FAULT LINE-PART 3

CHAPTER 20

AFTERSHOCK

----------

Finally, the confusion and fear were over. The crime lab came to brush up all the pieces of dust and bits of evidence to take back with them. The uniformed cops had taken Joey away. They restrained him and read him his rights. The poor man was so lost in his fantasy that all he could do was repeat his name, rank and serial number. Kira stayed with him, crooning to him, patting his shoulders and brushing back his hair. She finally found someone who needed her but wouldn't judge her motives. She rode with Joey in the black and white down to the precinct. The officers were grateful that no other form of control was necessary so they didn't object to Kira's presence.

Captain Dobey arrived at the dusty club to inspect and advise. He was very pleased with the outcome and he made his rounds to all involved, thanking them for their hard work.

"Well, you could have done this a little neater but at least no one was hurt." The captain examined the scene and did his best to pacify the irate French owner.

Chenille hopped around, waving her arms and screaming in French. She followed the crime team around and once they were done sweeping up, she followed along with her own broom and angry words. She kept up a broken litany in a mixture of English and French. She pointed out the repairs that she expected the city to pay for. She shoved a list in Captain Dobey's face, making sure her request was understood.

It was early mornng by the time the business of closing down the crime scene came to an end. Chenille decided to close the club down for a couple days which would give the city workers time to come in and make some hurried repairs to the building. Captain Dobey assured the business woman that her demands would all be met.

The captain was pleased that the murder was finally solved and gave all those involved a few days off. He watched Starsky and Hutch tie up the loose ends of their case. He noticed that they were working together and seemed to have resolved whatever problem that had plagued them earlier. He hoped that he would not have to deal with another problem that seemed to be brewing under his command. Kira had not been part of Metro for long but he was already aware of trouble. Her reputation had come over from her last precinct but Dobey always wanted to give people the benefit of the doubt. He suspected that part of the problem between Starsky and Hutch involved Kira. Unfortunately he would have to call her in and get the chief involved to get it all sorted out. He didn't like dealing with this kind of thing but he also wanted a well run and professional unit.

It was nothing new to see Starsky and Hutch working as a team on a case. They were known and respected for their ability to be efficient and hard working, getting their job done quickly but completely.

Most of the officers present had observed the difficult and angry existence between the two friends. At one time or another everyone had withered under Hutch's steely black look and angry words. A few had even missed the confident strut and humor of the dark haired detective.

Starsky and Hutch were anxious to wrap up the details and get on with the reunion that they craved. At this point they were so emotionally and physically exhausted that what each really needed was sleep. But the quick glances and small touches that passed between them kept each motivated to finish their duties.

With the last of the statements given and recorded, there was nothing left to do other than close the doors to the club. Wearily, the officers, various team members and the last of the witnesses, shuffled out to their cars. Everyone was ready to put the past few weeks behind them, particularly Starsky and Hutch.

The past weeks and months slowly slid from their shoulders as the two walked out the doors of the night club for the last time. Starsky and Hutch stood out on the sidewalk, watching everyone get in their cars and drive away. A few last minute details were exchanged with Captain Dobey.

"You boys come in later on today and write up your reports, then I'm taking you off the roster for three days. You both look like hell. When was the last time either one of you slept, or had a decent meal?" Dobey gruffly questioned, but the evidence of concern cancelled out his angry behavior. He stood in between the two detectives with an arm around each man. Just as quickly, he abandoned the gesture and cleared his throat.

"Come along now and get this investigation wrapped up. I want those reports on my desk by 10 a.m. Get moving!"

Starsky and Hutch were not fooled by their Captain's grumpy manner. They were relieved to have his support in all things. He was their biggest support in terms of their jobs, but both men knew that personally, the Captain cared a great deal about them. They watched as the captain tiredly made his way to his car.

Finally alone, the two men stood silent. Not sure what to say or what the next move should be, Hutch kicked at an imagined stone on the ground and Starsky wiped a tiny piece of non existent dust off the Torino. Neither one looked directly at his companion. Suddenly the careful moment was broken as each man spoke at the same time, with the same thought in mind.

"You Hungry?" Hutch asked.

"You want to go get breakfast?" Starsky invited.

Shy but confident, Starsky reached out to grab Hutch by the arm. The two men closed the short space between them to join in a comforting, forgiving hug.

They agreed to meet at a small diner not far from the dance club. The drive didn't take long and they pulled up into the parking lot at the same time. Falling into the booth across from Hutch, Starsky leaned against the wall and pulled his knees up to his chin. He leaned his head back, resting his eyes.

