Morning Will Come

by RockerH

Following an accident, Starsky finds help from an usual source.

Author: RockerH

Fandom: Starsky and Hutch

Title: Morning Will Come

Summary: Following an accident, Starsky finds help from an unusual source.

Introduction

The sun was beginning to set on what had been an ideal few days off. Although Dave Starsky and Ken Hutchinson had every intention of getting back early from their long weekend in the San Bernardino Mountains, the lure of the outdoors proved too much to overcome. Starsky, a city boy through and through, had finally given Mother Nature a fair chance and found, to his amazement, that fly fishing was an outdoor activity he could really get behind. The idea of standing in a sparkling, clear stream, surrounded by deep forests and bright blue skies, appealed to the better nature of his soul.

No one was more surprised at Starsky's fishy epiphany than his professional partner and inseparable friend, Hutch. Although Starsky had accompanied Hutch on many treks into the California wilderness, his heart was never in it. The two hour road trip, from Bay City to their rented cabin in the mountains, was a predictable non stop whine fest. First the sun was too hot, then the wind was too cold. The insects were too noisy, the surroundings were too quiet. Then, changing tack, Starsky reached into his duffel bag and pulled out the latest National Enquirer. He persisted in regaling Hutch with the latest BigFoot sightings across the United States and, particularly, California. This barrage went on until Hutch pulled over and threatened to boot his best friend out of the car. "Look," Hutch pleaded, "You promised me a gripe free weekend. Spare me until after our fly fishing lesson tomorrow. If you give it half a chance, who knows? You could like it. If you don't, we can leave."

Being a man of his word, Starsky tried it, and he loved it! A Big Foot, itself, could have plopped down on a rock next to him, and Starsky would not have even noticed.

Hutch was elated that the weekend had been salvaged and they had stumbled upon an outdoor activity they could both enjoy. But now, it was time to head back to Bay City.

Chapter 1

"Come on Starsk... get your stuff packed up please. I want to get off the mountain before it gets dark. We gotta long drive ahead of us."

"I'm comin...I'm comin...I'm comin," Starsky pouted. "Don't know what your problem is, there is plenty of light left." He continued to stow his newly purchased fishing gear and duffle bag in the trunk of Hutch's beat up Ford Galaxie. "You sure we don't have a few more minutes to spare? I saw some tracks down by the creek that could be ..."

Hutch's patience was wearing thin at his partner's dawdling. Why did he always have to be the parental voice of reason in these situations? "No! No tracking the Sasquatch today. Yes! It will be dark soon. Just come on!"

Starsky put on a hurt expression, "Anyone ever tell you, you're just mean?." He slammed the trunk shut, scuffed his shoes in the dirt and headed for the passenger's door. Once inside, he opened the glove compartment, and pulled out a well creased California Highway map. "You know where you're goin'?"

"For the most part," Hutch replied. "Keep the map handy just in case, though. We are just barely going to make it off the mountain before dusk." Hutch slid into the seat and turned the key. "C'mon baby," he cooed. "Just get us home and I'll tune you up tomorrow." After a few sputters, the engine roared to life. "BINGO," Hutch shouted triumphantly.

"A tune up?" Starsky laughed. "This thing needs a complete rebuild!" He reached to roll the window down and the handle came off in his hand. "Exhibit A."

"Don't you start casting aspersions against this car! Whose car is in the shop, as we speak?" Hutch fired back, waving his pointer finger menacingly in Starsky's face.

"I'm not casting aspirins." Starsky grumbled under his breath. "Mine is in the shop because I had to jump the curb or hit the dog! Not my fault… You were there, you saw it!" Signaling an end to that line of discussion, he reached behind the seat to rummage for the Enquirer and a bag of chips he had stashed away earlier. Securing both, he began to scan the tabloid, as Hutch grinned and settled in for the long drive. Never one for enjoying the sounds of silence on a road trip, Starsky referenced his newspaper. "Did you know there is a secret government agency that keeps track of the comings and goings of space aliens? Says here, hundreds of alien encounters are made every day. Hundreds! You believe that? Says some aliens disguise themselves to look like us, just like that old film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers!" He peered intently at his blonde partner, in case he had, somehow, missed a tell tale clue.

Hutch leveled a swat at the back of Starsky's head and continued without missing a beat, "Well, that would account for Huggy."

