Hi Readers and Reviewers,

Thanks for the encouraging emails and reviews and for taking a chance on this story. You know who you all are. –wink!- & -blush!- Another 'Thank you' is for all the others who have enjoyed the story.

Vermilion Angel – Wow! Twenty more chapters? How about one more after this one?

Wuemsel – Is today soon enough?

Big thanks to Kelli, Kreek and Eli; you guys are the BEST!

Chapter 11

Oblivious to the drama that was taking place behind him, the curly haired detective felt a strange ache in his chest as he looked at the downed dog. It had fallen over completely and was lying on its side on the pavement, panting. "Aw, partner…" Starsky slowly put his hand out to the dog's head and stroked the soft, black fur. The dog moved its head a little bit and looked up at him. The tan eyebrows telegraphed volumes of information with just a few wiggles.

"It hurts… it hurts…" Hutch eyed Starsky, before pain made his eyes close tightly.

"I know… I'll make it better" Starsky didn't realize he couldn't hear the dog with his ears. But his heart heard the dog perfectly. He rubbed at a tan brow with his knuckles.

"How? I don't think… that there is… gonna be a way of… making it better… this time, Starsk" Hutch forced his eyes to open, despite the pain. He wanted to look at his friend as long as possible, fearing that with each blink of his eyes that it would be for the very last time. A whine escaped, he tried to stop it, but it got away from him. The pain was increasing and he could feel his blood flowing out of his body and onto the cold ground.

Starsky sat down next to the dog and carefully lifted the it up and into his lap and he gently placed his hands over the two oozing red holes in the black coat, trying desperately to stanch the flow. "Someone get me a paramedic! Hurry!"

So much blood, how much more could the dog loose and still live? He didn't want to know the answer to that. His throat tightened. "Take it easy… I'm here… Hurry up with that paramedic!"

The single flashlight beam was not enough to provide the light that Starsky needed "More light!" Another cop stepped up and turned on his flashlight.

Starsky turned his head this way and that "Where is that paramedic?" He could feel the blood slide past his fingers, despite his applying pressure to the wounds. He pushed harder and felt the dog flinch. "Sorry… but I gotta stop this bleeding…" He increased the pressure a bit more and the dog let out a long drawn-out whine.

"I know… Starsk… I know… b-but it's… n-no use" Hutch looked into his friend's eyes and noticed that the edges of his sight had now gone black. He was dying and he knew the end was nearing.

"What are you talkin' about? C'mon… you'll be fine…" Starsky felt the dog shake its head 'no' in his lap. It gasped painfully and squirmed in pain. "Shh, easy there, just relax… help is on the way… Where the HELL is that paramedic?" He scanned the few remaining people… the crowd was breaking up now. The excitement was over and who wanted to just stand around and watch some dog die?

"Right here… what can I do for you?" The voice was a female one; Starsky looked to his right and eyed the paramedic.

"It's about time you got here! My friend here needs help" He looked back down at the dog in his lap. "S'okay… partner, s'okay" He longed to caress its brow and sooth it but he had to maintain the pressure on the wounds.

"Um, I hate to point out the obvious, but… that's a dog" she set down her jump kit and knelt beside the detective.

"No shit sister, tell me, what was your first clue?" When she didn't answer him, Starsky looked up again and saw the look on her face "I'm sorry… that was uncalled for… can you help him? Please?" he turned his attention back to the dog, its body seemed to be growing heavier in his lap. Its warm blood seeped into his blue jeans.

"I'll try, but it doesn't look good. The way he's bleeding, I think one of the bullets may have nicked an artery… he's bleeding out pretty fast" She shook her head sadly.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Starsky glared over at her.

"It means… I'm sorry, but it means he's going to die-" She looked away from the intense blue gaze. She hated this part of her job and the helpless feeling of not being able to do more to help the victim.

"Die? Whaddya mean he's gonna die? He can't die… he's my friend… he's my… my partner… he can't just die! He saved a little girl from a child molester tonight and he kept her from falling through a hole in the floor of some shitty building! He's a hero! He CAN'T die!" he watched as she shook her head and dropped her eyes.

"I'm really sorry about your dog, I am. I have a dog at home too-"

"Didn't ya hear me? He's NOT just a dog! He's my friend and he's a hero, dammit! He doesn't deserve to die like… like a DOG! Now DO SOMETHING! Help me get him to the ambulance… we gotta get him to a hospital" Starsky pleaded with her, begging her to understand the importance of saving this dog.

The paramedic opened her jump kit and took out some bandages and bound the wounds. She knew it was fruitless, but she humored the distraught detective. Her job was to help people; she would help the detective, for he was now her patient, if only until the dog died. From the looks of things, it wouldn't be long now.

