The old Ford wheezed to a halt in front of a trim little two story house
nestled amid a stand of pines. The late summer air was cool and moist this
high in the mountains, refreshing after the blistering furnace Los Angeles
became this time of year.
Hutch heaved a sigh of relief. It had been a grueling drive up here - nearly two days cooped up with a convalescent who'd spent his time either bitching about having to leave his own car behind, thanking God Hutch had "seen the light" and sold Belle, his little sports car, or dozing uncomfortably against the armrest. Hutch took a moment to enjoy the silence of the area, the peace which permeated the pleasant woods.
Home. The word didn't seem to fit somehow. Home was the city, concrete instead of wood, the smell of burning fossil fuels rather than the gentle fragrances of moss and flowers. Pleasant but... home? Maybe not yet, but it would be. Would have to be. Second chances came once in a lifetime if at all, and this was theirs.
Hutch savored the serenity of the area another moment before turning to look at his partner. Starsky had fallen into an exhausted slumber nearly two hours ago and hadn't so much as stirred since; he was going to have quite a stiff neck when he awoke. Hutch gave a long-suffering sigh and gave his friend a shake. "Come on. Wake up."
"Hmphgh?" One eye opened to glare at him blearily.
"We're here, Starsk."
"Hmmm." Starsky deigned open the other eye and peered around curiously. "This is... ouch!" One hand clasped his neck. "Son of a-- That hurts!" He glared at Hutch as if somehow this was all his fault.
Hutch shrugged sympathetically. "Maybe Kathy has some aspirin or something."
"Nah, I'm okay." Starsky dismissed the subject shortly as he'd been dismissing everything else associated with his health of late. "So this is your cousin's house, huh?" "Yup."
Starsky turned his head - carefully - the better to examine his surroundings. "Looks kind'a... barren, don't it?"
"It looks perfect." Hutch forced his cramped legs from the car and stood tall, stretching his muscles back into some semblance of workable order. "Peaceful... quiet..."
Starsky followed more slowly, finally succeeding in extricating himself from a car seat determined, it seemed, to swallow him whole. "Doesn't seem to be anyone around." "Let's find out." Hutch led the way up onto the porch. Before he'd quite reached it, a whirlwind of arms, legs and hair had streaked through the door and thrown itself into his arms.
"Kenny" Kathy Conner greeted him warmly. She was a trim blonde in her mid- thirties, a pleasant looking woman possessed of a pair of large blue eyes and a winning smile.
"Hi, Kathy!" Hutch returned the hug enthusiastically. Kathy had always been his favorite cousin. When they were growing up, they had been as close as brother and sister until Kathy's family had moved to Oregon in the early '70's, They had kept in touch, however, and Hutch had been present to give the bride away when she'd wed Neil Connor a few years ago.
"Hutch, you look so different!" She pulled back to study him critically. "Your hair - it's so long. And that mustache.. My lord, you went hippie on me, didn't you?!" Hutch had to laugh at the familiar joke. Hippies had always been at the bottom of Kathy 's list of "in" folk.
"Not exactly. Cop's gotta be inconspicuous when he's working plainclothes, Kath."
"Plain is right," she chided. Her attention shifted to take in Starsky, who'd been quietly standing behind Hutch, waiting to be noticed. "You must be Davey." The megawatt smile flashed on again. "Kenny's told me all about you."
"Uh, yeah? Believe me, I' m not half that bad." Starsky smiled a bit shyly, obviously taken aback by the woman's friendly enthusiasm. "Gladtameetcha."
"Come on, coffee's on the stove." Kathy hooked a hand through both men's arm and ushered them into a neat living room done in a comfortable rustic style. "We've just finished redecorating the place; the previous owners were soooo city."
"How long've you lived here, Kathy?" Starsky asked politely.
"Only about a year. We bought this house from some people who couldn't hack the outdoorsie life...." Starsky sent a smug I-told-you-so glare Hutch's way but mercifully allowed the subject to pass. For once. "... so we just snapped it right up. It's got two bedrooms, two bathrooms - perfect for when we decide to have children." She gestured toward a comfortable, overstuffed sofa. "Why don't you two sit down and relax while I get the coffee. Unless you'd prefer something stronger?"
"No, coffee's fine." Hutch settled onto the sofa with a sigh. "I can use a little caffeine about now."
"Poor dear." Kathy was instantly sympathetic. "It must have been a tiring drive for you both. Tell you what, you'll stay here tonight and get some rest. Time enough to get settled in your new house tomorrow. Unh-uh." She waved aside the automatic protest, "I won't take no for an answer. Besides..." she switched abruptly to cajolery, "...we haven't seen each other in years! We've a lot to catch up on."