"Hmm, it would, wouldn't it? I always wondered." Starsky answered in all seriousness. He continued to peruse the paper with delighted giggles breaking loose every so often.

Hutch would never admit it, but it did him good to see Starsky relax and enjoy himself. They had been involved in several high profile cases lately and it was beginning to take a particular toll on David. "Starsk? We really should do this more often. I mean now that you decided spending time in the great outdoors isn't some form of torture. Just take a look out your window, you can see for days from up here. Really puts our petty little problems into perspective."

Starsky grunted a noncommittal,"Mmhm," and continued to read until the twilight had reluctantly given way to dusk.

"See, you didn't believe me, but it does get dark up here quickly!" Hutch said in his best 'told you so' voice. "I was really hoping to be on the highway by now."

Starsky looked up from his paper and seemed genuinely surprised that it had turned so dark. "It can't be that much farther. I'll check the ma..."

A sound like a gunshot grabbed their attention as the car suddenly veered to the right. Hutch pumped the brakes and tried with every ounce of his strength to keep the car on the road, to no avail. The front passenger side tire had blown and the car was forced off the road and down a rocky embankment. Three violent rolls later the car's momentum was halted as it slammed into a boulder.

Minutes later, and thirty five feet up on the mountain road, two cars screeched to a stop to see what had happened. The terrifying site of an overturned car, with its tires spinning idly, had the onlookers mesmerized. As the trio began to absorb the reality of the situation, they snapped back to attention. A couple, in their late twenties, had been the first to witness the accident. They stood on the shoulder looking down in disbelief, and holding on to each other for support.

An older woman, with an air of confidence and authority about her, arrived second. "Liz Harrington," she said by way of an introduction. "What in the world happened? They swerve to miss an animal? Were they speeding?"

The younger woman looked up and tried to collect her thoughts, "Umm, I'm Cary. N-No, I don't think the car was going that fast. Didn't see any animals either. I don't know what happened."

Her boyfriend, Ricky, spoke up, "Just before it went off the road, I heard what sounded like a gun shot. I bet the car blew a tire. That's what it sounded like. Oh yeah, look over there," he pointed. Just off to the side of the road, like a layer of peeled onion, was the shredded remnants of a black rubber tire.

Rounding on some freshly arrived gawkers, Liz invited them, in no uncertain terms, to get back in their cars and move the party down to the small ski town at the base of the mountain. "Somebody find the sheriff and tell him to get back up here with an ambulance and the rescue chopper, if it's available. Tell him Liz, sent you. Now get!" Returning to the couple, she continued, "We have to find the driver. Do you all have a first aid kit in your car? Get it, and let's go."

The three scrambled down the embankment, which was steep and dotted with scrub and rocks. Just beyond the incline, the terrain flattened out to a dense Ponderosa pine forest about thirty five feet below. Cary and Ricky scanned the area, then peered inside the overturned car. Ricky shook his head in dismay, "What a mess! The driver must have been thrown from the car when it rolled. I don't see anyone inside. Liz, you find anything? The shadows are so dark down here, I keep tripping over everything and can't see anything! There sure must have been a lot of junk in the car though, stuff is scattered everywhere."

Liz continued her way through the scrub. "Nah. Nothing yet. Keep looking, the driver has to be here somewhere. I can't believe how dark it is already!"

Ricky continued to search through the car for any clues to the passenger's identification. He discovered Hutch's badge and ID secured with a rubber band to the sun visor. "Hey, looks like the driver may be a cop from over in Bay City." With the help of his flashlight, he read, "Detective Sergeant First Class, Kenneth Hutchinson."

"Here he is!" yelled Liz. "Get over here with that first aid kit. He's in rough shape."

Hutch had been thrown clear of the car before it hit the boulder. While luck would have him landing on a forest floor thick with pine needles, the worst of his injuries were sustained while being pin balled around the inside of the rolling car. He was out cold with a deep gash on his scalp, scrapes and contusions blanketed his arms and face.

"I-i-is he dead?" Cary stammered. "Ricky, bring that light over here."

Using the concentrated beam from Ricky's flashlight, Liz managed to do a basic check of Ken's injuries. "No, he's not dead. But whenever he wakes up, he's gonna wish he was. He has to have a helluva concussion, at least. There's a knot the size of an eagle's egg on the back of his head. And that is not the way a leg should bend. Ricky, make yourself useful and get back up to the road. Switch on your car lights to signal the ambulance and sheriff. Go!" Liz directed. "Cary, you stay here with Officer Hutchinson. I am going to do a 'look see' in case there are other passengers."

