Hutch sat at the desk he shared with his partner, attempting to read some reports. It was his first day back in the saddle following his recovery from a plague that had infected hundreds of Bay City residents – and taken the lives of some.

He was the sole occupant of the room; the other detectives who were on shift were out on patrol, or interviewing suspects or informants. Starsky was in Records, collecting more files on their latest case, and no doubt flirting with Officer Minnie Kaplan while he was at it.

Hutch was finding it hard to concentrate, mainly due to his brain's reluctance to engage work-mode, but also because he was anticipating Starsky's return with some trepidation. His partner had been gradually becoming more and more giddy as he had celebrated Thanksgiving and then Hanukkah with his usual enthusiasm. Now, with Christmas fast approaching, his ebullience was sorely trying Hutch's patience.

Secretly, Hutch did like many aspects of Christmas, but it had become traditional to bicker with Starsky about its merits; and he had to admit it was fun. He knew that this year especially he had much to be grateful for. But after spending so long in hospital, fighting for his life, he still found everything exhausting; and Starsky's attitude was making him even more grumpy than usual.

Hutch suppressed a sigh and sank lower in his chair, nose buried in the file he was supposedly reading. He could hear his partner's approach as soon as Starsky stepped off the elevator down the hallway.

"La, la, la, la, la, la, la,

La, la, la, la, la, la,

A partridge in a pear tree!"

His partner had a very pleasant baritone voice, and Hutch often enjoyed blending his own, slightly higher-pitched tenor voice with Starsky's while he played his guitar or, occasionally, piano. But not today. And definitely not in the squad room.

"Doo, de, doo, doo, de doo, doo,

De, doo, de, doo, de, dum,

Two doodle doos

And a partridge in a pear tree!"

A plate of Christmas cookies appeared at his side, along with a small stack of files. "Minnie sent you a present, Hutch, and she says you're to call in and see her before you leave."

Starsky moved across to the coffee pot, still singing to himself. Hutch grunted a response, doing his best to ignore the way his partner mangled the words of the song. A cup of coffee materialised beside the plate then one of the cookies was appropriated.

Hutch attempted to slap Starsky's hand away but was far too slow. Starsky skipped out of reach, grinning as he munched on the spicy gingerbread. "I thought you said that was my present, Starsky," Hutch grumbled.

"Well, yeah, but I know you want to share with your best friend."

Hutch contented himself with an exaggerated rolling of his eyes before picking up his own gingerbread man.

Starsky stood behind Hutch, resting a hand on his shoulder as he looked at the file Hutch had been perusing. "How's it going, buddy? You makin' any headway?"

"Not really," Hutch admitted, leaning back in his chair and sighing heavily as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't seem to concentrate."

"Early days, Hutch. 'S early days yet. This is your first day back, remember."

"Two hours, Starsk! I've only been here for two hours and I feel exhausted!"

Starsky gently squeezed the shoulder beneath his hand. "D'you want my cookie?"

Hutch snorted. "Not after you've had your jaws round it, Gordo!"

Neither of them had noticed the door to Captain Dobey's office had opened until they heard him clearing his throat. "Starsky. Hutchinson," he rumbled. "My office."

Starsky and Hutch exchanged a quizzical glance before following their commanding officer. Dobey sat behind his desk and Hutch dropped inelegantly into one of the two remaining chairs. Starsky hesitated briefly, then sat beside his partner.

For long seconds there was silence while Dobey stared at his two detectives. Starsky began to fidget but Hutch reached out a hand to still the movement. When he looked at the captain, he realised that he was the main focus of Dobey's scrutiny. He forced himself to sit up straighter, stifling a yawn as he did so.

"Time to call it a day, I think, Hutch," Dobey said, gently.

"But I've barely done anything," Hutch protested. "I've only been here for a couple of hours."

"And that is two more hours than anyone has a right to ask of you at this stage of your recovery. Go home, son, and rest. Come back refreshed tomorrow and give me another two hours if you can."

Hutch looked to his left to see his partner nodding. "That's a good idea, Hutch. We can pick up again in the morning."

It was not like Hutch to give in without a fight, but he knew in his heart of hearts he could do no more today so, reluctantly, he agreed.

"I'll drive you home right now, Hutch," Starsky volunteered.

"We drove in separately, Bozo. I'm on reduced hours, remember?" Hutch raised a finger before Starsky could object. "It's okay, Starsky. I'm not so tired I can't drive myself home."

Turning to Captain Dobey, Hutch gave a nod. "Thanks, Captain. See you tomorrow. See ya, Starsk." Giving a small salute, Hutch went back out to the squad room, leaving both Starsky and Dobey looking worriedly behind him.

Hutch shuffled the files into an unsteady pile, gulped down the remains of his coffee, and pulled his jacket from the back of his chair. He gave a slight start as Starsky spoke from right behind him. "You sure you're okay to drive, Hutch?"

"Of course I am!" he snapped. "I'm not feeble!"