Neither man was in shape to argue. "Sounds good, Kath. I am bushed," Hutch agreed.
"Good!" She bounced - that was the only word for it -- after the coffee, leaving the two men alone in the sunlit living room.
"How you doing, buddy?" Hutch asked the suspiciously quiet Starsky.
"'M fine- Well," he relented a bit before the skeptical look on Hutches face, "a little tired maybe +" He lowered himself slowly onto the couch.
"Do you still have those pain pills the doctor gave you?"
Exasperation warred with tolerant affection on Starsky's drawn face before the affection won out. "I'm fine, Hutch. Really. Besides, they're packed away somewhere."
"Ill find them later," Hutch promised. He touched the other uncertainly on the arm. "Starsk, tell me what you think."
"About?"
Hutch gestured expansively. "This. The town, the job - the new life."
The dark-haired man leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "We've talked this all out before we... before you quit the department, dummy."
"Yeah. Guess I just needed to hear it again."
Starsky turned to face his friend directly. "There wasn't anything left there for me, Hutch. No job, nothing. And with Ma living with Nicky now.... " He ran a hand through his dark curls. "There's nothing for me in New York, either. You're all I got, Hutch. I'd've moved to the South Pole if I'd had to."
A surge of warmth filled the blond man at such openly expressed unguardedness. There was no one else in the world that Starsky could let his barriers down with like this and no one else Hutch trusted with his own unshielded spirit. "Me, too, buddy. It's going to take some getting used to, though. "
Starsky laughed shortly. "That's for sher." He gawked openly at a deer head mounted majestically over the fireplace and shuddered. "A lot of getting used to. Hey, Hutch, we're not gonna have dead animals on the wall, too, are we?"
"God, I hope not I"
"That 'dead animal' took my husband three days to track." Kathy entered carrying a tray of coffee cups, milk, and sugar. "And he's pretty darn proud of it, too."
"No offense, Mrs. Conner." Starsky took another look. "It does look kind of... uh..."
"Morbid?" Hutch supplied.
"That's not what I was gonna say." Starsky glared at him. "I mean, it's... uh..."
Kathy had by this time, dissolved into giggles. "It's okay, Davey," she managed. "I think it's morbid, too! And the name's Kathy," she admonished, shaking a finger at him. "Karlene, if you want to be formal, but my friends call me Kathy." She smiled that warm smile again and Starsky visibly relaxed. She had a lot of Hutch's quick friendliness about her, and a talent for making one feel at ease in her presence.
"Neil's working late tonight," Kathy went on. "Said he had to check out a report that Old Man Lesnick was stealing chickens again. "
"Stealing chickens?" Starsky and Hutchinson echoed in unison exchanging a look.
"Oh, that's terrific-" Starsky roiled his eyes theatrically. "Just think, Hutch, pretty soon we'll be chasing chicken snatchers, too!"
Hutch laughed despite himself. "You're a real bastard sometimes, you know that, Starsk?" He turned back to the woman. "That reminds me, Kath, I heard from Susan Henry and she said to tell you..."
The two cousins chatted on, reliving good times past and exchanging bits of news and gossip on mutual acquaintances during dinner and well into the evening. Through it all, Starsky sat quietly, joining in with a joke or remark, but generally just absorbing the cheerful atmosphere and relishing the peaceful serenity which radiated from Hutch like sunbeams.
For his part. Hutch was feeling as if a new lease on life had just been handed to him, bound in silk and embossed in gold. This was a good place to bring Starsky - a healing place for them both. Even the aura of the town was different - cleaner, purer. I mean, Neil is out chasing a chicken thief, for crissakes! he told himself genially. He listened to Kathy chat on about the town.
"It isn't always this quiet," she was saying. "The fishermen are usually a tame bunch, but the hunters can be quite boisterous and the skiers come with their own package of aggravations. Nothing too rough, though," she finished. "Not like what you are probably used to in LA."
"Believe me, Kathy, we're both ready to make a change." Hutch started to say more but caught a glimpse of Starsky out of the corner of his eye. The darker man was blinking sleepily while at the same time manfully stifling a yawn. Hutch realized how tired he was himself. "Man, but I'm tired. Think it's time I turned in. What about you, Starsk?"
Starsky nodded gratefully. "Shower first," he said longingly. "A hot shower."
"You're in luck - you've even got your own bathroom!" Kathy bounced to her feet. "Come on, I'll show you up. "Oooh, you're going to love your new house," she went on, leading the way upstairs. "It's got two huge bedrooms and a fireplace and... Ooops, here we are!" She opened the door on a pleasant little bedroom vaguely reminiscent of an Indian lodge. "Don't you love what Neil did with this room?"