Hutch played with his water glass, tracing the drops on the outside of the small, cold glass. Hutch felt it was up to him to apologize. He wasn't quite sure where to start. He guessed just a simple, single sentence would be a start.

"Starsky, I'm sorry." Hutch stared at Starsky. The dark haired man's eyes were still closed. He hadn't reacted at all to what Hutch had just said. Maybe Starsky had fallen asleep? Maybe Starsky was still really pissed?

After a minute, Starsky sighed and pushed his legs under the table. He leaned his elbows on the table but made no attempt to speak.

The waitress took this moment to reach their table with her order pad and pencil poised to scratch out the instructions to the cook. Dora wasn't used to sober, good looking customers this time of night, day-- well whatever time it was,-- these guys were easy on the eyes.

She wrote out their choices and offered a flabby grin. Her feet were swollen and these two were her last customers on her shift. The sooner they ordered and she could serve them, she was gone. She'd worry about getting her tip tomorrow. Connie would watch out for her and make sure she shared whatever tip these two might remember to leave.

Hutch still wasn't sure Starsky had heard him since he hadn't acknowledged Hutch's words. But slowly, deliberately Starsky reached out and rested his hand on Hutch's arm. He pulled his head in closer across the table and made sure Hutch was paying attention.

"I'm sorry too". That was all Starsky said. But the contact remained on Hutch's arm.

With his other hand, Hutch absently rubbed at his shoulder. He closed his eyes, trying to form another, meaningful sentence. His eyes snapped open as Starsky began to speak

"I guess your back and shoulder are gonna protest for a few days? Pretty tough crowd earlier huh? Shit. Hutch, I know. You and every one else tried to tell me about her. But that ain't the point of this story is it? I know that the only way for me to be a good cop, a good street cop, is to have you beside me. Not this, cruddy, belligerent, tantrum attitude kind of guy, but the honest, straight forward and reliable guy who drives a beat up car. If you're done with the guilt trip and screwy attitude, how 'bout if we put this whole thing behind us and pick up where we left off a long time ago?"

Starsky pulled his arm away from Hutch as the food made an appearance. Dora smiled her best- end of shift smile-, asked if they needed anything else and plunked the bill down on the table and said good night.

Hutch picked up his fork, looked at his plate but set the unused fork back down. He studied his food for a minute before he answered Starsky.

Hutch felt himself tense up. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Starsky to quit being so fucking nice. Hutch knew he didn't deserve the easy forgiveness that Starsky had just offered. But that's the way Starsky was. He always wanted to put unpleasant confrontations behind him as quickly as possible. Starsky reacted first, analyzed next and then was completely willing to get back to the original attitude. But Hutch knew that even though the dark haired man was giving Hutch an easy way out, Starsky would never forget what they had both gone through or what they had both learned. It just wasn't Starsky's nature to brood. That was Hutch's style.

"Well as I see it, since we survived Kira and the bull dog fight from hell, we sure should be able to get back to doing what we know best." Hutch grinned as he put a bite of his omelet in his mouth. He chewed and watched Starsky as the dark haired man squirted ketchup across his eggs and slathered butter over his toast.

Starsky relaxed for the first time in days. He winced though as the kink in his neck tightened up, reminding him of the fight that they'd had earlier.

"You landed a pretty good elbow lock on me blondie. Remind me never to get you mad at me!" Starsky wanted to feel secure. He wanted to have that easy banter back with his partner. Things still felt strange. Not quite normal. But he was pretty sure that given time, they both would heal.

Both Starsky and Hutch were completely exhausted by the time they finished their breakfast. Knowing that they had just begun to repair and understand their fall out, they agreed to put any more serious talk aside until they could get the final reports filed on The Golden Lady Dance Club murder. They continued sitting at the table long after they'd paid the bill. The diner was open all night, so nobody cared that they just sat and drank coffee.

They discussed the merits of just going back to the squad room now and finishing the reports as opposed to getting a few hours sleep, then going in fresh to complete their assignment before taking advantage of the time off that Dobey had promised them.

"C'mon Hutch. I really need to sleep. I can hardly make one logical sentence now, let alone making an acceptable report that Dobey wouldn't pitch back at me." Starsky rubbed his face and took another sip of coffee.

"Starsky, what would make your report any more lucid a few hours from now? Dobey would still scream at you because you left something out or spelled a word wrong. Besides we have three days off ahead. Let's just go now, get the damn reports filed and off our desks."

The three days off perked Starsky up and gave him that shot of adrenaline that Hutch knew he could tap into.