News of the contact made its way down the line, and when it reached Starsky, he looked at Hutch with an almost triumphant expression on his face.
"You hear that, Hutch? They're okay; we're almost there."
"But we're not there yet, so don't go racing for Ashley right this second," Hutch cautioned. "We've still got rubble we need to move out of the way."
Starsky knew his partner was right, but he was almost desperate to hold in his arms the little girl he loved so much. It was all he could do to keep his spot in line instead of going to the front and digging Ashley out himself.
God, I wish I could do that, but I promised Dobey I wouldn't neglect the others just for her. The cop's gotta come first.
xXxXx
Melissa and Huggy made their way through the broken and cluttered streets, her leading the way and him reluctantly following. He was careful to help Melissa over and around the rough patches, because he knew he'd never heard the end of it from Starsky if something happened to Melissa on his watch. Starsky's bad side was not a place Huggy wanted to be.
Keeping that in mind, the black man briefly moved ahead of Melissa so he could clear the path by tossing several broken tree branches aside. He then returned the lead to Melissa and continued following her to Willow Brook.
xXxXx
The next forty-five minutes passed slowly for Ashley as she watched the emergency worker struggle to remove chunks of debris from what used to be a wall. She hoped someone would soon be able to get her desk off of her; ideally that person would be Dave, but Ashley was almost to the point where she would be glad to have anybody toss it aside and get her to safety.
I really want it to be Dave, though. God, please let Dave be the one to get me out of here.
Ashley was brought out of her thoughts by the worker's voice.
"Kids, I need you to listen carefully and exactly what I tell you, okay? Is there anyone at all that's hurt, even a little bit?"
After several "no" responses and a few quiet moments, he continued, "All right, next question: Are any of you able to wiggle loose?"
From all around the room came sounds of grunting and slight struggling, but none of Ashley's classmates were able to pry themselves free from the rubble.
"Okay kids, don't worry; we're gonna get you out. Mrs. Sanchez, how are you holding up?"
xXxXx
She was on the verge of falling apart. Oh, how she wanted to be out of here!
"I'm all right," the teacher lied. "Get to the children first."
"That's just what I wanted to hear. We'll get to you just as soon as we can, Mrs. Sanchez, I promise."
She could only hope so; she was ready to scream, but knew she had to continue to be brave for her students.
But the moment I get out of here, I think I just might cry for a week.
xXxXx
Word soon reached Starsky and Hutch that they weren't far from being finished. The first fifteen or twenty men in line were asked to go into the classroom itself and dig the children out, and that number ended with Hutch, leaving Starsky to wait outside.
One look at his partner told the blond that Starsky was ready to into the debris immediately, with or without permission, and hunt for Ashley himself.
Hutch placed one hand on Starsky's shoulder and pointed at him with the other. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm not gonna let you do it."
Starsky scoffed. "Do what?"
"Can you honestly tell me that you weren't thinking about tagging along and searching for Ashley?" Hutch didn't wait for an answer. "We made a deal, remember?"
xXxXx
Starsky let out a deflated sigh; he remembered, but he wasn't ready to quit working yet.
"Hutch, we're so close - "
"You've held up your end of the bargain; let me go take care of mine, okay?"
It was tough for Starsky to accept the fact that Hutch was not allowing him to look for Ashley; she was his responsibility, after all. But he knew that Hutch was just trying to help him keep the promise he'd made to Dobey.
He was reluctant to do so, but Starsky heard himself slowly say, "All right, Hutch…but I don't want her coming out with anybody but you, do you hear me?"
xXxXx
Hutch was silent for a moment as he caught the disappointment in his partner's eyes. This was Starsky's first real family crisis, and he wasn't even allowed to come to Ashley's rescue. Instead, he had to depend on someone else to go in and save her.
I'm glad he's letting it be me.
"I hear you, Starsk, lout and clear. I'll get her out of there as soon as can."
Hutch dropped his hand from Starsky's shoulder and turned away, hurrying to down into the dug-out hallway.
xXxXx
Starsky watched his friend leave, and he was struggling to fight the urge to follow Hutch. He knew that, since there was nothing more for him to do hear, he should go back to Captain Harris for another assignment, but his heart just wasn't in it.
The cop in him was done working; Starsky was as close to full father-mode as he could be without breaking his deal with Hutch.
xXxXx
Melissa just barely recognized the area surrounding the school. Deep gorges in the road and uprooted, broken trees in the yards made the distance between the flower shop and Willow Brook almost impassable. But if there was the slightest chance that her daughter was hurt - or heaven forbid, dead - then nothing would stop Melissa from making her way through. As she took Huggy's offered hand to step across a block of cement, she looked into the distance, and there the school stood, the length of a football field away, and surrounded by what seemed to be a thousand people.
Somewhere in that throng were her husband and child, and she was determined to stay there until she found them.
With that in mind, she crossed those final yards, closing the gap between herself and her family, and began asking people if they knew where she could find Dave.
