FAULT LINE- PART 3

CHAPTER 22

AFTERSHOCK

Getting Kira to Huggy's was easy. Minnie enjoyed her part. All she had to do was tell the woman that the guys had decided that neither one could function alone and they had decided they needed to talk to her. Kira was too intrigued and flattered to pass up the invitation. She dismissed Minnie with a quick wave and left to claim her prize.

Huggy was more than willing to comply. He was also greatly relieved that Starsky and Hutch had wised up and fixed whatever had made them drift apart. The only thing Starsky had told the bar owner was that they needed The Pits empty. Starsky would get there first and Huggy should just play along with them.

Starsky came in and sat at the end of the bar. He seemed awfully grumpy but Huggy didn't question. He was too interested to find out what was gonna go down.

"Huggy, a beer please. I gotta date with a blond."

Shortly after, Kira sauntered in and sat at the stool next to Starsky. She looked him over but didn't say a word. She was just glad to see him and couldn't wait to pick up where they'd left off.

Right on cue, Hutch walked in and plopped on the bar stool next to Kira. He looked her up and down then motioned to Huggy for a beer.

Kira watched Hutch as he watched her. She bit her lower lip and reached out to caress his arm. But her arm fell back into her lap when she caught Hutch's expression. Now she was confused.

Huggy couldn't resist.

"Hutch, what's up? Waitin' on somebody?" Huggy set the beer in front of Hutch then backed away. He pretended to be busy wiping the bar glasses but he kept an eye toward Kira.

"Huggy, I got a date. Seems like it's time." Hutch took a long drink of the beer and swiveled his stool to face Kira.

At the same time, Starsky got up and blocked Kira against the bar. A look passed between the two men that only they could interpret.

She looked from one to the other and licked her lips. She smiled at Huggy until he wanted to throw the bar towel at her.

"So what did you guys decide? You both want me don't you?" She purred and flipped her hair back behind her ear.

Hutch bent toward her ear and whispered.

"Kira, we made a decision. Want to know our answer? I'll go first."

Hutch bent lower and whispered to the back of her neck so that the little hairs there tickled as he spoke.

"Nope."

One word and Kira frowned. But she turned her hopeful eyes at Starsky and tilted her head and closed her eyes, ready for a kiss.

Starsky smiled. He bent low toward her ear and whispered his answer.

"Nope"

Her eyes sprang open and she nearly fell off the bar stool in surprise. Damn, she was sure in the end Starsky would come back to her.

She regained her composure and snarled at both of them. But she couldn't resist one last dig.

"Too bad boys. The sad thing is you both know what you'll be missing.!" She continued to stare and watched as Starsky moved to stand beside Hutch.

Starsky flung his arm around Hutch's shoulder but turned to face Kira for the last time.

"See the thing is Kira, I prefer natural blonds!"

Starsky and Hutch broke out in mutual laughter at the shocked look on Kira's face. Without looking back, they walked out arm in arm. Kira shot a smoldering glance at their retreat. If looks could kill-----.

Huggy couldn't stop snickering either and defended himself against another hateful glance aimed at him. Fortunately, Kira wasted no more time on Huggy. She got up, straightened her outfit, smoothed down her hair and glided confidently out the door.

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Epilogue

Two months later Starsky sat in the squad room, sipping at his coffee. It was a rare afternoon without any reports to file and the case load had dwindled to only a few open murders. Hutch was in court for the afternoon, giving testimony on their most recent solved crime. Starsky took advantage of the quiet to wind down and reflect.

Kira had left the precinct and in fact had left Bay City altogether. The reality of her move was that she had followed Joey to the maximum security psychological facility where he would spend the rest of his days confined to a locked ward. Kira gave up her Bay City Police badge in favor of guard duty at the facility where Joey was. Unbelievable as it seemed, she had formed an attachment to the man and often she was the only person he would respond to. She was going to school to become a psychologist.

But Starsky chuckled as he thought about the rumors that had cropped up since she had left. His favorite one though was that she had given up her badge, moved to Pennsylvania, shaved her head and joined a religious cult that handed out propeganda tracts at the airport. Starsky was pretty sure that Minnie had started that rumor.

Things for the two detectives had quieted down and they had regained their footing out on the streets of Bay City. In some ways, their work together had gotten better, tighter and more confident. Their friendship also grew more solid but both men still had times when they felt the remnants of doubt and dissapointment in each other. For Starsky, he still had his zest for life and would always believe in his blond friend. The fear and hurt had eventually faded, leaving him determined never to take for granted the bond between them.

Hutch still carried the mustache but had conceded to trim his hair to a neater style. His attitude had morphed into something between his old serious self and the brash, belligerent attitude that he had flaunted most recently. Now he was more animated and relaxed although he still had times when he was very quiet and brooding. Starsky often caught Hutch watching him. When Starsky would call him on it, Hutch played down the mood and made a joke at his own expense. But one night Hutch did confide to Starsky about the after effects of their experience. Hutch confessed to periods of a feeling of dread. He supposed it was the dream he still had occasionally about standing on a solid foundation until the earth underneath him started to shake. He explained to Starsky that there was a hand that reached out to him that he could never quite connect with. Starsky also shared his dream along the same theme. But Starsky didn't have the dream too much anymore, but encouraged Hutch to call him whenever he had the dream again.

What Hutch couldn't tell Starsky though was that he still didn't feel he deserved Starsky's trust. He was still plagued with the fear that there would come a time when he would let Starsky down again. He was afraid that the next time their bond of faith was tested, that it wouldn't be enough. There was that nibble of doubt that made him wonder.--- if Starsky ever needed him again, would Hutch have enough strength for both of them? But most of the time, that fear was a very small spot in his brain, overshadowed by the common bond between them.

A few days after his court testimony was finally over, Hutch sat across from Starsky in a quiet squad room. At least it was quiet until Captain Dobey came barrelling out of his office to make an announcement. The officers and detectives looked up from their various reports and phone calls to give Dobey their attention.

"Listen people, the entire precinct is due to be painted in the next few weeks. They've already started down the hall and this office is gonna be next. So get your personal stuff outta here otherwise it'll be burried under drop clothes for weeks. So at the end of your shift, take your junk home or put it in your cars, but I ain't responsible for your crap!"

As if to confirm the point, the precinct maintenance supervisor walked through the door with a paint speckled worker. The two men had paint samples in each hand and talked between themselves about which color would work best in each office.

"Well, here you take Ollie home Hutch. I'll take the pig and the blue dog." Starsky gathered his belongings as he and Hutch left for the day.

Starsky turned around to face the room again and snapped his fingers as an idea came to him.

"We're gonna be stuck in a torn up, smelly office for days with nothing to do. What we need is to bring in a ping pong table and have rounds of games for anybody who's here and has the time."

"Starsky, Dobey will never let us do that. Unless, he gets involved too, then he'll get disgusted and maybe he'll give us a few days off while the painting's getting finished!"

The two friends walked out the door planning the matches and how many teams. They even thought up their own brand of ping pong, collecting points for each trivia movie quote they could come up with. A three course meal of the winner's choosing rounded out the rules of the game. Maybe the next few days wouldn't be boring afterall.

They made their way down the hall, caught up in their plans. It was just another day, secure in the comfort of duty and harmony. The business of life continued without further thought or fear.

Tremors, aftershocks and a wobbly world are no match for a cohesive union of friendship and trust.

This story is now complete.

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Thank you for following this story. I appreciate all your comments and inspiration.

The next time my imagination sends me exploring, I'll drop by and share the adventure with you!

Becky