Part 6

Huggy had wanted to visit Hutch's place straight away after putting the phone down on Starsky a few hours earlier – so concerned had he been by his request – but things had needed sorting at the restaurant and as the proprietor it had been impossible for him to get away before nine. It was getting on for close to ten o' clock when he finally reached Hutch's apartment.

As he knocked on the door he could hear a vague commotion from within. Hutch's car was pulled up in the street outside so he knew that he was home, but as the seconds turned to minutes – whilst he continued to wrap on the door, calling his friend's name – he began to believe that Hutch was avoiding him intentionally. Eventually however he heard the lock catch from inside and the door was drawn open.

Hutch stood in the doorway, looking surprisingly at ease with the unexpected intrusion considering the urgency of Starsky's request – perhaps a little tired.

"Huggy." He smiled wearily, glancing back briefly in the direction of the clock on the wall behind him. A concerned frown furrowed his brow. "Is something wrong?" He asked him.

"Well I hope not, Huggy doesn't do trouble." Huggy responded cheerfully, aiming a cursory glance in Hutch's direction before continuing, "This is strictly a social visit… at Starsky's request I'm afraid."

Hutch immediately paled. "Is he alright?" He asked him, with an alarmed edge to his tone.

"Fine." Huggy nodded. "Well on the road to recovery from what I can tell." He smiled, doing his best to reassure his friend.

"I was meant to visit him this afternoon." Hutch muttered under his breath. He was clearly distracted in mind and his tone was heavy and saturated with guilt. Huggy began to see through the veil of forced normality he'd been trying to put on when he'd answered the door. In truth he could see that Hutch was far from alright. "I told him I would visit." Hutch sighed.

"I'm sure Starsky won't hold it against you." Huggy said. "You know that's not the way you two role."

He wasn't sure whether his friend had heard him at first but Huggy's words must have somehow penetrated through the murk, muddying Hutch's thoughts. He looked back at him.

"No, I know." He finally responded. "Well, I suppose you had better come in."

He stood aside to allow Huggy entrance to his apartment before closing the door behind him. He made his way over to the small kitchen, striking a match to the stove and putting the kettle on without even bothering to first ask his friend whether he wanted a drink or not.

"Actually," Huggy ventured to speak at last, when an awkward silence threatened to rear it's unwelcome head. "Starsky seemed rather more concerned about you."

"So, has he got you checking up on me now?" Hutch suddenly turned on him and snapped. "Because I don't need a babysitter!"

"Alright, chill man!" Huggy raised his hands to show Hutch that he presented no threat, in an attempt to calm the situation. He was somewhat stunned and taken aback by the man's uncharacteristic outburst. "We're just concerned about you that's all. Starsky's shooting affected us all in a big way…"

"And I'm dealing with it." Hutch growled, softening his tone when he noticed the look on Huggy's face. He hadn't meant to take his frustrations out on him. "I'm sorry." He whispered apologetically, turning away.

"Hey, it's alright." Huggy smiled, although sensing that he still needed to tread carefully – Hutch had been doing a very good job of hiding it from them all but he was clearly finding things far harder to come to terms with than had initially seemed, and Starsky had been right to be concerned. The man was hurting, and Huggy didn't want to do anything to add to his pain.

At that moment the kettle let out a shrill whistle as it reached boiling point – not a bad analogy for life Huggy mused. Hutch turned to glance at it before appearing to write off the idea of coffee and making his way over to the fridge. "I think I need something stronger." He muttered.

As the piercing whistle of the kettle became almost intolerable Huggy moved over to switch off the gas as Hutch took two brown glass bottles from the refrigerator. He offered up one of the chilled bottles of beer to Huggy. They both took a seat on the couch.

"I'm sorry." Hutch said again as he took his first swig from the bottle in his hand, feeling the refreshing chill of the mild tasting alcohol as it slipped down his throat. He took a few more calming sips from the dew tinted nozzle at his lips before eagerly draining the rest of the bottles contents and making his way back over to the fridge to open another one. "Starsky's shooting is still very fresh in all of our minds, I know that." He explained. "But the sooner we can all put it behind us and get on with our lives the better. Starsky and I still have to get back out onto the streets amongst all kinds of people who wouldn't think twice about putting a bullet into just another cop who happened to get in their way… we still have a job to do once all this is over."

"I understand." Huggy nodded sympathetically. "But do you really think Starsky's shooting is going to be that easy to move on from?" He asked him. As the words left his lips he wasn't entirely sure that this had been the right thing to say, but he was relieved when Hutch didn't immediately snap at him again.

"I've told you I'm fine." Hutch sighed, starring down sadly into the well of his beer bottle. Huggy wasn't at all convinced by this. The lacklustre way he spoke and his emotional outburst had been all the confirmation he had needed that Hutch was not alright. Even so he felt the need to try and do something to lift his spirits.

"In that case if you think we're going to stand by and let you mope around, shut up in here on your own then I'm afraid you're very much mistaken my fried." He declared. "So, how about we change the subject?"

Hutch looked as though he may have been about to decline the offer for a moment, and Huggy suspected that given a choice he would probably prefer to be left alone, but he didn't think alone was what Hutch really needed. Huggy didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone tonight, and if Hutch would let him he resolved himself to staying the night. To his relief, nodding his head reluctantly, Hutch finally agreed.

"That's more like the Hutch I know." Huggy smiled, giving his friend a gentle clap on the back as he got to his feet. "So then, where are the rest of those beers?" He asked him.