A hike around the wreckage site convinced Liz that Ken was alone in the car at the time of the accident. "I hope to goodness the chopper is on its way. That embankment looks a whole lot steeper from this angle. Not sure they could get him out by stretcher. Especially not knowing the extent of his injuries," she called out to Cary.

"Liz, that you down there?" The gravelly voice of the town sheriff, Liam Winters, called down from the road into the darkness. "A whole bunch of people said you shooed them off the mountain to find me. Whatcha got?"

"What I got, Liam, is a badly injured Bay City Detective. Seems his tire blew and he ended up down here. Is the chopper coming? That's the only way I see us getting him out, without doing more harm than good."

"Yeah, it's coming. Best investment the town council ever made. The ambulance medics are here and making their way down now, they can check him out. I suspect you are right, though. Could be a spinal injury. Can't risk bouncing him all the way up here."

While waiting for the chopper, the medics cleaned the open wounds and splinted Hutch's broken leg. They placed a brace on his neck, secured him to a spinal board, and looked up anxiously awaiting the helicopter. They were relieved to see it being deliberately maneuvered into place and the winch cable lowered to tether it to the stretcher. Then slowly, and with an abundance of caution, the medics were able to guide the suspended litter back up to the mountain road. Up top, it was only a matter of minutes before the unconscious detective was loaded into the awaiting ambulance and on his way to the ER.

Once they made their way back up to the road, Sheriff Winters warmly shook the rescuers' hands. "I want to thank you folks for all your help. The medics say he has a good chance at recovery, thanks to your efforts. Liz, how do you know he is with the Bay City Police Department?"

"Ricky, found his shield and ID. 'Detective Sergeant First Class, Kenneth Hutchinson, Precinct 9'. Guess he'll have people worried about him," Liz speculated.

Ricky handed over the ID wallet to the sheriff, "You know anybody at BCPD?"

"I used to, somebody I went through the academy with…" snapping his fingers to try to come up with the name, "Dobey…Harold Dobey! I'll give the Precinct a call tomorrow and see if the name Hutchinson rings any bells. We'll get somebody to clean this up in the next day or so as well, but in the meantime, you all might as well get on down the road. Cary, Ricky, we can put you up at a hotel for the night if it's too late to get where you were headed.'

"That would be truly appreciated," Ricky smiled. "I'm not ashamed to say, that really shook me up."

"You and me both," Cary agreed.

" I never have gotten used to an accident scene either, I hope I never do. So, just follow me down, and I'll get you set. Liz, you take care. I'm sure I'll see you around."

With that, the three cars drove off, never suspecting they had left another Bay City detective to survive the night on the mountain side.

Chapter 2

The cacophonous whirring of the helicopter gnawed away Starsky's unconscious state. Forcing his eyes open to the slightest of slits, he was able to recognize the familiar red glow of a police car's cherry light. The strobing glare was bouncing off the boulders and trees that surrounded him. Bit by bit he became cognizant of people near him shouting sharp staccato-like directions and the helicopter hovering overhead. Wanting to be noticed, but not fully understanding his situation he called out weakly, "Hey! Over here!" The noise of the helicopter made it impossible for him to be heard. "Come baaack." he trailed off miserably.

Within a matter of minutes, the frantic wail of a siren cut through the night air, the helicopter moved off, and all was silent. Starsky was abandoned, injured and alone.

Years of police training had readied Starsky for just about any situation. Panic was not an option and he fought hard to keep mastery over it, even as his dire situation began to make itself known. Taking a deep breath, to clear his brain, David reasoned with himself, "Ok. Don't freak. Start with what you know… first, you are alive. Second, you are lying face down in some grass. Where? I have no idea… where the hell am I?" Raising his head to look around, set off a firestorm of pain. "Oh god… that's not good," he swallowed hard and lay his head back down in the scratchy, dry grass. "I can't see anything. It's so damn dark!" At the mention of the word "dark," a few pieces of Starsky's world slid back into alignment.

