Ashley watched in silence as more than a dozen men entered and scattered themselves around the room. She scanned their faces for that of her step dad, but it didn't come. Disappointed tears filled her eyes, and though she was on the opposite side of the room from the emergency workers, Ashley turned her head away so the men wouldn't see her tears.
Where is he? Is he even out there? Doesn't he know where I am? God, he's not hurt ,is he? Please don't let my daddy be hurt; I really wanna see my daddy again.
As Ashley regained control of her tears and turned her head back the other direction, one more emergency worker made his way into the classroom…a blond, one Ashley loved almost as dearly as she loved Dave.
The tears started all over again as Ashley called out his name. "Hutch…Hutch, please get me out of here!"
xXxXx
Hutch's ears perked up at the sound of his name. He quickly scanned the mess for Ashley. She could see him; hopefully he'd be able to spot her as well.
"I'm coming, Ash, hold on. Keep talking; lead me to you."
"I'm over here, Hutch. Come get me out."
There she is. "I see you. Give me a couple minutes, and I'll have you right out of there."
There were several smaller pieces of debris surrounding Ashley's desk he needed to get out of the way, but they were soon tossed aside, and Hutch looked beneath the desk at the little girl.
"Ashley, does that make it any easier for you to get out, or do you need me to move your desk too?"
xXxXx
The child tried to reposition herself, but with her desk on top of her and some rubble still around it, it wasn't any use.
"I can't get out, Hutch. I still need help." she paused, then asked, "Hutch, where's Dave? Is he all right?"
xXxXx
For the moment, Hutch chose to ignore her question. "I need you to curl into a ball for me if you can, Ashley. Make yourself as small as possible. I'm going to try to lift your desk directly up, but if that doesn't work, I'll have to wiggle it loose."
It turned out to be a combination of the two, and the desk was no sooner out of the way before Ashley uncurled herself, slowly stood, and looked up at Hutch.
"You've gotta tell me about Dave, Hutch," she pleaded. "Where is he?"
The blond knelt down so he could be eye to eye with her. "He's fine. Let's get out of here, and you can see for yourself."
xXxXx
Ashley bit her lip in a desperate attempt to fight back more tears. If she was going to cry again, she didn't want anybody to see but Dave…and she wasn't really sure about that.
Hutch stood and wrapped a protective arms around Ashley's shoulders. He helped her over and through the rubble that remained, and when the pair finally made it outside, Hutch crouched down and silently straight ahead.
Ashley's eyes followed Hutch's arm. A few feet away stood Dave, his back turned and his hands in his pockets. He was kicking at a broken tree branch.
There was no stopping the tears at the sight of her step dad, and as Ashley pulled away from Hutch, she began to run.
"Daddy!"
xXxXx
His heart leapt into his throat at the sound of Ashley's voice. In a nearly single motion, Starsky turned and knelt on one knee, taking the child into his arms as she reached him.
The tears he'd been fighting for hours flowed down Starsky's cheeks as he repeatedly asked if she was all right.
Through her own tears, Ashley was repeating just as often, "Don't let me go, Daddy. Don't ever let me go again."
xXxXx
Melissa had finally found someone that knew where her husband was, and with Huggy close behind, she made her way to the area pointed out to her. All around her were reunited families, and she could only hope that it wouldn't be long before her own family would be together again.
She rounded another pile of rubble and abruptly stopped, causing Huggy to bump into her. She couldn't tear her eyes from the sight ahead of her. Several feet away was Dave with his arms wrapped around her daughter.
No, not just mine…our daughter. She belongs to Dave too, and he loves her in a way I never could, in a way only a father can love a child.
Without another thought, Melissa started moving again.
xXxXx
Ashley had her arms wrapped tightly around her step dad's neck, and for the first time in hours, she felt completely safe. She couldn't quite make out the heartbeat she loved to hear, but having Dave's arms around her was good enough for her.
Suddenly she was aware of another pair of arms around her, and as Ashley lifted her head from Dave's shoulder, she saw her mother's face.
"Mom!" Ashley's tears started all over again as she loosened her grip on her step dad's neck and hugged her mother.
xXxXx
Never in his life was Starsky more glad to have his family all in one piece. He lovingly ran his fingers through Ashley's red hair before leaning over to kiss Melissa.
As he did so, he was only vaguely aware of more fifth-graders being led out of their rubble-filled classroom and a news crew setting up, preparing to go live.
xXxXx
"This is Wes Harmon, reporting live from Willow Brook Elementary, where a fifth grade class has just been rescued after being trapped for several hours as a result of this morning's earthquake. Only a few more students and their teacher remain below, but they'll be coming above ground shortly. It also seems that an emergency worker is a parent to one of these rescued fifth-graders. Detective Dave Starsky has been working most of the day to free these children, but when contact was finally made with the class, he chose to put personal feelings aside and remain above ground while another worker dug the detective's daughter out of the remaining rubble. The father-daughter pair has just been reunited…"
Despite his initial reservations, Captain Dobey had to admit he was proud of Starsky for keeping his word not to bypass the crisis for Ashley. Situations like this were tough for the workers with families; they were required to stay on task, seemingly indifferent to the worry and anxiety they were feeling.
Dobey had always prided himself on being able to separate the cop from the father. But perhaps there was something to be said for allowing the two to intertwine from time to time.
After all, it's true that I am a cop with a family, just like Starsky said. The two are already wrapped up together. To be anything less would be…
"To be anything less would be denying my humanity."
With that in mind, Captain Dobey shut off his radio, rose from behind his desk, and exited his office. He'd spent too much of the day focused solely on his job; the hours that were left would be spent with his wife and children.
The first thing Dobey was going to do was tell Rosie how much he loved her.
xXxXx
Ashley was once again in Starsky's arms.
"I love you, Daddy," she whispered.
God, I love that word. "I love you too, sweetheart."
xXxXx
A/N: I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing Melissa and precious little Ashley to life over the last several years. Currently I have no plans to further the series, but I certainly hope that someday I'll find inspiration for a "Hero Story #6", because Starsky's family holds a special place in my heart. It's my hope that you've enjoyed reading these stories as much as I've enjoyed writing them.
Postscript 6/10/13: I have added one additional story to the series, "Dear Daddy", in honor of Father's Day. Hope you enjoy it.