Alright now we get into the real story and Starsky and Hutch come across Angel. It's actually interesting how they first meet. If you want to find out how keep reading! And in case you're wondering YES the title was inspired by the song "Lips of an Angel".

Chapter 2: The tears of an Angel

"Starsky, where are we going?" Hutch asked as he peered out the window of the Torino.

Starsky had picked him up for work but they weren't taking their usual route to the station. Instead they seemed to be driving through something that looked similar to a suburb. All the house looked the same, they were white, had one floor, a small porch, and a small yard in front.

"I told you Hutch, we're taking a different route." Starsky said.

Hutch sighed. "The route we normally take was just fine."

Starsky looked at him for a brief moment. "Jeeze Hutch, don't you ever feel like doing something different? Ya know…something fresh?"

Hutch shook his head. "Sure, but how is taking a different route to work "fresh"?"

Starsky rolled his eyes. "Well I wanted to try something different. Besides I've been in this part of town before so it could be a learning experience."

"Oh yea, getting lost in a part of town you don't know about and being late to work is a real good learning experience."

Starsky was about to throw back another comment when something out of the corner of his eye caught him. It was something running into the middle of the road. In a flash Starsky slammed on his brakes missing the person by mere inches, but still caused them to freeze. Starsky looked up ready to yell but the words died in his throat at the sigh in front of him. Standing in front of the car was a young girl with short black hair, fair skin, and deep blue eyes. It wasn't her looks that caught his attention, but more so the redness of her left cheek and the tear streaking down her face. There was also something in her eyes; it looked like shock and fear. Both Starsky and Hutch Got out the car and ran to the girl.

"Oh my God are you alright?" Starsky asked in a panic.

The girl said nothing….she just stared at him with wide eyes. She looked at Starsky, then at Hutch, and then back at Starsky. Her head tilted slightly as if she was curious about something, kind of like a baby deer. Then there was a yell that came from down the street causing the girl to yelp and jump behind Starsky. There was another yell and she began trembling. Whatever that was, it was after her and it intended to hurt her judging by how afraid the girl was. Starsky turned to her and looked her in the eyes.

"Kid…what's going on?" he asked seriously.

The girl continued to tremble and soon enough there was another yell, but closer. This time she began to break down into tears and her trembling became stronger. Both Starsky and Hutch knew what that meant and as quickly as they could they escorted her to the car. She sat between them in the front and continued to cry against Hutch. Starsky drove away as fast as he could and Hutch held the girl and stroked her hair trying to comfort her.

"Where are we going?" Hutch asked as her held the girl in his arms.

"We're taking her to the station. It's more than obvious that she was assaulted by someone."

"What makes you think that?" Hutch asked. He saw it in the girl too, but he was just curious.

Starsky raised an eyebrow at Hutch. "If she was willing to jump in the car of two men she doesn't know that means she was trying to get away from something, and judging by those yells it was a person intent on hurting her."

Hutch nodded and left it at that. This girl was wearing jeans and a shirt that was a little too big for her. But what caught his attention were the bruises barely hidden by the shirts sleeves. He also noticed that the redness on her check was beginning to turn black and blue. Plus she seemed more like a small frightened animal than a girl. There was also another thing, the bruises on her arms weren't fresh…they looked as if they'd been there a while. She also seemed a little thin. By the looks of it he could wrap his forefinger and his thumb around her wrist by how bony it was. The sooner they got her to the station, the better.

Starsky and Hutch watched from across the room as another cop asked her questions about what had happened. When they first brought her in it had caused a bit of commotion because some were curious about what a young girl was doing with two grown men. But by observation they could tell that she wasn't talking. All she did was curl herself into a ball on the chair. When Hutch went to go get their lunches Starsky took it upon himself to go over and talk to her. As soon as he walked over her eyes seemed to light up as she looked at him curiously.

Starsky smiled at her. "Hey kid, how's it goin'?"

She still didn't say anything, but she did nod at him. The policewoman who was supposed to be getting some information from the girl pulled Starsky aside. She told him that no matter what she says or does the girl won't speak but perhaps he could get something out of her. So the policewoman went on her lunch break and Starsky sat in the chair across from the girl. She looked up at him and for an instant her eye's widened, but once again her expression was normal.

"Hey kid, how come you won't talk to anyone?"