He recalled being in a car, driving down a mountain road. Hutch was complaining about it getting dark… He remembered a sound like an explosion… the first terrifying roll of the car as it plummeted off the side of the road… screeching metal as the car careened over the rocks… then nothing. "HUUUUTCH! Where are ya!" The words were out of his mouth before he could steady his head against the pain that would surely follow. It couldn't be helped. "HUUUUTCH! Answer me." A few more pieces of David's world slid into place. The lights, the chopper, the people… Hutch had been rescued and he had not."

Starsky continued to talk himself through his predicament, "They didn't know you were here. Don't panic, Hutch will tell them. Until then, you can take care of yourself… if Hutch can send them back… STOP THAT! You will not go down that rabbit hole. Hutch is ok and he will send help." With that knowledge resolutely fixed in his heart, Starsky began to methodically assess his injuries: "Head…screaming! Nausea… dizzy...hard time making my eyes focus. Concussion, no doubt about it. Sticky mess running down in my eye…blood from a cut most likely… Oh crap! More blood… running across my cheek to my ear…a broken nose? Neck…nothing horrific happened when I lifted my head, so ok. Arms…so far so good. Damn, spoke too soon…Shoulder… dislocated…again. Back…hurts like hell but seemingly intact. Legs… movable…nothing broken… Ankles… Not so lucky. Left one, painful and swollen. Interesting, missing the right shoe! All in all it could be worse."

With his oft practiced checklist completed, Starsky proceeded to tentatively roll over onto his back. His world began to spin and the earth beneath him began to pitch like a ship caught in rough seas. And, like a sailor on that ship, Starsky grabbed for something to hold on to. He grasped desperately at the scrub surrounding him, to anchor him to the earth, until it stopped spinning.

Starsky now found himself staring at a sky filled with more stars than he could have ever imagined. It registered in his brain as something to appreciate, and strangely brought to mind something his mother told him when he was little. 'David, stars are windows in heaven, where the angels peep through, and keep their eyes on kids like you.' That notion was creepy as a child, now however, he could think of quite a few angels he wouldn't mind looking out for him.

While contemplating his next move, Starsk looked up to see a light the size of a ping pong ball circle above him. He was intrigued by its slow and purposeful path. While the light stayed near him, the air was noticeably warmer. "I'd have thought it was too late in the year for fireflies. It's definitely too cold." The circling light faded and the temperature turned colder. "That's really weird," Starsky mused.

Having resolved to move himself to a less vulnerable location, Starsky half crawled, half hobbled, his way to just inside the tree line. The trip was slow, as every forward motion was followed by a few minutes of recuperation. The eerie light reappeared and hovered over a pile of fallen timber that could provide a modicum of shelter to the injured detective. Starsky followed the light, but couldn't name a plausible reason why. "It's your concussion talking, David. That's all. Just a symptom… or that same lonely firefly."

The move left David exhausted. Every injury seemed to fight for supremacy over the other. He rested uncomfortably, with his back against a decayed tree stump, and promised himself to remain awake and to wait out the night. He failed. His injuries had taken a toll on his body and he soon fell into an exhausted sleep.

It could have been a few minutes or a couple hours, but a sensation of a warm breath on his cheek brought him around to consciousness. He swatted at his face with his injured arm, and the pain caused his eyes to fly open. The tiny ball of light had returned, circling him again and fading, circling and fading. Still feeling groggy, Starsky concluded it was part of a dream.

The very real sound of a snapping twig riveted his attention to the woods behind him. Instinctively, he grabbed for a fallen limb to defend himself. If BigFoot was coming for him, Starsky vowed not to go down without a fight. When a few minutes passed with no attack or… anything, David let out his breath and smiled a lopsided grin, "Holy crap! I'll take an all night stake out on the worst block in town over this any day." It was then he noticed a white mist forming at the edge of the forest. "OH shit," he whispered, his throat suddenly gone dry. Closing his eyes, he tried to reset his brain. "You've been in an accident. You have a concussion. Your eyes are messing with your head and the other way around," he once again reasoned with himself. But he could feel the panic start to slip his control.

The white, transparent mist floated effortlessly from the forest towards his makeshift fortress. David's mouth fell open, as he stared transfixed. He was vaguely aware of a gradual change in temperature. The air that had once been a bone chilling cold, became warmer as the mist approached. "What the …? What is happening?" The mist came closer and encompassed the whole perimeter of where Starsky had taken shelter. Everything Starsky had ever learned about managing fear and defeating panic abandoned him. He couldn't breathe and couldn't move. Yet he couldn't take his eyes off the hovering mist.

