelming sense of loss and loneliness. A thick mist encircled him hiding everything from view. From somewhere Hutch could hear birdsong and the sound of water lapping on wood. Close to him came the sound of ducks quacking and he smiled…Starsky loved those ducks, the thought came unbidden into his head. The mist surrounding him began to thin and he could make out vague shapes of boats, of cars parked and of children playing at the water's edge. Finally the mist evaporated completely and Hutch could see a long pontoon stretching out into the water, at the end of it sat a young boy staring blankly down into the depths.
Slowly Hutch began to walk along the slippery wooden pathway. There was something about the figure but from this distance he couldn't say what. He was half way there when the boy raised his head and turned to look at him. It was obvious from the look that Hutch was an unwelcome intrusion and he blatantly shifted his whole body to place his back to him. Stay away was the very clear message … but something was dragging Hutch forward, there had been something in that glance that drew him onwards.
Not knowing how to get the boy to turn around Hutch stood. staring at the one feature that was obvious. That dark, thick head of curly brown hair made him reach out wanting to touch but he stopped himself from trying. Remembering his efforts to touch his partner and his inability to do so. Instead he contented himself with standing, watching, and he thought of the last words he had heard 'Dave needs your help'. Slowly, oh so slowly, Hutch realised that his need to touch this boy in front of him came from the love he held in his heart for him… this WAS Starsky, albeit a younger version to the one he knew so well.
The sharp intake of breath made the boy turn once again to face him and the so familiar violet blue eyes flared angrily at him. Hutch allowed himself a small smile which made the boy before him even more angry. His fists clenched tightly, jaw thrust forward as though he were trying to make himself look older than he really was.
"You want something Mister. 'Cos whatever it is I ain't got it!" There was that Brooklyn drawl sharper, untainted from years of living away from his beloved New York home.
"No. I'm pretty sure there's nothing you have that I want" Hutch spoke quietly "I was just watching the ducks."
"Stupid things, sitting there looking all serene but underneath the water they're paddling like crazy just to stay afloat." The young Starsky eyes had lowered again and Hutch stepped a little closer.
"We all do that sometimes don't we? I know I did." Hutch slowly sat on the pontoon next to Dave Starsky, his eyes still on the ducks. He felt the boy tense so he kept a slight distance between them, leaving an escape route clearly visible.
"Did?" Hutch lowered his gaze to stare into the cool water below and it suddenly hit him hard that there was no reflection looking back at him, reinforcement that he was well and truly dead.
"Sorry", Hutch raised his eyes to the young Starsky again. "Slip of the tongue I guess."
Dave looked quizzically at Hutch but said nothing. The two sat watching as the ducks slowly paddled away the Mother rounding up the stragglers as she swam and Hutch allowed himself a small smile. Dave turned slightly, "Quite the Mother Hen ain't she?" He glanced at Hutch just in time to see the slight stiffening of his back. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah, just for a moment you brought something special back and I guess it went a little deep." Hutch managed a weak smile. "You know, you remind me of a friend I have, he used to say that all the time. Used to accuse me of being a Mother Hen."
"And are you?" The question was direct and Hutch realised the young Starsky had relaxed.
"Well…I guess I was at times. My friend had no family living near so whenever he got ill or sh..." Hutch stopped quickly and changed it, "sick…I used to be there for him. He hated the fact that he needed me though."
"He should think himself lucky to have someone care that much about him, wish I did!" The statement came so forcibly from the young head that Hutch felt the pain inside. "Some of us are nothing but an inconvenience…even to our own family."
"What does that mean exactly?" Hutch held his breath believing he knew what was coming. He had heard the story before from his partner not long after they had become friends.
"My Ma….she sent me away, Hates me for what I've become. Can't say I blame her I guess. Must be hard having your dead husband's brother cops turning up on your door telling you your 'darling son' was in trouble again. Last time they found me I was drunk out of my mind." The young Starsky's head dropped and Hutch could see the tears making his eyes glisten. "Ma said I was blackening my Pops good name and he would be ashamed of me. She was right too. Pa would have …." Now the tears were falling unchecked. "God I miss him so much."
Hutch allowed the young Starsky time to cry it out before he spoke. "She doesn't hate you!"
The miserable figure turned questioning eyes towards him. "Your Ma…she doesn't hate you, she loves you. She loves you so much that she's prepared to give you up and send you somewhere away from all the bad memories and the trouble to give you a chance."
"My Aunt and Uncle don't seem to see it that way. They watch me like a hawk…ain't even allowed to sneeze without there say so" Starsky's anger resurfaced and his eyes shone with it.
"HEY! Trust has to be earned my friend. They've given you a home and a chance, perhaps you should take it. Stop given them reasons to worry and you'll see my friend. What do you want to do with yourself anyway?" Hutch held his breath waiting for the answer he knew would come.
"That's easy. My Dad was a cop, the best…I wanna be just like him one day." The young Starsky's chest swelled with pride. "That's how he died, doing his job…they shot him down one night when he was nearly home."
Hutch instinctively reached out for the youngster and was pleasantly surprised that he could put his arm around the smaller shoulders. "Well, if you're going to be a cop you need to stay out of trouble and work damn hard. They won't even let you into the academy if you have any kind of record. It ain't easy and there will be long hours of study but, if you make it through…and I'm pretty sure you will… then there's a whole world out there for you and probably a partner you can rely on and trust with your life. Your Aunt and Uncle are the first step in that journey my friend. Prove to them you can be trusted. Show them you're sorry for all the hurt you've caused your Ma and them…oh, and give your Ma a call, talk to her, listen to her. She loves you and always will, probably more then you realise at the moment. Do it and there will be people to help you along the way, search for them and learn from them. Then you'll do your Pop proud."
The two figures sat on the pontoon watching as the sun slowly sank into the water turning it a deep red. The young Starsky got to his feet and held out his hand for Hutch. Holding his breath Hutch reached out and was grateful when he felt the smaller hand clasp his and haul him to his feet.
"Thanks Mister…I never did ask you your name….Thanks anyway. I'm gonna try, I may need a helping kick up the backside along the way, but I'll make it. Today begins a new chapter. Will I see you again?"
Hutch smiled, "Someday, somewhere. When you look over your shoulder I'll be there my friend, even if you can't see me you'll know I'm there," Reaching forward Hutch placed the palm on the young Dave Starsky's chest. "Hold me in here for as long as you need me."
As the last rays of sun disappeared Starsky turned and began to walk away. He was ten yards from Hutch when he turned and asked, "Your name…what is it...please?
"Ken, but my friends call me Hutch, Starsk."
Dave began to walk again then stopped and swung around…"How did you…?" But there was no-one there, just a faint glow on the end of the pontoon. Shaking his head the young Starsky left walking at first, then running as hard as he could to the place he now called home. Finally he was sure of his future… and he had an important phone call to make.
As the mist once again slowly cleared around him Hutch realised he was back in the room with Starsky, standing by the bed looking down at this partner.
"Strange ain't it Hutch, looking at your dead self?" Hutch swung round to see Starsky standing watching him from the corner of the room. "Took a bit of getting used to for a minute but it ain't so bad now, nothing hurts anymore anyways." Starsky grinned that 1000 kw grin at him.
"The little boy, did he make it?" Hutch looked questioningly at Starsky and he nodded smiling. "Proper little fighter that one. Hutch, he made it." Hutch moved to stand by his partner. "Where you been anyway Blintz?"
"Oh not far, Starsk. Just went to have a chat with a friend. Reminded me a lot of you."
Hutch watched as another figured slowly took shape in the opposite corner of the room. "Come on buddy we've got work to do. Meet Jonathan!"