She flinched a little, but quickly covered it up with a shrug.

Starsky didn't really buy that, but he knew he needed to be gentle and start slow. "So…what's your name kid?"

She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. She paused for a moment before she slowly pointed at him.

"You want my name first?" Starsky asked.

The girl nodded.

"Alright, I guess that's understandable. I'm David, David Starsky. But people just call me Starsky." He reached out his hand to her.

Slowly and tentatively, she reached out and shook his hand.

"Now, what's your name?"

The girl stared at him at first, and then pointed up at the ceiling. Starsky looked up but there was nothing there. The girl obviously saw his confusion and shook her head and thrust her hand up towards the ceiling once again. Ah, she was trying to tell him her name.

"Uh…ceiling?"

The girl shook her head and thrust her and up towards the ceiling several times. So it was something beyond the ceiling.

"Sky? You're name is Sky?"

She shook her head but shook her flattened out hand as if to say "so-so".

"So-so? As in I'm close?"

She smiled and nodded. This time she used both her hands to draw a lumpy oval like object, then pointed towards the sky again.

"A lumpy object in the sky…cloud?"

She smiled a little and nodded. Then she bawled one of her hands and with her other hand she made a circling motion and put it on top of her fisted hand.

"Crush or smash?"

The girl shook her head and pointed to the sky and repeated the previous action.

"Not crush….on top? On top of a cloud?"

She nodded and repeated the actions.

"So it's something on top of a cloud?"

She smiled and nodded. Then she brought her hands together and made a shadow-puppet bird. Then she bawled her fist again and repeated the "on top" sign.

"A bird…on top of a cloud, like an airplane?"

She shook her hand to say "so-so" and made the bird with her hands but this time she flapped the wings a little more slowly.

"So…it's like a bird, but more majestic and it's in the sky?"

She smiled and nodded, letting him know that he was getting close. So it was in the sky, it was like a bird but it wasn't an airplane but something more majestic.

"Like an angel?"

The girl perked up and nodded frantically.

"So it's like an angel?"

She shook her head and stuck up five fingers. She then tapped her thumb which was either the first finger or the last finger.

"Last finger…word? Last word?"

She nodded excitedly, he was defiantly close.

"Last word…angel? Your name is Angel?"

She smiled and nodded, she even gave him a little clap.

"Angel…that's a nice name. So Angel, how old are you?"

She thought for a moment, then with her right hand she held up one finger and on her left hand she held up three fingers.

"One and three…you're not four, are you?"

She shook her head and held up the numbers again, but this time pressed her hands together.

"Put them together? If you're not four then you're…thirteen?"

She smiled and nodded.

"OK, so you're name is Angel and you're thirteen years old. Do you attend some kind of school?"

The girl, Angel, nodded once again.

"Do you have any friends?"

At first her face fell but then there was a sound coming from out in the hall. In the window two cops were escorting this black girl who seemed to be struggling and yelling something muffled through the wall. The girl looked like any other punk kid you would find on street corners so normally this wasn't anything new but it made Angel jump up from her chair. She stared at the girl for a moment before she dashed out into the hall. Naturally Starsky followed her and ran out into the hall just in time to see Angel fling her arms around the black girl in a hug and bury her face into the girl's chest. This caught them all by surprise, but mostly the black girl. Now that Starsky got a better look at her he saw that she wasn't exactly a girl, but more of a young woman. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, she was about 5'6, she had long brown hair tied back in a braid, she had brown eyes, and she was wearing a regular leather jacket and a pair of torn up jeans.

She looked down at Angel with wide but concerning eyes. "Angel…what are you doing here?"

Starsky looked at the two cops that were restraining her and they got the message. They un-cuffed her and backed off to do their own business. Once unbound the girl knelt down so that she was at eye level with Angel and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Oh my God…what happened to you?"

Gently, she touched the now fresh bruise on Angel's face. Angel winced a little and the girl took her hand away and held her close to her.

She looked at Starsky. "Oh…I'm Roxanne, a friend of Angel's. Do you mind telling me what happened?"

Starsky was silent for a few seconds, but then escorted them back into the office.

When Hutch returned from a local hot dog stand he had a lot of catching up to do. When he walked back into the office he was told that Dobey wanted to see him. When he walked into Dobey's office he saw the girl that they almost hit with Starsky's car, another girl (she was black), and his partner Starsky. Starsky explained his new found information with Hutch and they went from there.