Starsky helped her bind the wounds and briefly wondered why he was getting so worked up about a dog, a dog that he hadn't even known for twenty-four hours. Yet, somehow this dog had become vitally important to him. Its life was important and the thought that it might die… that thought became unbearable.

"We gotta get him to the hospital!" He carefully picked the dog up in his arms and headed for the ambulance. The dog began to gasp for air "Easy, buddy… easy, it'll be okay, just keep breathing"

"I'll t-try" Hutch did try, but it was getting harder to do that.

"Don't 'try' DO IT!" Starsky felt the dog wince in his arms "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell…just… I know you can do it… please?"

"'Kay, f-for you… But it hurts… hurts" Hutch's lungs ached so much it felt like he was trying to breathe through mud.

"Shh, s'okay… it'll be better soon… I promise" Starsky didn't know how he was gonna keep that promise, but he would try hard as hell to fulfill it.

Paramedic Dana Miller picked up her kit and followed the detective to her ambulance. The dog would likely die before they got it to a vet, but they could try, provided that they didn't get a call to respond to a human emergency.

Starsky climbed into the ambulance and laid the dog on the gurney, it struggled weakly, lifted its head and made eye contact with him "Easy there partner… easy, just lay down and stay still… " Starsky stopped and looked into the dog's eyes and watched as they seemed to go from brown in color to a familiar light blue. His jaw dropped. 'No, that couldn't be, that couldn't have just happened, trick of the light, it had to be.' He shook his head to clear the strange thought.

Hutch kept trying to look at Starsky. The end was near. He could feel it. He just wanted to see Starsky. He wanted the very last thing he ever saw to be the face of his best friend. He tried to keep his head up but the world spun crazily and it dropped to the pillow. He attempted to raise it again but despite his best efforts, he couldn't do it. He paddled with his paws to gain purchase, wanting to roll onto his chest, it was growing ever harder to breathe, perhaps getting into a different position would make it easier.

Starsky watched as the dog's head dropped down on to the gurney and it struggled to lift it again, its front legs moved feebly. Starsky eased his hand under its head and gently lifted it a bit. It let out a pain filled sigh, as it looked him in the eye.

"Thank you… Starsk…thank you for every… everything" The world faded from sight, but a least he had gotten to see his friend one last time, at least he had that much.

"Hey, no problem… what're friends for…?" Starsky looked to the paramedic as she climbed in "Do something! Please… he's having trouble breathing… let's go! Tell the driver to start driving, dammit!" He looked around "why aren't we moving?"

Dana Miller ignored the last question and got out a facemask and turned on the oxygen tank to high flow and placed it over the dog's muzzle and held it there. It wouldn't be long now. She got out her stethoscope and listened to its faltering heartbeat. "I have to get a good set of vitals before we go"

She hated to lie to the man, but she was certain that he wouldn't listen to anything she had to say. His dog was dying. No vet could save it. She was pretty sure that even if they had been able to get it to a vet in the first three minutes, it still would have been a lost cause. She would humor him and help the dog as best she could.

Hutch could no longer see. The pain was gone now. He inhaled easily, his chest felt weightless as though the two bullet holes were never there. He could no longer smell anything, not his own blood, not the scent of his friend… but he could still hear. So, it was true…

The brunet detected a change in the dog "Hey! Hey! Stay with me partner… stay with me! Do you hear me?" Starsky felt the dog relax more into his hands. The paws stopped their aimless shuffle and the eyes slowly closed.

"Good-bye Starsky… you're the best… friend I've… I've ever… had, thanks… for that"

"No! You can't say good-bye! You can't! You're not goin' anywhere… You hear me? Don't go… don't go Hutch… do you hear me?" Starsky gently shook the dog; only he didn't see it as a dog. He saw it as a friend. His friend. The best friend he had in the world.

"I hear you… but… I can't stay… I want to… m-more than any… anything… I have to… say this before I go…I love you… David Michael Starsky… you're a better friend… then I ever deserved" Hutch's breath escaped him for the last time. He could not hear his own death rattle.

"I'm sorry detective, your dog is dead" Dana placed her hand on the trembling shoulder "Hutch must have been a very good dog… I'm sorry for your loss" She patted the shaking shoulder then gave it a squeeze.

Starsky turned to the woman "He's NOT dead! You have one of those shocking thingies?" his eyes darted around the interior, looking for the lifesaving device. His one remaining hope.

"A defibrillator? Well, yeah-" she gave him a puzzled look.

"Then USE IT!" one hand still stroked the still body; the other grabbed her upper arm.

"But, I don't know about dogs… I've never trained for this-" Her hands about fluttered like frightened birds.

"No buts! Use it, use it NOW!" The brunet rubbed the soft black fur "It'll be okay partner… we'll get you back" He looked to the woman again, locking her in his desperate gaze, begging with his eyes, to try.

