Ashley had quickly discovered the meaning of the word claustrophobic. She didn't like being trapped in a place where there was little room to move, and having to share that space with twenty other people wasn't helping. And though she'd never been afraid of the dark, Ashley found herself wishing for a flashlight. Mrs. Sanchez had one for emergencies, but her desk was buried under what used to be a wall.

"Mrs. Sanchez?" Ashley heard one of her classmates call. It sounded like Karen. "Mrs. Sanchez, does anybody even know we're down here?"

"I'm sure they know by now which classes were able to get out and which ones weren't. Someone will find us."

"Mrs. Sanchez." That was Joey. "Would it help if we tried to dig our way out?"

"No, that would just make it worse. If we tried to move things down here, everything on top would come crashing down."

"Like an avalanche?" Ashley piped up.

"Yes, sort of like that," Mrs. Sanchez replied. "You've all been doing a great job of staying calm. I'm sure there are people trying to get to us; staying calm is how we can help them."

Ashley wondered if Dave was one of the ones looking for them, or if he even knew she was trapped. More than anything, she wanted to feel his strong arms wrapped around her, with her head on his chest so she could hear his heartbeat. That always made her feel safe.

Mrs. Sanchez was talking again, and Ashley turned her head so she could hear better. Her teacher was asking what everybody would like to do when they were finally rescued. One at a time, from all over the classroom, each of the fifth-graders voiced exactly what Ashley had been thinking: They wanted to hug their parents.

Somehow, it made Ashley feel a little better to know she wasn't the only one who was scared.

xXxXx

Huggy considered himself to be a lucky man; yes sir, a very lucky man indeed. He'd stayed in a cubbyhole for who knew how long after the quake was over, almost in fear of it starting again. Not that he'd ever tell anyone.

Never let it be known that the Bear hid from Mother Nature…yeah, that's right.

As he crawled out from his hiding spot and stood to his full height, Huggy took a long look around the Pits. Surprisingly enough, it didn't look too bad. Huggy couldn't argue that the place had looked better, but he'd been through earthquakes before and had seen worse than what he was looking at now.

He dug out his transistor radio and turned it one, only vaguely listening to it as he started making mental notes of what would need to be repaired or replaced.

The black man jerked his head in the direction of the radio when the newscaster said something about a school. He hurried to raise the volume level and listened closely to what was being said.

"…workers are doing their best to rescue a pair of third-grade classes and one fifth-grade class that are trapped beneath the rubble. Captain Harris, of the Bay City Police, is working with several of his men to gather contact information so that parents can be informed of their child's welfare. Again, this is at Willow Brook Elementary, and if your child is a student here, rest assured that everything is being done to keep them safe. This is Wes Harmon…"

Huggy wasn't sure, but he thought Willow Brook was where Starsky's stepdaughter went to school. Not remembering how old she was, Huggy had no idea if she'd gotten out or if there was a chance she was trapped inside.

He briefly looked around for the phone, wanting to try and get through to Starsky. But in the midst of the debris, he didn't know where it was, or even if the lines were free.

Huggy shut off the radio before heading outside, then started walking around - and in some places, over - chunks of debris. He slowly made his way to the flower shop where Melissa worked.

As he walked through the door, he saw his friend's wife standing behind the counter, her back to him. He stood silently for a moment, then cleared his throat. Melissa turned towards him with a startled look on her face, and Huggy quickly apologized.

"I didn't mean to scare you; I just came to check on your daughter."

Melissa wiped tears away as she responded, "It's all right, Huggy. I haven't heard anything, from Dave or anybody else. I talked to him a couple hours ago; he and Hutch were on their way to the school, but I haven't talked to him since. I don't suppose you know anything? You'd tell me if you did, wouldn't you?"

Huggy could only shake his head no. "I just heard the news a little while ago."

xXxXx

Melissa thought she could almost literally feel her heart breaking from lack of news. She knew Dave would get in touch with her as soon as he knew anything, and that Hutch was there looking out for him. But in her heart of hearts - deep in the heart only a mother has - Melissa was frightened that she would find out that her child had been ripped away from her.

She wouldn't remember doing so later, but Melissa came around from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around Huggy's waist, tears falling all over again.

xXxXx

Huggy returned the embrace and let her cry. No matter how uncomfortable it made him feel, clearly this was something Melissa needed.

She soon pulled away. "Oh Huggy, I'm sorry. I got tear stains all over your shirt."

He simply shrugged. "It ain't no big thing. Melissa, I don't make a habit of this, but is there anything I can do for you?"

xXxXx

Melissa smiled a little at the offer. She was well aware of Huggy's personality and knew this was indeed out of character for him.

"Would you mind…waiting here with me until Dave or Hutch calls? I'm here alone, and they told me to stay put."

xXxXx

Hutch nodded, unsure of what to say but somewhat glad for the opportunity to be away from the Pits. It would be some time before he'd be in business again, and even though he was already anxious for that day to come, Huggy was willing to put cleaning off until tomorrow. He may have been a snitch in the low rent district, but he was a snitch that cared about his friends.

Without saying a word, Huggy hopped on top of the counter and leaned slightly backwards in search of a magazine. He sat up straight again, Better Homes & Gardens in hand. As he started flipping through the pages, Huggy tried to ignore the fact that Melissa was stifling a laugh at his choice.

xXxXx

Time was passing slowly for Starsky as he and Hutch continued to dig through the rubble. After two and a half hours, he'd stopped glancing at his watch; he'd finally realized that by keeping track of the time, he was making himself more nervous than he needed to be. But even without regularly checking the time, Starsky was discovering that the parent in him was slowly over-taking his inner-cop.

I need to stay focused. I gotta think with my head and not my heart. But how the hell do you do that when your child's life is at risk? It's so hard to sift through debris, to set your fears aside, when the whole situation feels nearly hopeless. Where the hell do you draw that damn line between personal and professional?

He lifted what seemed like the thousandth chunk of rubble, Starsky became aware of a sudden ache in his arms - no, deeper…in his heart - to be holding Ashley instead of a piece of what used to be a school building. As he continued to walk away with the bricks in his arms, he was almost sure that he was going to lose control of his emotions.

Ash, I swear I'm trying to find you. I'm doing everything I can do get your outta there. Please still be alive.

Tears threatened to fall as he reached the throw-away pile of debris, but he blinked them away when heard quick footsteps coming up behind him. He glanced over his shoulder before dropping his armload and saw Hutch hurrying to catch up with him.

"Starsk…some of the guys think they may have found a way in. They need all the man power they can get to finish clearing out the debris in their area."

Starsky didn't wait for Hutch to tell him where. In fact, he didn't even wait for Hutch to finish speaking. Starsky hurried past his partner, hope springing anew.

I'm coming, Ashley. So help me, I'm coming.