Hutch plastered on a smile. "It's just great, Kath. Real... homey. "
The woman smiled, pleased. "Hmmmm. Well, good night." She stood on tiptoes to bestow a kiss on Hutch's cheek. "Good night, Davey," she waved across the room. "Bathroom's through there. If you need anything else, just call." Then she was gone to leave the two men to stand gazing sheepishly at each other.
"Wow!" Starsky whistled appreciatively. "That's one lady I'd hate to have to keep up with."
"Quite a handful," Hutch agreed. "Why don't you go ahead and shower? I think I'll wait until morning."
"Kay." He disappeared into the bathroom and soon the sound of running water and an extremely off-key version of Figaro drifted through the closed door.
Hutch undressed wearily while Starsky was bathing, and sat down on one of the beds. He really was tired, but it was a more relaxed, unstressed tired than he'd felt in months. Tomorrow they'd start to set the new house in order. It was only a temporary arrangement. He might love Starsky like a brother, but living with him for too long was out of the question. They had different tastes and lifestyles and would drive each other quite mad post haste.
For now, though, sharing a house would help them both adjust to the move. It would also. Hutch was honest enough to admit - but only to himself - allow him to indulge in a little overprotective coddling of his partner until Starsky's health had returned a bit. His musings were interrupted by a soft knock.
"Ken?" Neil Conner poked his head around the door, grinning, then came all the way in when he saw Hutch still awake. "Hey, Ken!"
"Neil!" Hutch returned the warm handshake with great pleasure. "You're even bigger than the last time I saw you, you old bull moose!"
Conner laughed and patted his stomach with a flourish. "It's Kathy's cooking. Ken, my boy! Good wife'll do it every time. "
Towering over Hutch's own 6'1" and tipping the scales at 230, Conner was an impressive looking man, handsome in a rugged outdoors way. He'd been Chief of Police of Langston for nearly ten years now. As warm and friendly as his wife, he was a well-liked and popular official who carried the support of the entire town.
Neil had taken to Hutch immediately and had urged him repeatedly to leave the fast - if short - life of the LAPD, and join him in keeping Langston a safe, friendly place to live and work. Hutch had thought the offer over often - every time the stresses of LA got to be too much, in fact - but had never seriously considered accepting it until late. Conner had been sympathetic when Hutch had first approached him on the matter of the shooting.
"Sure, I can still use you up here, Kenny," he had agreed readily. "You know Kathy and me've been wanting you to move up here for some time now."
"Neil, what about Starsky? He's the reason I want to get out of here in the first place." Hutch had held his breath anxiously.
"Tell you what, Kenny," Conner had replied after some thought, "Blake Gordon - you remember him? - he's retiring in about six months. Then I'll be needing another man anyway. You said it was going to take awhile for your partner to recover, right? He can help out Blake for awhile, then ease his way back into normal duty. That is, if you're sure he can?"
"He can." Hutch had closed his eyes, overwhelmed by sheer relief. "Thanks, Neil. You don't know how much I appreciate it."
"Don't thank me, buddy boy. Glad to have you." That had settled it all and here they were, two and a half months later, with the Langston Police Department.
"Kathy told me you d come up to bed," Neil was saying, "but I wanted to say hi. Have a hard trip in?"
Hutch drew a hand through his hair, causing it to stand up in little spikes. "A long trip. Glad it's over." He paused, unaccustomedly diffident. "Listen, Neil, I just wanted to thank you again for setting this up. I owe you for this, man."
Conner waved away the gratitude. "I told you not to thank me, pal. Getting two famous LA hotshots on my squad is quite a feather in my cap, anyway."
Hutch squinted. "Two...? What are you talking about?"
Conner laughed lightly at his confusion. "You boys are pretty well known, especially after single-handedly taking out an institution like Gunther Industries." Hutch frowned at the reference and Conner moved quickly to apologize. "Hey, I' m sorry if I touched a sore spot, Kenny. All I'm saying is that I didn't have to take any flak from the town council over this."
Hutch nodded absently, but before he could speak the door to the bathroom flew open and Starsky came out, a towel draped around his waist.
"Hutch, I can't find my...." He faltered, then trailed off before the expression on Conner's face. Conner's eyes were wide with shock, his gaze locked firmly on the bullet scars scattered across the smaller man's torso.
"Oh, my...." Conner gulped once, then tore his gaze forcefully away from the scarred chest. "I'm sorry...I... never realized...."
"S'okay. They have that effect on people." Starsky self-consciously drew on a robe, clutching it closed in such an oddly defensive gesture that Hutch took an involuntary step in his direction.
