Ignatius
Hutch checked the time on the squad room clock and frowned. Starsky had said he'd be back by seven and then they could go for a meal together. His partner had suggested a place called 'The Sea Urchin' down near the Bay City Marina. Hutch was grateful that Starsky hadn't suggested they go to any of their usual haunts; he could do without greasy burgers or pizza tonight. They'd eaten an awful lot of that stuff this week and Hutch was craving vegetables and salads; fresh caught fish would also make a nice change.
Hutch was glad to have made it to Friday at last and was relishing the prospect of a long weekend off. They'd had to work through the last weekend in order to get to the bottom of who had taken vigilante action against three criminals that had been released by the DA and the case had taken its toll on both of them. The rest of the week had been as hectic as usual so it was going to be really nice just to hang out together and relax.
However, they wouldn't be going back to Nellie's, their latest favourite hang-out. Not for a while anyway; not after the events of the last weekend. Too many ruffled feathers amongst their fellow officers.
"And a slightly sour taste in my mouth," Hutch thought, "If I'm honest with myself."
Unfortunately, the bar now reminded him of his argument and fight with Starsky; both faked, of course, but just as Starsky's fist connecting with his mouth had hurt so had the words they had had to say to each other. He suspected Starsky felt the same.
Now, Hutch was looking forward to spending an evening eating, talking and laughing with his best friend someplace else. Hopefully, they'd be able to erase the memory of the words 'buddy' and 'partner' being said with venom.
He knew Starsky was just as uncomfortable as he was with the way they had had to act towards each other. It went so against the grain, so against their code. Hutch had caught sight of Starsky's stricken face just before he'd hit the floor. They'd joked about it briefly when Starsky arrived at his apartment to collect a bottle of wine and to tell his partner and Dobey about Ginger. They hadn't talked about it since.
Hutch thought his partner had forgotten about the whole thing, but every so often this week he'd noticed an air of guilt hanging around his partner. Maybe that guilt was behind Starsky's offer to pay for dinner; that and the fact he had asked Hutch to finish their report while he ran a mysterious 'errand'. Hutch wasn't going to turn down the offer of a free meal but he was hungry now and Starsky was late.
"C'mon, Starsk! Where are you?"
Looking at the time again, Hutch made a decision. He leaned across to Starsky's desk, grabbed his pad and wrote a note on it before standing up and putting on his black leather jacket. Then he headed out of the squad room and made his way down to his car in the lot. He was pleased that the two of them had made their way in separately today. It meant he could go get them a table at 'The Sea Urchin' and maybe order a starter to nibble at while he waited for his tardy partner.
The drive to the marina didn't take long. He parked his car and looked out across the collection of moored boats, bobbing on the water. There were strings of lights along the quayside, which looked pretty in the darkening sky. The wind was a little chill as he climbed out of his car and he pulled his collar up. He set off along the sidewalk to walk the few hundred yards to the restaurant. He was almost at the wooden gangplank that led down to the entrance to 'The Sea Urchin' when he heard the sound of jogging feet behind him.
"Hey, Hutch! Wait up, partner!"
He turned to see his friend hurrying towards him.
"Didn't you hear me yelling back there? I just missed you at the squad room and I've been trying to catch up to you ever since."
Hutch shrugged. "Well, you found me."
"Yeah."
Nervously, Starsky pulled his right hand from behind his back and offered a box to his partner. It was made of white cardboard and wrapped with a red ribbon.
"What's this?"
"It's a present."
"Yeah, I can see that, dummy! What's it for?"
"It's for you," Starsky said, looking slightly bewildered. "You gonna open it or make me stand here like a fool all night?"
Hutch gave up trying to get a clue from his partner as to what the box was and what it was for.
"All right. Give it here."
He took the gift in his hands, still wondering what the occasion was. Carefully, Hutch pulled at the two lengths of soft red ribbon so that the bow unfolded and left the square box ready to be opened. Looking warily at his partner, Hutch lifted the lid cautiously and teased the tissue paper apart.
"Starsky? Is this your pet rock?"
"Yep."
"Why are you giving me your pet rock?"
"It brought me luck and luck is something you have to pass on so it's your turn to have it."
Hutch didn't know what to think. He'd thought Starsky was a gullible idiot for buying the rock from Huggy in the first place. Why would he want something he thought was a waste of space? He looked at his partner, fully prepared to give him a speech about believing you made your own luck.
Before he could speak, Starsky opened his mouth again: "And it's to say sorry for hitting ya so hard. I didn't mean to connect like that. It was an accident, ya know?"
Hutch sighed. "I know that, pal. Don't worry about it anymore. Thanks for the rock. What's its name?"
"He's a he and he's called Ignatius 'cause he's an igneous rock."
"Of course, he is," Hutch said, only slightly sarcastically. "How about we go eat, buddy?"
Hutch filled the word 'buddy' with as much affection as he could and saw Starsky start to grin.
"Sounds like a great idea, buddy."
Smiling, the two partners walked down the gangplank together, knowing that everything between them was restored to just the way it should be.
"Ignatius is too formal. I think I'll call him Iggy."
"Hey, you can't change his name! It'll confuse him!"
"He's a rock. What's he got to be confused about?"
