I hope this suffices for the next few days. I am off on an adventure! Enjoy and I will be posting more next week.

By the way, I think I am becoming a feedback junkie…thanks everyone!

Chapter 15

ABOUT a month later they were out hitting the streets again. The rhythm returned to their partnership and life returned to relative normality, whatever that was. Crissy had given Starsky the "you are too unreliable" line and moved on. Abby had decided to visit her family back east, so the guys were on their own again these days. They met at Huggy's for burgers and fries after a particularly light day. It was nice change of pace. Huggy spared them a brief greeting before he was off attending to the trade. He was doing a brisk business, and the place was packed.

"I'm telling ya, Hutch, real estate is the way to go!"

"It may be the way to go, but your ideas of a good investment leave a lot to be desired."

"Aw, come on. So the last home I picked out needed a little more work than I originally thought, but it was a steal! With a little extra elbow grease, it could have brought back a bundle."

"Starsk, I'm not going to discuss that travesty with you anymore! It took my back a month to heal." Changing the subject, Hutch added, "What are you going to have to eat?"

Miffed, Starsky replied, "Oh gee, I don't know. How about the HOUSE salad?"

Hutch rolled his eyes and went over to the bar to get two beers while his partner picked out a table in the crowded room. He had been standing there for just a moment when he heard a "Hi!" from a soft voice on his right. Hutch looked into the most beautiful blue eyes he had seen in quite awhile. Blonde hair, soft blue sweater and jeans rounded out the picture. And they were rounded in just the right spots. Hutch felt an instant attraction to the girl standing beside him.

"Hi yourself." He motioned for two beers and then asked her what she was having.

"Just a coke. I'm waiting for my friends to show." She had a lovely voice, low and purring.

Hutch answered, "They aren't here yet?" How could anyone leave this beauty waiting?

"No, but I'm expecting them any time now."

Hutch looked up as Diane deposited the two beers and the girl's coke unceremoniously in front of him. He tossed a bill on the counter and turned to talk to his new friend. Hutch looked at "the girl" a little closer. Correction: she was no girl. She was definitely all woman. He felt himself melt a little when she met his gaze.

"Thank you for the coke." She said. Her eyes lit her whole face as she graced him with a smile and turned to go. It was confident and beautiful.

"Hey, wait! Would you like to join me while you wait for your friends?" Hutch took a step in her direction

She looked at him for a moment and said, "That would be nice, but I think my friends just came in. Maybe some other time?" She headed away. As an afterthought, she turned and asked, "Do you come here often?"

Loath to let an opportunity pass him by, Hutch answered, "Yeah, I'm here a couple times a week." Then and there he made up his mind that he would be too. "I've never seen you here before."

"That's because I'm new in town. Hey, I've got to go. Maybe I'll see you around?" She was lovely, even in her goodbyes.

"I hope so." Hutch watched her go over to a group of people who had walked in, but when she joined them, they left. He turned to where Starsky was waving from a table. "I hope so," he repeated.

"Who's the beauty?" Starsky said as he took his beer.

"Humm?" He looked over at the now empty doorway.

"The girl, idiot. What's her name?"

"I didn't get it." Hutch mumbled into his beer.

"WHAT! Jez Hutch. You meet a pretty girl and don't even get a name? No wonder you are dining with the likes of me tonight."

"Yeah Starsk." Hutch was a bit distracted. Starsky had done his best to return to "normal", but what is normal when someone takes you against your will and pollutes your body with chemicals? It scared the living daylights out of Hutch when it had happened to him. He had toyed with the natural living lifestyle before Forest and friends, but afterwards he wanted control back. No more crap in his body. He needed every advantage he could get to keep the edge. He loved the adrenaline rush, the success of making someone's life just that much safer by getting the criminals off the streets. But it has its price. And it was taking its toll.

Hutch thought again of the lovely woman who had just left the bar. Someday, maybe, just maybe, he would lead a normal life. Go to work; come home at a decent hour to dinner and kids, no threats to life and limb.

"You ever wonder what it would be like, Starsk, to come home at a decent hour?" Hutch said, thinking out loud. Sometimes it could lead to a pretty good conversation.

"Yeah." Starsky replied. He turned around and kicked his feet up in the empty chair beside him. "Maybe I could get a dog…"

"A dog? You never struck me as the dog sort of guy. What kind of dog would you want?"

"Depends. I wouldn't want one that is high maintenance that's for sure. Maybe a mutt with lots of energy. What is the dog sort of guy anyways?"

"Not you and the lifestyle you're living. You'd be a stranger to the poor thing." Hutch decided to change the subject back to what he was thinking about originally. "Ever think about having a wife and kids?"

Starsky looked at Hutch like he had horns for ears. "Yes. No. I guess I kind of gave up on it after Terri, after she…" he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Me too, after Gillian…" Tragedy seemed to follow the two and the women they allowed themselves to love. It served to make them more leery about a serious relationship.

The two men studied their beers for a moment. "I don't think I could get married and continue in this line of work." Hutch said.

"You want to quit?" Starsky asked.

"NO! No, I don't. Not yet anyways. It's just, think about it. Is it natural to live like this?"

"Well, yes. There are plenty of men who live the bachelor life until their thirties or forties and then get married."