Chapter 3

At the hospital, Hutch fought to overcome the sedative the doctors had given him. He groggily took note of the cast on his leg, the bandage in his forehead, and the bruises on his arms. He was clear on where he was, but not so clear as to how he got there. Hutch rang for a nurse. "What happened?" he demanded. "What time is it?"

The nurse was glad to oblige him with an answer, " It's about 2AM, Officer Hutchinson. That's your name, right? You were brought into the emergency room almost seven hours ago. Sheriff Winters said your car blew a tire and went down an embankment on the mountain road. Your rescue was quite the operation."

"My rescue? Don't you mean our rescue? What about Officer Starsky? What are his injuries? I need to see him."

The nurse looked puzzled. "Ummm, Let me get your doctor. He can fill you in."

Hutch looked horrified. "What about my partner? We came in together, right? He was in the car too." Hutch's anxiety was clearly ratcheting up.

"I'll be right back with your Doctor. He can all answer your questions," she flashed an unconvincing smile and vanished down the hallway.

The time the doctor took in returning to Hutch's room seemed like an eternity. Ken was frantic.

Finally, sweeping into the hospital room, he addressed Hutch, "Now Officer Hutchinson, the nurse says you have some questions," he said in a calm and measured voice. "Maybe I can help, but keep in mind, your body has suffered extreme trauma. Things may not be as they seem to you."

Fighting to remain calm, Hutch said, "I have only one question. Where is my partner?"

"Your partner? I don't know what you mean."

"My partner, David Starsky. We were in the car together. Where is he?"

"You were brought in alone, Kenneth. There was no one else at the accident site, according to the witnesses. Just you."

A sense of dread enveloped Hutch and he began to grasp at any explanation he could come up with,"Then he was taken to another hospital?"

"No, we are a small town, there is no other hospital."

"Then where the hell is he!" Hutch thundered. His head began to pound, and he felt nauseous, but he didn't care. "Tell me where my partner is!"

"Mr. Hutchinson," the doctor placated, "You must remain calm. I assure you that no one else came in with you. There was no one else there. Your mind is just overtired. It has had a lot to process in the last few hours. Take this, " he produced a small cup and a pill, "You will feel better after some rest. In the meantime, I will check with the sheriff and have him come by in the morning."

Chapter 4

The mist continued to surround Starsky, but gradually his fear began to fade. He felt as though he was inside a bubble… a warm, quiet, protective bubble. And he began to relax. Starsky again found himself drifting out of consciousness, but this time he dreamed of Terry. They were walking along their favorite stretch of beach at sunset. All of David's senses were alive. The sun radiated its warmth through rays that blanketed the sand. The sky was an artist's palette of oranges, yellows, and violets. A gentle sound of waves washing up on the sand was the only music they needed. He and Terry were together, they were completely devoted to each other and nothing else mattered. He stooped to collect a perfect shell to commemorate their walk, but Terry continued walking down the beach. She was getting farther and farther away. He started to run; to warn her away from the fog that was beginning to roll in; to catch her.

"Terry! No! Stop!" And just as he caught up, she disappeared into the mist. " No! I can't… Terry, where are you?! Wait for me!" He cried helplessly. This time he woke himself up. With tears streaming down his face, he looked around only to rediscover the desolate forest, the wrecked car and the fact that he was alone, and injured . "Terry! Don't leave me again," he begged. "Come back! I'm here!" David felt as if there were iron fingers digging into throat. His grief and despair threatened to overwhelm him.

Then, the mist that had settled around his refuge started to dissipate, and the air turned colder. The orb he had noticed throughout the night reappeared and circled David three times before pulling out of his orbit. Starsky watched in utter disbelief as the orb, too, began to dissolve into a mist. A faint, familiar fragrance...Terry's perfume... wafted over the disbelieving Starsky. Then, ever so slowly the mist took the vague shape of a woman. "Oh God," David choked. The tears continued to pool in his eyes. "Please let me know this is you Terry. It has to be you. It has to be. You promised that you'd be with me if I was ever scared or if some dark night I found myself all alone, You promised you would be with me."

It could have been the song of the wind in the pines, or the very real imaginings of a desperate man, but the familiar words, "promises, promises" seemed to reverberate through the forest. "I love you Terry." Starsky smiled as the first pinkish orange light of day began to show behind the mountain. "You saved me, my love."