Realizing at last how he must have looked, Conner rushed to apologize. "Oh, man. I'm sorry. Kenny ll tell you I'm not usually such a rude s.o.b." He stuck out a hand. "Neil Conner. "
"Dave Starsky." Starsky accepted the gesture and found his hand engulfed in a grip only a little smaller than a polar bear's paw.
"Good to meet you, Dave. Hey, sorry about the reaction. I haven't seen holes like that since 'Nam."
"Sometimes they bring the war to you," Hutch commented soberly, then pointedly changed the subject. "Kathy said you were checking out a theft tonight?"
"A theft?" Conner looked blank, then burst into a loud chuckle. "You mean Old Man Lesnick? He's been stealing chickens from the Diamond family for almost twenty-five years. The Diamonds always report it, I always check it out, and Old Man Lesnick always eats the evidence before I get there." Ail three laughed at that. Conner's eyes sparkled mischievously. "At least now I'll have two assistants to handle the more... 'interesting' little chores like that."
"Oh, god," Starsky groaned out loud. "I can see it on my resume. Last big case solved? Caught chicken snatcher egg handed." He snickered. "Get it? Egg..."
He barely ducked the pillow Hutch tossed. "And I can see it on my resume," the blond retorted. "Last case solved? Murder of David Starsky."
"So Johnny Carson I'm not." Starsky grinned, all self-consciousness gone. "So tell me. Chief, when do we start chasing chicken snatchers?"
"Not for awhile, actually." Conner turned serious. "I plan to keep you both assigned to the town for awhile - at least until you've learned to handle yourself in the woods. We work closely with the Forestry Service," he explained. "Sometimes it's necessary to mount rescue missions for lost hunters or skiers. And there's been a couple of times we've had to organize a manhunt for criminals trying to hide out back in the backwoods. Sometimes all you can do is root'em out, weed by weed. "
This pleasant homily did nothing to salve Starsky *s obvious unease. "Back in the woods, eh?" he croaked nervously. "With the bears and snakes and...."
Conner guff awed outright at that. "Don'tt you worry too much about them. Kid. Just remember that they're as scared of you as you are of them."
"Don't count on it," Starsky muttered darkly. "Skiers, hub?" he brightened. "I haven't skied in a couple of years. We get to patrol the slopes?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and described curves vaguely reminiscent of an exceptionally well endowed ski bunny.
"Well now, I never said there weren't no 'fringe benefits* to the job, did I?" Conner wiggled his own eyebrows making Hutch begin to feel as if he were in a particularly bad Groucho Marx movie. He sighed. Loudly.
"What's'a matter, boy, don't like snow bunnies?" Hutch ignored his partner's bad accent and turned back to Conner. "Listen, Neil, when do we start? Kathy said she had a house for us and..."
Conner held up a hand. "No rush, Kenny. How about Monday? That'll give you three days to get settled."
"Fine."
"What about me?" Starsky asked, the faintest hint of worry in his voice. "I know your man isn't retiring for six months but...."
"Tell you what," Neil began after a pause during which he was obviously recalling the scars, "you come in the end of the month and start acquainting yourself with the office, jail, paperwork, that sort of thing. I figure by the time Blake retires, you should be ready to take over without any training overlaps "
"Okaaay!" Starsky cheered, pleased. Back to work at last!
"Better let you two hot shots get a little shut-eye." The big man rose and stretched. "Bit tired myself tonight. Old Man Lesnick led me quite a chase this time." He bade them good night, leaving the two men alone once again.
Starsky stood, plucking at the front of his robe pensively. "Well?" Hutch asked after a moment. You gonna tell me what's on your mind?"
"Nothing much." Starsky pulled his robe tighter. "It was just the way he looked at me. I wasn't sure he was going to let me on the Force at all for a minute there."
"But he did."
"Yeah." He reached across the bed to lay a hand warmly along Hutch's arm. "I think it really is gonna be all right, don't you?"
Hutch looked up into the face of his friend, and a sense of peace and contentment wrapped itself around two weary and battered men. "I think so, too. I wasn't sure at first, though."
"Me, neither," Starsky answered unnecessarily. "But, Hutch..." He settled onto the side of the bed still maintaining a grip on Hutch's shoulder. "It's starting to feel right again/ Really right. I think I might even learn to like it here."
Hutch smiled, his contentment increasing exponentially. "Me, too. I think chasing 'chicken snatchers' instead of junkies might make for a nice change."
"Don't forget the snow bunnies." Starsky leered.
"Fringe benefits!"
"All riiightl"
"As soon as you're back in shape," Hutch added piously, fluffing his pillows.
Starsky, who was busy routing in his suitcase, looked up suspiciously. "In shape?"
"Can't have you hurting yourself chasing chicken snatchers and snow bunnies."
