Chapter 12

Hutch cursed long and hard as he put down the telephone. A phone ringing in the middle of the night was never good news. It usually meant that someone he knew was sick, or had had an accident, and there was no one prone to accidents more than his partner. As he had reached for the receiver, visions of earlier times; Starsky hanging out of his bed, the phone still tucked under his ear after Bellamy had got to him floated into his head. Now, the vision was replaced by anger, vying with concern.

The blond had known something was going on with Starsky. He'd felt the rift between them before the end of that first day. The brunet was never good at hiding his feelings unless he was undercover and Hutch was used to reading the body language after years of practice. Starsky was hiding something from him, and now he knew what it was.

Melanie Monaghan's voice had sounded clear and a little shaken over the phone. She hadn't said much – only that Starsky had been in an accident and was hurt and that she could do with some help. Would Hutch come over? The question was rhetorical of course, Hutch would never leave his partner knowing he was hurt.

Gently, the blond shuffled out of bed without disturbing Ellen. He got dressed without putting on the lights and silently got his keys and gun and let himself out of the front door, locking it behind him. He got into the car, turned on the ignition and drove over to Ridgeway, the way he'd driven thousands of times before as though on autopilot.

Hutch's mind was a whirl. Melanie Monaghan at Starsky's house. So, that's what the brunet had been hiding, as if Hutch didn't know! He'd had his suspicions all the way along, but had hoped he'd been wrong. Maybe another day and he would have asked Starsky outright. Now he didn't need to, he needed only to harness his anger, ensure the smaller man was ok, and then let his buddy have it with both barrels.

Hutch pulled up outside Starsky's apartment. The light was on in the living room and as the blond climbed the steps up to the front door, it opened and Melanie smiled shyly at him.

'Thank you for coming' she said. 'I didn't know what else to do. He won't go to the hospital.'

'Hospital? Is it so bad?' Hutch asked, his anger giving way to concern.

'I don't know, he's seems very good at hiding how hurt he is.'

The blond snickered. 'You noticed? Is he in the bedroom?'

Melanie nodded and as the big Nordic cop walked past, she caught his arm, stopping him. 'When I called you, you seemed……surprised.'

'Surprised…..shocked. Yeah.'

'Didn't Dave tell you I was here?' the woman asked.

'No, he seemed to leave out that snippet. He never said a word. Are you ok?'

Mel nodded. 'I'm fine, or at least I will be when Dave gets checked out.'

'Let me go see him, then we'll talk.' Hutch pushed open the bedroom door just as fever bright indigo eyes looked up. Starsky almost seemed to cower away from the blond, edging his way back in the bed as Hutch came to sit on the mattress edge.

'So? What the hell happened to you?' Hutch asked in measured tones.

'I can explain' Starsky started, heaving himself up in the bed. He winced and yelped at the pressure on his bandaged left wrist and Hutch's face softened.

'Save it. Tell me what happened huh? Are you hurt bad? Anythin' broken?'

'Only my pride' Starsky replied ruefully. 'I got a few bruises, but nuthin I haven't had before.'

'Who did it, and what exactly did they do?'

The brunet rested his curly head back on the pillow. 'I was driving back from the Pits. It was quiet and I suddenly realised I was bein' followed. Pretty soon the turkey was joined by his friend and they kinda cornered me.'

'Who?'

'Never saw 'em before, but they um……they mentioned Manny. He sent 'em to warn me off.'

Hutch's eyebrows V'd. 'Warn you off huh?' He took a hold of Starsky's wrist and pressed gently on the swollen part of it.

'Hey….. that hurts!'

'Shame it wasn't your head' the flaxen haired cop grunted, waggling the blue and purple fingers to check for breakages.

'Well thanks!'

'I mean it Starsk. What the hell do you think you're playin' at? She's married. She's a witness and you're playin' fast and loose with your career buddy.'

'She was hurt and she had nowhere to go' the brunet said defensively.

'So, you take her to the refuge.'

'NO! No. Hutch I….You don't understand. It aint as simple as you make out. I love her. I never meant for it to happen but it did. I can't let her go.'

'Fuck Starsk! You love her? What kind of love buddy? I mean……you loved the guinea pig! You love your Torino. It's in your nature to love anythin' and everythin'. It doesn't mean you have to take in every waif and stray in the city. Consider, for fucks sake. Think about this. You don't love her….'

'You have no idea what I love! I'm tellin' you that this time it's for real. She means as much to me as….as Terri. More'n Rosey ever did. She's special an' we love each other. There aint no rhyme or reason to it, it just happened.'

Hutch got up and started to pace the bedroom. 'You're feverish. You have no fuckin' idea what you're sayin' buddy. She is a married woman, I can't make it clearer than that. She. Aint. Free. And Manny has every right to try an' get her back.'

'She's a human bein', not some possession' Starsky shouted back, his face red now with anger as well as temperature. 'You know how he treated her? You know how they met? He bribed her. When she couldn't pay her parent's back rent, he said the debt would be off if she married him. What was she meant to do huh? She was 18 years old. He's 55. What kinda life is that for a girl?'

'So you think you can do better? Good old Dave Starsky rides along on his white charger and sweeps the damsel in distress up into his arms. This aint a fairytale Starsk, and you aint a knight in shining armour. You're a cop and….'

