Love Hurts

Disclaimer: This is done strictly for fun and not for profit, although tips are greatly appreciated.

Author's Note: Thanks to my friends in the fandom, especially my muse Brook, and my writing sisters Janet, and Shawne, it is only a matter of time before our family begins to grow. Love you guys! This one is for you, and by the way, special thanks to Janet for letting me write this one and naming it for me.

Guess what? Brook has been co-writing this one with me, we are working so well together and I NEED to thank her for her help. I love you girl!!!

Chapter Twelve

"Son of a bitch!" Starsky bit off quickly, as under his breath as he could muster while panting hard, not wanting to startle the dog anymore then it already was.

Starsky panicked at first, instinct taking over as he tried to pull away from the pain, and then realized the dog was not going to let him go that easily. Gasping hard through the pain, he tried desperately to slow down his breathing, mentally trying to talk himself calm. He was a bit relieved to find the dog was not attacking and mauling him, it sunk its teeth in deep and holding on.

"Fuck!" he mumbled as the dog's teeth moved position under his flesh and in the muscle oh his upper leg.

Slowly he relaxed his body, causing the dog to let up on some of the pressure in his thigh.

"Shhhhhhh, shhhhhhhh…" he panted, "Good boy Diablo….good boy…"

He felt the animal start to release his grasp on the man's leg, slightly relaxing his jaw muscles, much to Starsky's relief. Swallowing hard, Starsky tried to relax as much as possible with the dog's teeth still embedded in his leg, staring straight up at the ceiling, trying desperately not to move. He felt his warm blood slowly start to drip out of the wound, being soaked up in his jeans. He wanted to look at his leg, wanting desperately to see the damage and he could feel it starting to throb, but he feared any movement at all would cause the dog to attack him further, so he lay there, as still as he could, hoping someone would arrive soon to save him and call the dog off. He knew that Hutch must be wondering by now where his partner had gone off to, and prayed that he would be looking for him, and that trail would somehow lead him to Ellen. His mind raced, he had no idea how Hutch would be able to piece this puzzle together, knowing what had transpired, and knowing that there was absolutely no link between Alex's death and Ellen's guilt. He silently prayed for Hutch to somehow put this all together.

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Ellen approach Huggy, throwing her slightly damp hand towel over her shoulder, noting the thin black man as he dipped his hand in the cash register, inserting one bill and taking out two more, making change for the patron that was sitting at the bar, just to the right of the register and handing it to him with a smile.

"Hey Hug…I need to ask you a favor…" Ellen stated.

"Yeah sugar, what is it?" He responded.

"I wanted to know if I could leave a little early today, I had some family come into town and I wanted to take them out and show them the town…"

"How early you talkin'?" The business owner inquired.

"Well, I was thinkin' like now, if that's okay…I mean we seem a little slow tonight, and I am sure that Diane could use the extra tips…you know what I'm sayin'?" The attractive waitress batted her eyes at her boss, flipping her head in the direction of his other employee.

Huggy looked over his shoulder at Diane, knowing that she was a single mom, and could always use the extra hours, or extra tips, he then scanned the bar. It was an unusually slow night, but par was the course for a Tuesday.

"Sure, sure…I think she can handle it…just let her know you're leavin', and go on an' have a good time with your family." Huggy stated, bringing a smile to Ellen's face as she giggled, knowing that she was going to see Starsky sooner then she had expected, and giggling like a teenager.

"Thanks Hug, you're the best," she squealed as she leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheek.

Huggy took a step back, the room spinning briefly as he blinked rapidly, "Hey you okay Hug?" Ellen asked, knowing full well that he had drank the beer that intended for Starsky's partner, and wanting to get out of the bar before its contents took full effect.

"Yeah, yeah…m'fine honey, now you get on outta here and have fun." Huggy waived her off as she turned and bounced away.

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Hutch pulled up in front of Red's place, throwing his beaten up car in park and climbing out of the car. Straightening his tan jacket, he threw the keys in the pocket and headed towards the front door.

He looked around the front, making sure the area was clear, and then knocked on the front door. He heard heavy footsteps coming closer as he prepared himself for a possible confrontation. The look of surprise on the large Samoan's face caught the blond off guard.

"Detective Hutchinson," Red greeted him, looking outside, craning his neck and scanning the area, "I take it Detective Starsky is around here somewhere…." He assumed.

"M'afraid that my partner couldn't join us, you see…something else of a more urgent matter came up." Hutch responded, not wanting to let on the reason for his visit just yet.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

The large man blocked the entrance, making it obvious that he was not going to be invited in voluntarily.

"Well, I just had a couple questions for you if you don't mind…" Hutch answered, pulling out his small note pad and a pencil from his jacket pocket, "…it shouldn't take long at all."

"Go 'head, I don't have anything to hide."

"Seems another woman's body has been found, and…well…we are just not quiet sure, but this may just be all tied together if you catch my drift?" Hutch looked up at the man.

"You mean Starsky's old lady?" Red retorted quickly.