They both laughed and knew - really knew - that Langston was a good place - a healing pace - where two damaged souls could recuperate and start to live again.
Genesis. ***
Hutch heaved a sigh of relief. It had been a grueling drive up here - nearly two days cooped up with a convalescent who'd spent his time either bitching about having to leave his own car behind, thanking God Hutch had "seen the light" and sold Belle, his little sports car, or dozing uncomfortably against the armrest. Hutch took a moment to enjoy the silence of the area, the peace which permeated the pleasant woods.
Home. The word didn't seem to fit somehow. Home was the city, concrete instead of wood, the smell of burning fossil fuels rather than the gentle fragrances of moss and flowers. Pleasant but... home? Maybe not yet, but it would be. Would have to be. Second chances came once in a lifetime if at all, and this was theirs.
Hutch savored the serenity of the area another moment before turning to look at his partner. Starsky had fallen into an exhausted slumber nearly two hours ago and hadn't so much as stirred since; he was going to have quite a stiff neck when he awoke. Hutch gave a long-suffering sigh and gave his friend a shake. "Come on. Wake up."
"Hmphgh?" One eye opened to glare at him blearily.
"We're here, Starsk."
"Hmmm." Starsky deigned open the other eye and peered around curiously. "This is... ouch!" One hand clasped his neck. "Son of a-- That hurts!" He glared at Hutch as if somehow this was all his fault.
Hutch shrugged sympathetically. "Maybe Kathy has some aspirin or something."
"Nah, I'm okay." Starsky dismissed the subject shortly as he'd been dismissing everything else associated with his health of late. "So this is your cousin's house, huh?" "Yup."
Starsky turned his head - carefully - the better to examine his surroundings. "Looks kind'a... barren, don't it?"
"It looks perfect." Hutch forced his cramped legs from the car and stood tall, stretching his muscles back into some semblance of workable order. "Peaceful... quiet..."
Starsky followed more slowly, finally succeeding in extricating himself from a car seat determined, it seemed, to swallow him whole. "Doesn't seem to be anyone around." "Let's find out." Hutch led the way up onto the porch. Before he'd quite reached it, a whirlwind of arms, legs and hair had streaked through the door and thrown itself into his arms.
"Kenny" Kathy Conner greeted him warmly. She was a trim blonde in her mid- thirties, a pleasant looking woman possessed of a pair of large blue eyes and a winning smile.
"Hi, Kathy!" Hutch returned the hug enthusiastically. Kathy had always been his favorite cousin. When they were growing up, they had been as close as brother and sister until Kathy's family had moved to Oregon in the early '70's, They had kept in touch, however, and Hutch had been present to give the bride away when she'd wed Neil Connor a few years ago.
"Hutch, you look so different!" She pulled back to study him critically. "Your hair - it's so long. And that mustache.. My lord, you went hippie on me, didn't you?!" Hutch had to laugh at the familiar joke. Hippies had always been at the bottom of Kathy 's list of "in" folk.
"Not exactly. Cop's gotta be inconspicuous when he's working plainclothes, Kath."
"Plain is right," she chided. Her attention shifted to take in Starsky, who'd been quietly standing behind Hutch, waiting to be noticed. "You must be Davey." The megawatt smile flashed on again. "Kenny's told me all about you."
"Uh, yeah? Believe me, I' m not half that bad." Starsky smiled a bit shyly, obviously taken aback by the woman's friendly enthusiasm. "Gladtameetcha."
"Come on, coffee's on the stove." Kathy hooked a hand through both men's arm and ushered them into a neat living room done in a comfortable rustic style. "We've just finished redecorating the place; the previous owners were soooo city."
"How long've you lived here, Kathy?" Starsky asked politely.
"Only about a year. We bought this house from some people who couldn't hack the outdoorsie life...." Starsky sent a smug I-told-you-so glare Hutch's way but mercifully allowed the subject to pass. For once. "... so we just snapped it right up. It's got two bedrooms, two bathrooms - perfect for when we decide to have children." She gestured toward a comfortable, overstuffed sofa. "Why don't you two sit down and relax while I get the coffee. Unless you'd prefer something stronger?"
"No, coffee's fine." Hutch settled onto the sofa with a sigh. "I can use a little caffeine about now."
"Poor dear." Kathy was instantly sympathetic. "It must have been a tiring drive for you both. Tell you what, you'll stay here tonight and get some rest. Time enough to get settled in your new house tomorrow. Unh-uh." She waved aside the automatic protest, "I won't take no for an answer. Besides..." she switched abruptly to cajolery, "...we haven't seen each other in years! We've a lot to catch up on."
Neither man was in shape to argue. "Sounds good, Kath. I am bushed," Hutch agreed.