Chapter 5

Hutch woke abruptly from his meds induced sleep. He hated the reactions he had from medications. They always led to bizarre and frightening night terrors. What had this one been about? It must have been something to wake him up with such a start. Then he remembered…"Terry!" Reaching for the nurse's call button, Ken buzzed it frantically. "Come on...Come on." he begged.

An orderly came running. "Mr. Hutchinson! What is this all about? You need your rest. It's the crack of dawn!"

"I need you to get the sheriff on the phone NOW," he waved his pointer finger menacingly in the stunned orderly's face. "Then contact Captain Dobey of the Bay City Police, his home number is 555-6672. Its an emergency. My partner's life is at stake!"

"You just had a bad dream, Mr. Hutchinson…"

"You are damn straight I did! Quit treating me like a three year old and do what I ask, or so help me God, I will get up and do it myself. My partner was left out on the mountain last night. He could be dead for all I know. Call the damn sheriff!"

"O-O-OK! Just calm down please, you'll wake the whole floor." The young man could not quit Hutch's room quick enough. As he spun around to leave, he ran headlong into Sheriff Winters. "Oh thank God! Mr. Hutchinson keeps ranting about a partner left on the mountain. I have no idea what he is talking about, but he wanted you."

"DETECTIVE Hutchinson is right… "

"You mean an accident victim was left behind during the rescue last night?" the young man asked incredulously.

"Just get out of my way, and let me talk to him." The sheriff cautiously entered Hutch's room, "Officer Hutchinson? I'm the sheriff. I heard you wanted to speak with me. But first, I just got off the phone with your Captain Dobey. He told me that you and Officer Starky were together. I can't excuse our negligence last night. I am getting a crew together now to head back out to the accident site."

"Starsky. His name is Detective David Starsky. I am going with you," Hutch said flatly.

"What? You are in no shape to leave this hospital. We only hauled you out a few hours ago," Sheriff Winters argued.

"And I appreciate that. I do. But I AM going. Throw me my clothes and get me some crutches. I need to be there when you find him. He needs for me to be there."

"I don't like it , but we don't have time to argue. Dobey told me you and Starsky have a pretty rare partnership. I know good partners are hard to come by."

"And great ones like Starsky are damn near impossible. Now get me some crutches."

In the time it took for the sheriff and Hutch to shout down the doctor's protests, and procure a pair of crutches, they were out the door. Sheriff Winters had a crew of five rescue volunteers, an ambulance and the helicopter ready and waiting for their orders. Grabbing the car radio Hutch explained to the waiting team, " Last night, my partner was left out on the mountain. I don't care why. I don't care how. All I care about is finding him. You all know the importance of a good partnership. Well Starsky and I are way beyond that. He is closer than my brother. We need to find him." Ken's voice began to crack, "Please, find him."

The rescue caravan wound back up the mountain road to the site of the accident. Hutch blanched when he saw his beloved car laying crushed and crumpled at the bottom of the incline. Trash from the back seat of his car lay strewn around the clearing. The torn pages of Starsky's cursed Enquirer swirled around like leaves in the wind. Then, the thought hit home; there was a very real chance that Starsky didn't survive. Hutch placed his hand at the base of his throat as if to displace the lump that was forming. "No!" He told himself. "I would feel it if he were dead. I would know."

Propped up painfully on the crutches, Hutch stared down at the wreckage. Although his eyesight was sharp, he couldn't spot the red Grand Funk t-shirt Starsky had been wearing yesterday. He winced when he thought about the hard time he had given his friend about wearing it. They disagreed about so many ridiculous little things, but that was part of what kept their relationship from flat-lining. "Well, Hutchinson, that was a poor choice of words," he remonstrated. "Hang in there, Starsk. I'm here."

Hutch continued to scan the area when he caught a flash of something out of the corner of his eye. Blinking to clear the invisible dust that was making his eyes tear up, he did a double take. What had he just seen? Just beyond the tree line he could have sworn he saw a person. Rubbing his eyes, he looked again. She was still there, but he couldn't quite bring her into full focus. It was like she was fading in and out… Then he spotted the red shirt. Waving his crutch up in the air, he began to shout, "Over there! He's over there! To your right, just inside the tree line, see them! Leave it to Starsky to find a woman in the middle of a forest! That woman found him! Find out who she is."