Hutch looked up in surprise, not expecting Red to be forewarned about the situation.

"Care to tell me how you knew about this?" The Nordic asked, his heart beat increasing slighty.

"For a cop, you sure aren't very right…I mean don't you even watch the news? It was the headlines tonight!" Red smirked.

Hutch inhaled deeply, taking a second to regain his composure before continuing on, "I'd like to know where you were last night Red."

"Took a drive to San Diego, was there all night, came back mid morning." Red answered, not even skipping a beat.

"You got any witnesses? Any proof to corroborate that story?" The blond looked up at the man through his brow, his sky blue eyes piercing Red's almost black orbs.

"Sure do…wait right here." He answered, turning on his heels and clomping away, disappearing down the hallway.

Hutch leaned in, looking around the room, seeing a man sitting in a large overstuffed white leather couch in the living room, just to the right of the door. He was slightly nervous about loosing site of the man, knowing he could come back brandishing a weapon, but his gut instinct was telling him, this was a non-confrontational visit.

Red reappeared carrying a few small white papers in his hand, and holding him out for the officer. Hutch took the, scanning them.

They were receipts, several of them, from various stores, restaurants and venues in the San Diego area, in his name, using his credit card, proving he was somewhere in the vicinity at the time of Alex's death. Hutch looked up at the large man, holding them up, offering them back to the man.

"How can I be sure, someone wasn't using you name, and your card?" Hutch asked.

"Well, I guess you can't…but do you think the courts will accept them as proof?" Red bellowed his brow furrowing.

Hutch knew that Red was probably right, they would be admissible in court, and most likely be accepted as a viable alibi.

"Well, my partner and I aren't through with you yet, so just make sure you stick around, in the area this time." Hutch instructed him as he turned and headed out the door, looking back at the last moment. "And if you do plan a road trip, you might want to let me or Detective Starsky know, wouldn't want anything to happen to your alibis."

Hutch waked out of the house and towards his car, just before he reached it, his instincts kicked in as he looked up, scanning the area, turning if full circle. Back behind the building in the distance he saw a white car, obviously an unmarked vehicle, and inside, he recognized two IA detectives. Shaking his head, he reached down, opened his door and climbed behind the wheel of his vehicle. He should of known they would be tailing him, trying to get him to lead them to Starsky, as usual, taking the easy way out and expecting the "real" detectives to do all the work, while they tried to take all the credit for it.

Staring his car and throwing it into drive, he headed away from Red's, waving at the IA officers as he passed by them, smiling at as he exposed them in their attempt of being inconspicuous.

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Ellen walked through the front door of her place, dropping her key on the table by the door, leafing through the stack of mail in her hand. She finished and tossed the whole pile on the table next to the keys.

Taking her purse off of her shoulder she moved towards the couch, draping the leather patchwork bag over the corner. Raising her head, she could faintly hear the growling of her dog. Her eyes widened in anger as she headed towards the basement door.

He pace increased, her body tilted forward as she knew by the sound of her dog, that something had happened while she was away.

She dug a spare key deep out of her jacket pocket and shoved it into the key hole, turning it quickly, and throwing the door open.

She headed down the steep staircase, her head clearing the rafter as she peeked under it, seeing Diablo, his jaw attached firmly to Starsky's upper thigh. She jumped down the last few stairs and landed on the floor.

"Diablo! DOWN!" She shouted as the dog immediately obeyed, taking a moment to remove the fangs embedded deeply into the thick muscle of the man's leg.

Starsky let out a grown as the dog released, the wound that had been numb, now began to throb and sting.

"Son of Bitch!" He growled as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he bit his bottom lip to try and ride out the wave of pain.

"What did you do? You had to have done something; Diablo would have never attacked unless you made him!" She scolded the detective, bending down and looking at his torn pants that were beginning to become soaked with blood.

"Yeah, I moved!" Starsky retorted back, earning him an angry glare from his captor.

Ellen grabbed the dog by its blue collar, pulling it back and forcing it into a sitting position. She looked down at the man strapped to her bed, looking into his eyes first. Starsky swore he saw a glimmer of compassion and feeling as he stared back at her. She broke the gaze, looking down at his leg, his blood soaked jeans clinging to his upper thigh.

She raised her right hand over his leg, her fingers hovering just above the wound. Softly she allowed her hand to drop down on his body, a surge of energy rushing through her body.

Starsky noted the extreme care that she took in touching him, almost afraid to connect with him, but drinking in every second of their tender moment.

"I need to clean this out so it doesn't get infected," Ellen surmised, her voice gentle and quiet. "We need to get your pants off." She concluded as she went into the bathroom and returned with large silver handled scissors,

Starsky's eyes widened as Ellen walked towards him, the light shimmering off the blade as she slowly walked over to the bed, her eyes filled with excitement and enticement as she bent over him, taking the scissors and cutting away at the thick denim around his upper leg.

Starskys body tense as he felt the cold steel against his flesh.

To Be Continued…