"Good!" She bounced - that was the only word for it -- after the coffee, leaving the two men alone in the sunlit living room.
"How you doing, buddy?" Hutch asked the suspiciously quiet Starsky.
"'M fine- Well," he relented a bit before the skeptical look on Hutches face, "a little tired maybe +" He lowered himself slowly onto the couch.
"Do you still have those pain pills the doctor gave you?"
Exasperation warred with tolerant affection on Starsky's drawn face before the affection won out. "I'm fine, Hutch. Really. Besides, they're packed away somewhere."
"Ill find them later," Hutch promised. He touched the other uncertainly on the arm. "Starsk, tell me what you think."
"About?"
Hutch gestured expansively. "This. The town, the job - the new life."
The dark-haired man leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "We've talked this all out before we... before you quit the department, dummy."
"Yeah. Guess I just needed to hear it again."
Starsky turned to face his friend directly. "There wasn't anything left there for me, Hutch. No job, nothing. And with Ma living with Nicky now.... " He ran a hand through his dark curls. "There's nothing for me in New York, either. You're all I got, Hutch. I'd've moved to the South Pole if I'd had to."
A surge of warmth filled the blond man at such openly expressed unguardedness. There was no one else in the world that Starsky could let his barriers down with like this and no one else Hutch trusted with his own unshielded spirit. "Me, too, buddy. It's going to take some getting used to, though. "
Starsky laughed shortly. "That's for sher." He gawked openly at a deer head mounted majestically over the fireplace and shuddered. "A lot of getting used to. Hey, Hutch, we're not gonna have dead animals on the wall, too, are we?"
"God, I hope not I"
"That 'dead animal' took my husband three days to track." Kathy entered carrying a tray of coffee cups, milk, and sugar. "And he's pretty darn proud of it, too."
"No offense, Mrs. Conner." Starsky took another look. "It does look kind of... uh..."
"Morbid?" Hutch supplied.
"That's not what I was gonna say." Starsky glared at him. "I mean, it's... uh..."
Kathy had by this time, dissolved into giggles. "It's okay, Davey," she managed. "I think it's morbid, too! And the name's Kathy," she admonished, shaking a finger at him. "Karlene, if you want to be formal, but my friends call me Kathy." She smiled that warm smile again and Starsky visibly relaxed. She had a lot of Hutch's quick friendliness about her, and a talent for making one feel at ease in her presence.
"Neil's working late tonight," Kathy went on. "Said he had to check out a report that Old Man Lesnick was stealing chickens again. "
"Stealing chickens?" Starsky and Hutchinson echoed in unison exchanging a look.
"Oh, that's terrific-" Starsky roiled his eyes theatrically. "Just think, Hutch, pretty soon we'll be chasing chicken snatchers, too!"
Hutch laughed despite himself. "You're a real bastard sometimes, you know that, Starsk?" He turned back to the woman. "That reminds me, Kath, I heard from Susan Henry and she said to tell you..."
The two cousins chatted on, reliving good times past and exchanging bits of news and gossip on mutual acquaintances during dinner and well into the evening. Through it all, Starsky sat quietly, joining in with a joke or remark, but generally just absorbing the cheerful atmosphere and relishing the peaceful serenity which radiated from Hutch like sunbeams.
For his part. Hutch was feeling as if a new lease on life had just been handed to him, bound in silk and embossed in gold. This was a good place to bring Starsky - a healing place for them both. Even the aura of the town was different - cleaner, purer. I mean, Neil is out chasing a chicken thief, for crissakes! he told himself genially. He listened to Kathy chat on about the town.
"It isn't always this quiet," she was saying. "The fishermen are usually a tame bunch, but the hunters can be quite boisterous and the skiers come with their own package of aggravations. Nothing too rough, though," she finished. "Not like what you are probably used to in LA."
"Believe me, Kathy, we're both ready to make a change." Hutch started to say more but caught a glimpse of Starsky out of the corner of his eye. The darker man was blinking sleepily while at the same time manfully stifling a yawn. Hutch realized how tired he was himself. "Man, but I'm tired. Think it's time I turned in. What about you, Starsk?"
Starsky nodded gratefully. "Shower first," he said longingly. "A hot shower."
"You're in luck - you've even got your own bathroom!" Kathy bounced to her feet. "Come on, I'll show you up. "Oooh, you're going to love your new house," she went on, leading the way upstairs. "It's got two huge bedrooms and a fireplace and... Ooops, here we are!" She opened the door on a pleasant little bedroom vaguely reminiscent of an Indian lodge. "Don't you love what Neil did with this room?"
