Chapter 5

"Your friend here tried to stiff me." The woman declared.

"She asked me to play with her!" Starsky said defensively, looking at Hutch anxiously. "But, she wanted me to give her twenty whole dollars and go with her to a dark alley."

""What's with him?" The hooker sneered, looking at Starsky oddly. "Is he retarded or something?"

"Get out of here, lady." Hutch ordered, pulling his badge out of his pocket and flashing it at her. "Before I run you in for solicitation."

"What's the matter, Blondie? You keeping him all to yourself?" The woman said in a mocking tone. "You gonna take the retard home with you and fuck him?"

"Get out of here!" Hutch said loudly. "And I'll forget you said that!"

The woman's laughter filled the air as she turned and strolled away, shaking her ass to attract business. As she disappeared around the corner, Starsky looked at Hutch with tears welling up in his eyes and said, "Why did she call me a retard? That's not a nice word. My ma said so."

"You're right. It's not a nice word." Hutch agreed, "And you aren't one."

"What did I do to make her mad at me?"

"Nothing, pal. Just a misunderstanding." Hutch said. He knew that this was no time to try and explain the facts of life to Starsky. "But, don't wander away from me like that again when we go out, okay?"

"Okay." Starsky said somberly. The two men began to walk down the street towards Hutch's car. Starsky was quiet and subdued, positive that he had done something bad. "Are you gonna spank me when we get home?" He blurted out.

"What?" Hutch said, stopping and staring at his friend. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Because I was bad. I didn't stay with you like I was supposed to." Starsky said, "And I made that lady mad."

"Believe me, pal…that was no lady and she'll get it over it." Reaching his car, he unlocked the door and jerked it open. "Now get in the car so we can go home."

"And fasten my seatbelt like a good boy." Starsky said with a lopsided smile.

"That's right." Hutch said, smiling back, his own good mood restored. He made a mental note to keep a closer eye on the brunet when they went out in public. He had to keep reminding himself that in his present condition, Starsky wasn't the tough, streetwise cop who could fend for himself that Hutch knew.

Worn out by their busy morning, Starsky soon fell asleep as Hutch made his way through the busy midtown traffic. Not wanting to wake him and not wanting to break his promise either, Hutch used the drive through at the taco stand and bought a big bag of goodies to take home with them for later. When they reached the apartment, a cranky Starsky climbed out of the car and went into the house, flopping down on the couch and burying his face in the pillow to finish his interrupted nap.

Hutch puttered around the apartment, doing some light housekeeping chores, while Starsky slept. He'd have to remember to ask Rachel, Starsky's mother, if he really was like this when he was that age. He'd called her and told her about Starsky's accident, assuring her that her eldest son was going to be okay and that his injures were not life threatening.

Normally, he would have respected Starsky's wishes and not told her anything unless the brunet's injuries were serious. But, given his present condition, there was no way to hide it from his perceptive mother. Starsky called her religiously every Friday night at seven o'clock and if he missed a call, she immediately called him, worried that something was wrong, unless he called her first to forewarn her that he was tied up on a case and wouldn't be able to make his usual call as expected. When she had learned the particulars of his head injury, she had laughed and told Hutch to give him plenty of love and not to forget to discipline if he needed it.

After finishing his chores, Hutch heated up the food from the taco stand and woke Starsky up so that he could eat. He watched, amused, as Starsky bolted down three large burritos loaded with everything followed by a root beer. At least there was nothing wrong with Starsky's usual appetite. Hutch envied Starsky for the way he could eat anything without worrying about his weight. He seemed to maintain his lean, muscular build with little effort, while Hutch had to fight to keep off the extra pounds. And, in spite of his favored junk food diet, Starsky was in excellent health.

After they had eaten, Hutch suggested that they walk to the nearby beach. One of the nice things about living in Bay City was the miles of shoreline that bordered the city with secluded, private beaches, one of them within easy walking distance of Starsky's apartment. The two men changed into cut off jeans and tank tops for their stroll in the sun.

When they reached the quiet stretch of beach, there were a few beach bunnies frolicking in the sand, laughing as they tossed a beach ball back and forth. One of them noticed the two handsome men and smiled seductively, looking disappointed when Hutch ignored them and kept walking with Starsky by his side.

"Fucking queers." She said just loud enough for Hutch to hear her as they passed by. "What a waste."

As they walked on down the beach, Starsky looked back at the women who had returned to their game and said, "Hutch, what's a queer? Joey Santino back home said the old guy that lived down the street was one and that I'd better stay away from him because he liked little boys like me."

"Never mind, buddy. You aren't one and neither am I." Hutch said a bit more sharply than he intended to. For years rumors had floated around headquarters about the two men being more than 'just friends' because of their unique bond and close relationship. Starsky was the one who usually blew them off, while Hutch was the one who usually took offense, mainly because his own father had accused him of being a homosexual simply because he liked music, painting and cooking. It didn't seem to matter that he also liked sports, boxing and running track. But the tables had been turned when the two partners had had to go to a gay bar while investigating the murder of a fellow police officer, there it had been Starsky that got hit on the most.

They took off their shoes as they walked through the sand, enjoying the feeling of the warm granules between their toes. They walked to the ocean's edge and spent aseveral minutes wading in the warm, salty water. Finally, Hutch decided it was time to head for home.

"Do we have to go?" Starsky whined, "Can't we stay just a little bit longer?"

"It'll be dark soon." Hutch told him firmly. "And we have to get up early tomorrow for Rosie's birthday party."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Starsky said, the reminder of the upcoming party enough to restore his good humor. As they put on their shoes for the walk home, he said, "Can I have some cookies and ice cream before I go to bed?"

"How about some popcorn instead?" Hutch suggested, "I'll even put lots of butter on it, just the way you like it."

"Okay…but I get a root beer too." Starsky said, pouting at substituting popcorn for cookies and ice cream but willing to compromise.

After eating the promised snack and taking his bath, it was time for another bedtime story before bed. Hutch turned in himself after Starsky fell asleep and was soon sleeping soundly. He was jarred awake by terrified screams coming from the bedroom. Jumping to his feet, he hurried into the room to find Starsky sitting up in bed, clutching Ollie tightly to his chest, and sobbing heavily.

"What is it, buddy?" Hutch asked, immediately sinking down on the bed beside his obviously distraught partner and pulling him into the shelter of his embrace.

"I had a bad dream…" Starsky hiccupped through his tears. "I dreamed that Pop got shot and there was blood…a lot of blood."

"Shhhh…" Hutch soothed him gently; realizing that the brunet's tortured mind must have remembered his father's murder and relived the event in his nightmare. "It's okay now. I got ya."

"Can I call Pop?" Starsky whimpered, "To make sure he's okay?"

"Not right now, pal. It's too late and besides…there's no phone where they are right now." Hutch told him to distract him from both his request and his lingering fear for his father's safety. "It was just a dream…that's all." Hutch hated lying to Starsky but, in his present condition, he didn't need to know that his father had been dead for over twenty years. In his mind, his father was still alive and it was best if he stayed that began to quietly sing one of Starsky's favorite songs in his clear, strong voice. Soon the brunet calmed down and drifted back to sleep. Hutch stayed with him. If he woke up again, Hutch didn't want him to wake up alone and scared, especially if he had any more bad dreams.