"Yeah, but do you want to have your first kid when you are 40?" Hutch asked. He lowered his voice and continued. "Starsk, just last month you were shot up with those synthetic drugs. They never did figure out exactly what they were when you decided to have the blood tested. How long did it take for you to get over it? Have you thought about what it would do to your wife if that happened or, God forbid, your kids?" Hutch ran his hand through his hair. "Dobey's been married how long? Do you think he decided to leave the streets before or after he met Edith?"

"I think it was after Elmo Jackson." Starsky said in a low tone, referring to Captain Dobey's partner who had been killed and left hanging on a meat hook. Given the gravity of the discussion, he kicked his feet off of the chair and turned to give Hutch his full attention.

"I think you are right. I don't know what I would do..." Hutch said. If that were you remained unspoken, but understood.

"Me neither." Starsky said. "But we've both been there before. It's a part of the job. It comes with the territory. I don't think we'd still be at it if we weren't so damn good at the job. But then again, we could take up robbing banks in Bolivia if you want to quit this line of work. I don't think the fringe benefits are any good though." Starsky added with some levity.

Hutch just laughed and downed his beer.

"You want another?" Starsky asked as he tossed back the last of his drink.

Hutch looked at his now empty glass. "Sure."

Starsky got up and went to the counter since no one had visited his table yet. He ordered another round of beer and also a burger with the works and fries for himself. He left Hutch to his own devices for now, figuring Hutch could order when somebody brought his meal to the table. That way, Starsky would not get stuck with the bill or food Hutch would refuse to eat since it wasn't tofu or whatever.

He scanned the bar as he walked back with the beers. He noticed a man seated in the corner table that looked familiar. Carefully he masked his face not to let any signs of recognition cross his features. When he returned to the table, he put the beer down and kicked his legs up again. He was facing partially away from the man when he looked at Hutch.

"Something wrong?"

"You could say that, don't let on though." Starsky said.

Hutch readjusted his face to hide what he knew was coming.

"Where?"

"One o'clock. Corner table."

"Where? Ohhh…" Hutch smiled like he had been told a good joke and took a quick drink of his beer to cover his glance at the table. There sat none other than Will Carter, wanted for pimping, distributing and assault with intent. The last girl he beat up was willing to press charges when she finally woke up. They had been looking for him for the last three months. He seemed intent in his conversations with his tablemate who Hutch could not identify other than he was a male, thin, and balding.

"You interested in a game of pool?"

"Right behind ya." Starsky unzipped his jacket to have better access to his weapon.

Hutch got up and dug into his pocket as if to get a couple of coins. He too unzipped his jacket as he went to get a stick. This placed them two tables away from their target.

"You set them up, and I'll break."

"Sure."

Hutch made a careless break, trying to set Starsky up for the pay play.

"Ha, prepare to pay, buddy!" Starsky said as he lined up on the cue ball, aiming straight for the table of their quarry. He hit the ball low and hard, causing it to jump up and off of the table.

"With shots like that, I think you are going to be the one paying pal!" Hutch casually walked over to Carter's table. "Hey man, sorry about that." He bent down to pick up the ball and unobtrusively pulled his ID while he was down there. "Will Carter? Police. You are under arrest." He said smoothly as he stood up.

Carter jumped up and made to run, but found himself running straight into Starsky, who smiled and held up his badge. Starsky grabbed his arm, maneuvering it up and behind his back while he quickly escorted him out the door, wanting to keep any scene to a minimum. Once outside, he secured the handcuffs. He was grateful for not needing the gun. He hated using it in a public place.

Starsky waited knowing that Hutch was "speaking" with the other man at the table. He knew anyone Carter was talking to was either wanted, or would be. Hutch would let the guy know that a: he was no longer anonymous, and b: he needed to take his business elsewhere because if he showed his face in their district, they would be all over him. If Hutch were lucky, he would get a name. No reason why Starsky couldn't try. He read Will Carter his rights and then added, "Who was the guy you were dining with?"

"My mother."

"Well, that explains a lot." Knowing he was not going to be getting much more out of his sullen prisoner, Starsky guided him towards his car and assisted him into the back seat with a "Get in and shut up." He called in the arrest, and then stood by the door on the driver's side while waiting for his partner and the transport team that would take the prisoner downtown to book him. It was nice when an arrest went this smoothly. It didn't happen that often.

Darn. He was really hungry! He felt just a little woozy too. He felt the all too familiar fear come over him. Starsky took a deep breath and held it, hoping to God he would not start seeing things again. It hadn't happened to him for over a week now, and the flashbacks were not as strong as they had been originally. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to focus on the chatter from the radio. It started to melt as he looked at it though, so he looked up at the door to Huggy's place. The door opened and out came his partner.

"Anything?" Hutch asked as he made his way towards the car.

"Carter says you were talking with his mother."

"Yeah? I could see the resemblance. Both are freaks."

Starsky snorted then asked, "My food ready?"

"I sent it back."

"You did! Why!"

"Well, we've got to book 'em."

"Not until I eat. I've called transport. We can file the reports later." Starsky did not want to drive until he had something, anything, in his stomach.

"You know we are supposed to book him when we make the arrest, Starsk."

"I'm eating. You deal with it." With that, Starsky tossed his partner his keys and walked away leaving Hutch wondering what the hell was going on…

JULIE made the trade and got the drugs she needed for later on. What a fortuitous meeting! He had no idea who he was talking to. She knew the changes she had worked on her appearance had made a difference, but she had seen the way Hutchinson was looking at her, and it gave her a new angle on her plan of attack. The idea made her tingle with anticipation.

First she had to take care of her sister…