Hutch plastered on a smile. "It's just great, Kath. Real... homey. "
The woman smiled, pleased. "Hmmmm. Well, good night." She stood on tiptoes to bestow a kiss on Hutch's cheek. "Good night, Davey," she waved across the room. "Bathroom's through there. If you need anything else, just call." Then she was gone to leave the two men to stand gazing sheepishly at each other.
"Wow!" Starsky whistled appreciatively. "That's one lady I'd hate to have to keep up with."
"Quite a handful," Hutch agreed. "Why don't you go ahead and shower? I think I'll wait until morning."
"Kay." He disappeared into the bathroom and soon the sound of running water and an extremely off-key version of Figaro drifted through the closed door.
Hutch undressed wearily while Starsky was bathing, and sat down on one of the beds. He really was tired, but it was a more relaxed, unstressed tired than he'd felt in months. Tomorrow they'd start to set the new house in order. It was only a temporary arrangement. He might love Starsky like a brother, but living with him for too long was out of the question. They had different tastes and lifestyles and would drive each other quite mad post haste.
For now, though, sharing a house would help them both adjust to the move. It would also. Hutch was honest enough to admit - but only to himself - allow him to indulge in a little overprotective coddling of his partner until Starsky's health had returned a bit. His musings were interrupted by a soft knock.
"Ken?" Neil Conner poked his head around the door, grinning, then came all the way in when he saw Hutch still awake. "Hey, Ken!"
"Neil!" Hutch returned the warm handshake with great pleasure. "You're even bigger than the last time I saw you, you old bull moose!"
Conner laughed and patted his stomach with a flourish. "It's Kathy's cooking. Ken, my boy! Good wife'll do it every time. "
Towering over Hutch's own 6'1" and tipping the scales at 230, Conner was an impressive looking man, handsome in a rugged outdoors way. He'd been Chief of Police of Langston for nearly ten years now. As warm and friendly as his wife, he was a well-liked and popular official who carried the support of the entire town.
Neil had taken to Hutch immediately and had urged him repeatedly to leave the fast - if short - life of the LAPD, and join him in keeping Langston a safe, friendly place to live and work. Hutch had thought the offer over often - every time the stresses of LA got to be too much, in fact - but had never seriously considered accepting it until late. Conner had been sympathetic when Hutch had first approached him on the matter of the shooting.
"Sure, I can still use you up here, Kenny," he had agreed readily. "You know Kathy and me've been wanting you to move up here for some time now."
"Neil, what about Starsky? He's the reason I want to get out of here in the first place." Hutch had held his breath anxiously.
"Tell you what, Kenny," Conner had replied after some thought, "Blake Gordon - you remember him? - he's retiring in about six months. Then I'll be needing another man anyway. You said it was going to take awhile for your partner to recover, right? He can help out Blake for awhile, then ease his way back into normal duty. That is, if you're sure he can?"
"He can." Hutch had closed his eyes, overwhelmed by sheer relief. "Thanks, Neil. You don't know how much I appreciate it."
"Don't thank me, buddy boy. Glad to have you." That had settled it all and here they were, two and a half months later, with the Langston Police Department.
"Kathy told me you d come up to bed," Neil was saying, "but I wanted to say hi. Have a hard trip in?"
Hutch drew a hand through his hair, causing it to stand up in little spikes. "A long trip. Glad it's over." He paused, unaccustomedly diffident. "Listen, Neil, I just wanted to thank you again for setting this up. I owe you for this, man."
Conner waved away the gratitude. "I told you not to thank me, pal. Getting two famous LA hotshots on my squad is quite a feather in my cap, anyway."
Hutch squinted. "Two...? What are you talking about?"
Conner laughed lightly at his confusion. "You boys are pretty well known, especially after single-handedly taking out an institution like Gunther Industries." Hutch frowned at the reference and Conner moved quickly to apologize. "Hey, I' m sorry if I touched a sore spot, Kenny. All I'm saying is that I didn't have to take any flak from the town council over this."
Hutch nodded absently, but before he could speak the door to the bathroom flew open and Starsky came out, a towel draped around his waist.
"Hutch, I can't find my...." He faltered, then trailed off before the expression on Conner's face. Conner's eyes were wide with shock, his gaze locked firmly on the bullet scars scattered across the smaller man's torso.
"Oh, my...." Conner gulped once, then tore his gaze forcefully away from the scarred chest. "I'm sorry...I... never realized...."
"S'okay. They have that effect on people." Starsky self-consciously drew on a robe, clutching it closed in such an oddly defensive gesture that Hutch took an involuntary step in his direction.
Realizing at last how he must have looked, Conner rushed to apologize. "Oh, man. I'm sorry. Kenny ll tell you I'm not usually such a rude s.o.b." He stuck out a hand. "Neil Conner. "
"Dave Starsky." Starsky accepted the gesture and found his hand engulfed in a grip only a little smaller than a polar bear's paw.