'Course I'm a cop. I know that!'

Hutch rounded on his partner. 'Well start actin' like one' he yelled, his own usually golden face now also red and angry.

'Back of Hutch. Back off and shut up. You've had your say. I hear ya. Now either start acting like my friend an' my partner or get out. Why can't you just be happy for us huh?' Starsky looked at the blankets, his voice suddenly quiet. 'Just be happy for us.'

'I wish I could Gordo. I really wish I could. But this aint Sharman. This aint Terri. Terri was free to be your girl, Mel isn't and there's no getting' away from the fact.' Hutch came back to sit on the bed, concerned at the red flush on his partner's cheeks and the fever bright eyes. He sighed. 'All I'm askin' is that you consider this seriously. Just don't rush headlong into something you know you can't control.'

'And you can control love?' Starsky asked softly, his hands reaching up to cradle his aching head.

'No, I guess not. But you're a grown man. You can think seriously about this. You can stop yourself from making one huge mistake' Hutch said gently, the fire in his voice quenched by the lost, hopeless look in his partner's eyes.

'I think it's too late for that. Don't be mad at me Hutch. That's why I didn't tell ya. I knew you'd be like this an' I just wanted some time to….. I dunno……to be with Mel.'

'Oh Starsk! I'm mad at ya coz I care, mushbrain. I've seen you hurt so many times before an' it hurts me as much as it hurts you.'

Starsky smiled sadly. 'You know, Sweet Alice once told me you can't love unless you're prepared to hurt. She told me that we have to allow ourselves to be open to it, otherwise life aint worth livin'.'

'Yeah. She's a wise woman, but I don't think she ever meant for you to get mixed up with someone who wasn't free to love you back.'

'But she does. Melanie loves me as much as I love her. She's in a loveless marriage. She's no more'n a servant. How can you allow her to live like that?'

Hutch threw his hands up. 'Fine. So you love each other, but for Gods sake put a hold on it. Let her get a divorce if she wants one, but don't wreck your life and your career over her. After that, you can do what the hell you want.'

'I want her now. And she wants me.'

'And what happens when Manny sends his goons round again huh? Looks to me like you got off lightly Starsk. Next time….'

'Next time, I'll be careful.'

The blond shook his head. 'Next time, you could be dead.'

'Don't over dramatise' Starsky muttered yawning.

The blond sighed, knowing he'd get no further tonight. Starsky was nothing if not stubborn and if Hutch was to push now, his partner would go rushing headlong into what Hutch thought of as a huge mistake. He held up his hand.

'You tired?'

'Uh huh.'

'Do you need to go get our wrist and ankle checked over?'

'No, I can tell they aren't broken, just bloody sore.'

'Can I get you anything?' Hutch asked, stretching and stifling his own yawn.

'No, I'm good but you look all in.'

'Comes of chasin' after you in the middle of the night buddy. I never get used to it.'

Starsky shifted over in the bed and patted the mattress softly. 'There's room if you wanna lie down.'

The blond cop looked at his watch. It read 4:15. It was really too late to drive back to his own place and get any quality sleep and the warmth of Starsky's bedroom was seductive. With a grin, he kicked his boots off and lay down on top of the blankets on his side.

'Gee, a real gentleman. You took your shoes off first' a sleepy voice behind him muttered.

'Shuddup Starsk. Go to sleep huh? You've got to think up a good excuse for Dobey in a few hours.'

Within 15 minutes, there was quiet in the room interrupted only by the gentle sounds of the two men fast asleep on the bed. Softly, Melanie opened the door, a shaft of muted warm light slicing into the dark from the living room. It highlighted blond bangs and chocolate curls and the woman smiled sadly to herself as she saw her man curled on his side, one arm flung carelessly over Hutch's waist. Both men looked peaceful, almost youthful and with a small sigh, she closed the door behind her and set to with her preparations.

Three hours later, Hutch awoke stiffly and rolled himself into sitting position on the bed. He looked over his shoulder at Starsky who was still sleeping peacefully although in the early morning light, the scratches and cuts across his face showed livid and red.

Stretching, Hutch got off the bed and padded into the living room. He put on the kettle for coffee, rummaged in his partners cupboards for something vaguely edible to eat and was just about to head back into the bedroom when he saw a slip of paper on the table by the door. He took it, and opened the folded sheet, reading it with a sinking heart as he walked into the bedroom. Gently he shook Starsky awake.

'Shit, is it mornin' already?' the brunet mumbled.

'Starsk, there's something you should see' Hutch said softly.

'Huh?' Indigo eyes stared at him blearily.

'It's um…. Starsk it's Mel. She…. Here' the blond muttered, holding out the paper for his buddy to read.

With a hiss, Starsky sat up in bed and took the folded sheet, squinting as he read it.

My dearest Dave.

I can't forgive my husband for what he has done to you.

You were so kind to me, you don't deserve this.

I can't see you hurt again. No relationship is worth that.

I've gone back to Manny. I don't want to, but I can't bear the thought of your hurting.

Don't come for me.

Don't try to stop me.

I love you more than I can possibly say

Your Mel.