"But-"

Starsky could feel the tears stinging his eyes "What did I say about the buts? No buts… please… he's my best friend… I can't loose him… not like this! It's not right…"

Dana wiped away a tear that started to roll down her face at the sad sight "I'll use it… but I've never used it on a dog before… I don't know what the settings should be for a dog… And even if I call them, medical control won't know either" She shrugged helplessly.

"Just TRY… that's all I ask… please? Just try!" He willed her to do as he asked.

She gotthe defilbrillator andhooked the dog up, then checked the heart monitor and made sure it was flat lined, the tone was a long steady 'beeeeeee' sound, she double checked with her stethoscope and when she was done called "Clear!" She looked up and down to make sure neither one of them was touching the dog. She could only guess at the position the paddles would go on a dog. She applied the paddles to its chest.

The dog flopped at the jolt. The monitor blipped once. Then flat lined again.

"Clear!" Paddles were applied; the dog flopped once more. The monitor blipped several times "We've got a heartbeat! Get that mask back over his face!" She grinned at the detective.

Starsky did as she instructed and then grabbed her with his free hand and kissed the paramedic full on the lips "Thank you! You did it! You-" His joy was interrupted by the sound of the monitor giving off the monotone 'beeeeeee' of the 'no heartbeat detected' tone.

Dana applied the paddles several more times, to no avail. She finally gave in and admitted defeat. She slowly unhooked the machine and put it away. Then she gave the distraught man a brief hug. "I'm really sorry about your dog" she left him alone and went up front to sit with her crew chief.

Starsky stared at the body. "He's not just a dog… he's my friend" He fully realized it then. Hutch had been in that dog… he didn't know how. He couldn't explain it. Rosie had been right all along. Somehow, she had known it.

He thought about it, the mannerisms, the way it looked at him, moved its eyebrows… Hutch. It was all Hutch. The dog was Hutch. How could he have been so blind? How had he missed all the clues? And now… Hutch was gone. Starsky's heart was empty. A large gap remained. He tenderly picked the dog off the gurney and carefully exited the vehicle.

Starsky only made it as far as the curb of the sidewalk when his legs gave out and the enormity of what had just happened struck him. He sat down hard. The limp dog body flopped once at the sudden movement. "Sorry" he whispered, but it was far too late for the intended ears to hear.

He hugged the body to him and broke into silent tears.

XXXX

"I gots ta give Uncle Dave his coat… 'kay Daddy?" Rosie smiled up at him and hugged his leg.

"Okay Rosie" Captain Dobey harrumphed as his eyes misted. He fought it off. She was safe now. Rosie was safe. He kept telling himself that. He grabbed her hand and walked off to see if Starsky was still around. He had lost sight of the detective during all of the excitement.

They found him sitting on the curb of the sidewalk. His feet were in the gutter; the dog lay in his lap. Dobey could tell that the dog was dead. 'Shit! What to tell Rosie? That dog had saved her life, she had told him all about it.

Rosie pulled her hand out of her Daddy's grasp and moved to Uncle Dave's side. He was crying. She stood beside him and reached out and touched him lightly on the shoulder.

Starsky almost missed the light touch. He turned to see the source. It was Rosie. Big wet tears were beginning to slide down her face. He wiped his own tears, cleared his throat and asked her, "Why are you crying?"

"Cause you're crying" Rosie sniffled and patted her pockets for the hanky Daddy had gived her. She pulled it out of her pocket and dabbed at Uncle Dave's face. He looked so sad. When she was done, she dabbed at her own tears. "Why're you cryin'?"

"Ummm, I'm just… uh, sad" He wanted to be alone to cry again and he really didn't want to explain death to her. What was he gonna say to her when she asked about the dead dog in his lap? Scratch that, his dead partner lay in his lap. The tears welled up in his eyes.

"You sad 'cause the doggie's dead? Huh?" Rosie draped the coat over Uncle Dave's shoulders then hugged him "I know how you feel. I was real sad when Elmer the hamster died. We had a funnel in the back yard and buried him. We could have 'nother funnel and bury the doggy there… 'kay?" She kissed his cheek and hugged him again.

Something occurred to Starsky, something important "Wait, Rosie… did you say doggy? W-why aren't you calling him Uncle Ken?"

She ducked her head and laughed nervously at his intense gaze "That's not Uncle Ken, that'sa doggy. Uncle Ken isn't under covers any more… silly!" She kissed his cheek again and turned to her Daddy and motioned to be picked up. "Daddy, is it okay if we bury Uncle Dave's doggy in the back yard next to Elmer? Then he won't be lonely back there all by himself… we could dress in black and have a funnel, okay?"

Dobey and Starsky's eyes met. Dobey nodded. It was against the law to bury an animal inside city limits but he had a high back fence, no one would see it.

Edith and Cal hurried over "Harold! You have an urgent radio call from the hospital… it's about Hutch!"

TBC