"Good to meet you, Dave. Hey, sorry about the reaction. I haven't seen holes like that since 'Nam."
"Sometimes they bring the war to you," Hutch commented soberly, then pointedly changed the subject. "Kathy said you were checking out a theft tonight?"
"A theft?" Conner looked blank, then burst into a loud chuckle. "You mean Old Man Lesnick? He's been stealing chickens from the Diamond family for almost twenty-five years. The Diamonds always report it, I always check it out, and Old Man Lesnick always eats the evidence before I get there." Ail three laughed at that. Conner's eyes sparkled mischievously. "At least now I'll have two assistants to handle the more... 'interesting' little chores like that."
"Oh, god," Starsky groaned out loud. "I can see it on my resume. Last big case solved? Caught chicken snatcher egg handed." He snickered. "Get it? Egg..."
He barely ducked the pillow Hutch tossed. "And I can see it on my resume," the blond retorted. "Last case solved? Murder of David Starsky."
"So Johnny Carson I'm not." Starsky grinned, all self-consciousness gone. "So tell me. Chief, when do we start chasing chicken snatchers?"
"Not for awhile, actually." Conner turned serious. "I plan to keep you both assigned to the town for awhile - at least until you've learned to handle yourself in the woods. We work closely with the Forestry Service," he explained. "Sometimes it's necessary to mount rescue missions for lost hunters or skiers. And there's been a couple of times we've had to organize a manhunt for criminals trying to hide out back in the backwoods. Sometimes all you can do is root'em out, weed by weed. "
This pleasant homily did nothing to salve Starsky *s obvious unease. "Back in the woods, eh?" he croaked nervously. "With the bears and snakes and...."
Conner guff awed outright at that. "Don'tt you worry too much about them. Kid. Just remember that they're as scared of you as you are of them."
"Don't count on it," Starsky muttered darkly. "Skiers, hub?" he brightened. "I haven't skied in a couple of years. We get to patrol the slopes?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and described curves vaguely reminiscent of an exceptionally well endowed ski bunny.
"Well now, I never said there weren't no 'fringe benefits* to the job, did I?" Conner wiggled his own eyebrows making Hutch begin to feel as if he were in a particularly bad Groucho Marx movie. He sighed. Loudly.
"What's'a matter, boy, don't like snow bunnies?" Hutch ignored his partner's bad accent and turned back to Conner. "Listen, Neil, when do we start? Kathy said she had a house for us and..."
Conner held up a hand. "No rush, Kenny. How about Monday? That'll give you three days to get settled."
"Fine."
"What about me?" Starsky asked, the faintest hint of worry in his voice. "I know your man isn't retiring for six months but...."
"Tell you what," Neil began after a pause during which he was obviously recalling the scars, "you come in the end of the month and start acquainting yourself with the office, jail, paperwork, that sort of thing. I figure by the time Blake retires, you should be ready to take over without any training overlaps "
"Okaaay!" Starsky cheered, pleased. Back to work at last!
"Better let you two hot shots get a little shut-eye." The big man rose and stretched. "Bit tired myself tonight. Old Man Lesnick led me quite a chase this time." He bade them good night, leaving the two men alone once again.
Starsky stood, plucking at the front of his robe pensively. "Well?" Hutch asked after a moment. You gonna tell me what's on your mind?"
"Nothing much." Starsky pulled his robe tighter. "It was just the way he looked at me. I wasn't sure he was going to let me on the Force at all for a minute there."
"But he did."
"Yeah." He reached across the bed to lay a hand warmly along Hutch's arm. "I think it really is gonna be all right, don't you?"
Hutch looked up into the face of his friend, and a sense of peace and contentment wrapped itself around two weary and battered men. "I think so, too. I wasn't sure at first, though."
"Me, neither," Starsky answered unnecessarily. "But, Hutch..." He settled onto the side of the bed still maintaining a grip on Hutch's shoulder. "It's starting to feel right again/ Really right. I think I might even learn to like it here."
Hutch smiled, his contentment increasing exponentially. "Me, too. I think chasing 'chicken snatchers' instead of junkies might make for a nice change."
"Don't forget the snow bunnies." Starsky leered.
"Fringe benefits!"
"All riiightl"
"As soon as you're back in shape," Hutch added piously, fluffing his pillows.
Starsky, who was busy routing in his suitcase, looked up suspiciously. "In shape?"
"Can't have you hurting yourself chasing chicken snatchers and snow bunnies."
They both laughed and knew - really knew - that Langston was a good place - a healing pace - where two damaged souls could recuperate and start to live again.
Genesis. ***