The confused rescue workers picked their way to where Hutch was pointing. They found a banged up and bruised Starsky unconscious against a tree stump. Given the night he had just passed, he looked surprisingly well. Signs of dehydration and exhaustion, probably concussed, but amazingly enough, none of the hypothermia symptoms they feared.

Once again the whir of the rescue chopper sliced into David's unconscious state, and he opened his eyes. "It's about time," he grinned weakly, and fell right back to sleep.

In a repeat of the previous night's rescue, David was bundled securely onto the stretcher and hoisted up to the road.

Hutch shoved the attending medics out of the way to get to his partner. "Starsk? How ya doin' buddy. It's gonna be ok." He grabbed his partner's hand and refused to relinquish his spot in the ambulance. Questioning the returning team of rescuers, he asked, "What happened to the young woman that was with Starsky? Where did she go?"

The crew looked at each other in confusion. " What are you talking about?"

Hutch clarified, "The young woman that was down there with Detective Starsky. That's how I spotted him. She was standing right there with him." To make himself clear, Hutch attempted to hobble out of the ambulance and point towards the treeline.

"Detective Hutchinson, you and your partner have been through hell in the last twenty four hours. You are mentally and physically exhausted. There wasn't anybody with him. Your partner was alone. Please sit back down and let the medics do their job, " the sheriff instructed him.

Hutch didn't know what to believe. The weird dream?...The mysterious woman, that wasn't? The sheriff was probably right. Starsky had survived the night and none of his injuries seemed to be life threatening. "Don't overthink it and just be grateful," he chided himself.

Hutch was exhausted and his injuries were beginning to override the adrenaline rush that had taken him through the morning. "I'll just close my eyes for a minute."

Chapter 6

Two hours later Hutch awoke to find himself back in a hospital bed. Looking around in panic, he was relieved to find Starsky in the other bed, staring at him with that guileless look that always made him laugh. "Hey," the blonde detective said sleepily.

"Hey yourself," Starsky answered. "You ok? You look awful."

"Good to see you too. I'm sorry, pal. I didn't know we both weren't picked up until hours later. You know what painkillers do to me, and the medics loaded me up good."

" 's OK." Then, Starsky's face went soft. Hutch could tell David was struggling to form his thoughts into words.

"Hey Starsk? What's wrong? Talk to me."

"Nothin' I'm ok. That was weird wasn't it."

Hutch looked suspiciously at his partner, "What's weird?"

Starsky's blueberry colored eyes locked with Hutch's sky blue eyes, and for a minute they were inside each other's head. With an almost reverent tone Starsky whispered, "You saw her too didn't you? She was with me all night just like she promised."

Hutch broke the spell, " Who?"

"You know, you saw her."

"I don't know what I saw. Probably a reflection or something ." Hutch muttered unconvincingly.

"Hutch, look at me. You saw Terry too. I know you did, I see it in your eyes."

Hutch had the look of a man caught between two opposing worlds. His brain told him what he saw wasn't possible, but his heart echoed Starsky's words, 'You saw her too.' "But that's not possible… is it?" He questioned.

"It may not be possible, but it happened. I was in bad shape, I was going into shock. Parts of me were scared that I didn't even know existed. Then, I wasn't. There was this beautiful sense of calm that surrounded me, and Terry was there. I know it's weird. The medics said they don't know why I wasn't suffering from hypothermia. I do. It was Terry. She saved me Hutch, and I will go to my grave believing that." Never one for openly sharing his innermost feelings, he turned away embarrassed.

"Buddy, I do believe you," Hutch said softly. "I saw Terry in a dream this morning. I thought it was just the drugs doing a number on me, but now I know it wasn't. At the accident site? I saw her again. She was standing over you. Terry made sure I found you."

Starsky nodded and smiled. "You did promise her you wouldn't let me change. Becoming BigFoot fodder would be a pretty big change," Starsky grinned.

"Can't say it wouldn't be for the better, though," Hutch joked back..

Again their eyes locked. Starsky smiled and nodded at his partner. "Better keep this between Me and Thee, ya know."

"No kidding. I promise." Hutch held up his fingers in a Boy Scout salute.

At that moment the shades at the window fluttered, and a cross between a whisper and breeze filled the hospital room, "Promises, promises…"

THE EN