He immediately regretted his flash of irritation, seeing Starsky's flinch, and knowing that his friend had been equally as scared as he had been for the past few weeks.

"I'm sorry, Starsk. I'll be fine, honestly. I guess I'm more tired than I'd expected to be so, I'm taking it out on you. I'll go down to see Minnie then I'll go straight home and put my feet up for the rest of the day." A slight hesitation, then Hutch asked diffidently, "You calling round after work?"

Starsky grinned. "Just try and stop me! I'll even fetch pizza!"

XXXXXXXXX

The next few days followed a similar pattern, with both detectives on desk duty, and Hutch gradually increasing the amount of time he could work before fatigue overtook him.

Two days before Christmas, Captain Dobey called them into his office. "Edith asked me to tell you she's expecting you both for Christmas Eve tea tomorrow. She won't take 'no' for an answer, so we'll see you at four."

"Are you sure, Cap?" Hutch asked. "That must be a very special family time for you?"

"Rosie asked especially for you both to join us, and we all agreed that we need a special celebration this year following your illness."

Hutch felt his cheeks flush but there was no way he was declining the invitation and upsetting Rosie. Or his partner; he could sense the excitement fizzing by his side, like a firecracker about to explode into multicoloured sparks.

"Thanks, Captain. We'll be there."

XXXXXXXXX

Just before 4pm on Christmas Eve, Starsky stopped his Torino outside the Dobey's house. A sparkling tree could be seen through the window and lights shone out in welcome. Starsky and Hutch climbed out, and Starsky retrieved a small pile of presents from the back seat.

As they approached the house, the door flew open and Hutch was almost bowled over by the whirlwind that was Rosie Dobey. "Uncle Ken! Uncle Dave! I'm so glad you've come!"

Rosie tugged at Hutch's hand, pulling him into the house. "Come on, Uncle Dave!" she called.

Casting a humorous look over his shoulder, Hutch allowed himself to be dragged inside. Starsky followed, closing the door behind him.

Edith Dobey emerged from the kitchen as Rosie manoeuvred Hutch onto the sofa. Starsky handed the gifts to Edith before sinking down beside Hutch.

"Thank you for inviting us, Edith," said Hutch. "Starsky has been so excited... oof!"

Starsky elbowed him, none too gently, in the ribs. Hutch shifted further along the sofa. "Did you see that?" he stage-whispered to Rosie. "That really hurt!"

"Uncle Dave! I'm s'prised at you!" said Rosie sternly. "Santa won't bring you any presents if you're naughty."

Hutch struggled to contain his amusement when Starsky gulped, "Sorry, Rosie."

"You should 'pologise to Uncle Ken too."

Starsky stuck out his lower lip and pouted. "Sorry, Hutch," he mumbled.

Hutch punched Starsky on the arm and grinned. "That's okay, buddy. I'll live."

Rosie bounced up again, disappeared and returned a moment later.

"Look what I've made," she said, proudly. "Paper angels."

When they looked more closely, Starsky and Hutch could see that Rosie had made a string of paper dolls but changed them into angels with glittery wings and haloes.

"Wow!" Starsky exclaimed. "Those are beautiful! You've done a great job!"

"She has loved making those, Hutch," Edith said. "It was such a good idea of yours. She has been snipping away every chance she's had."

Hutch ruffled Rosie's hair. "Well done, Princess."

Captain Dobey appeared at the kitchen doorway. "Everything is ready, so come on through. Help yourselves, boys. We always have our meal early on Christmas Eve then we can all calm down before Santa comes."

The table was full of both savoury and sweet treats. Cal Dobey made sure everyone had something to drink, then the group settled to enjoy the feast and pleasant conversation.

Rosie became more and more fidgety as the party progressed until, at last, everyone had finished. As soon as she was allowed, she scampered away and returned with a large, old book.

"Can you read this to me, Uncle Ken?"

"But that's dad's book," Cal said.

"That's alright, son. It would be nice for me to listen for a change."

Hutch exchanged a stricken look with Starsky. "Oh, no, sir. I can't possibly read your book, not if you do it every year."

"Of course you can, Hutch. Rosie wants you to read it, and maybe this is the start of a new tradition where you and Starsky join us on this day, and one of you reads my book."

Hutch took the book from Rosie and the group all returned to the cosy living room, where the fire and the lights on the tree glowed softly.

Hutch looked at the front cover of the book, which depicted an embossed Santa Claus with a huge sack of toys over his shoulder, standing beside a tall Christmas tree.

"What a beautiful book."

"It was a gift from my grandparents when I was a boy," said Dobey. "We always read it together on Christmas Eve, and now this new generation of Dobeys continues the tradition."

"Are you sure...?" Hutch began.

"Yes, I'm certain. Go on Hutch."

With Dobey, Edith and Cal on one sofa, and Rosie snuggled between himself and Starsky on the other, Hutch began...

"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse..."