"So Roxanne, how do you know Angel?" Hutch asked.

Roxanne seemed a little distant at first, but she still explained. "Well…we met about a month or so ago. She was walking home from school but she got lost because she tried to run away from these kids who were picking on her. I was just walking by when I saw this guy try to rob her. So I ran over and kicked his ass. I wasn't able hurt him much though, he ran away too fast. Angel was still pretty banged up so I took her back to where me and my…friends stay. We fixed her up, fed her, and let her stay the night. The next day I walked her to school and we became friends. She usually comes back three or four times a week."

"Is there any reason she goes back toy your place?" Starsky asked.

Roxanne paused for a moment, but shrugged. "We're not exactly sure why, but whenever she comes back in tears and with new wounds. So we patch her up, feed her, and let her stay. Then in the morning I walk her to school, and after school we hang out."

Starsky and Hutch exchanged looks. She always went back with new injuries? That was a little odd. Sure everyone gets mugged but three or four times a week? That just wasn't right.

"Does she get beat up at school?" Hutch asked more concerned now.

Roxanne shook her head. "Oh no, whenever she runs to us it's usually at night. Plus I pick her up from school so I would know if she was beat up. Besides, when she runs to us the wounds are always fresh."

"Does she ever cause any problems?"

Roxanne shook her head. "Nope, she's the sweetest girl I've ever met. But ever since we started taking care of her we've had to, um…bring more money in."

Angel seemed to flinch when she said that. She obviously knew that and it troubled her.

"Angel tries her hardest to not "be a burden" as she calls it by working for her neighbors to get money, but we don't want her to exert herself with how she's been getting hurt. Earlier today I was arrested for trying to sell stolen goods. But only to support us I assure you! Plus I didn't know they were stolen."

Well, if she didn't know that they were stolen they could let that slide. Plus she was doing it to support herself and Angel.

"We can let it slide for now but as long as you know to never do it again." Dobey said.

Roxanne nodded. "Yes I know, I swear I almost had a heart attack when it happened! Besides, I'm working almost all day and I barely have enough time to meet Angel after school."

Dobey nodded as if he understood. "Alright, I'll call Angel's parents so that they-."

She was cut off by Angel shrieking and jumping behind her chair. A little baffled, Starsky looked behind the chair to see Angel holding herself and shaking like crazy. Roxanne shot a look at Dobey and knelt down next Angel and rubbed her arm.

"Uh…what was that about?" Dobey asked quietly.

Roxanne sighed. "No one knows why, but whenever we mention her parents she becomes self-conscious and scared."

Dobey, Starsky, and Hutch all looked at each other. The main reason a child would be afraid of their own parents is if they abused the child.

"Do you know why she runs back to you and your friends?" Dobey asked.

Roxanne shook her head. "We ask her but she doesn't remember."

"Doesn't remember? What do you mean she doesn't remember?" Starsky asked.

Roxanne nodded. "At first it was confusing, but eventually I figured it out. You see….Angel has this beautiful gift of being able to forgive those who have wronged her and totally forget what happened. Isn't that right Angel?"

Slowly, Angel nodded. She had stopped shaking but she still held herself.

"How can that be possible? Does she remember what happened earlier?" Hutch asked somewhat baffled.

Roxanne asked Angel if she remembered anything from this morning. Angel was still at first, but then she sat strait up and blinked a couple times. Then she pressed her hand to her forehead and had a look of shock on her face. Just as Roxanne had said, she didn't remember a thing.

"Why can't she talk? Is there something wrong with her vocal cords or something?" Starsky asked a little concerned. If the reason she couldn't talk was because of abuse then whoever did this to her would be in deep shit.

But Roxanne shook her head. "No, he throat is fine. We think her not talking is because of some cytological issue."

"Did anyone die in her family, maybe a sibling or a parent?" Hutch asked.

Angel nodded and reached into her shirt and pulled out a golden locket. Was she wearing that the whole time? If she was it had been well hidden.

"The locket has a picture of her mother." Roxanne explained. "She only shows it to people who are close to her. I don't know the whole story but her mother died when she was little, in fact she still is little. That might be it but I think it mainly contributed to her silence."

Angel opened the locket and looked at the picture. You couldn't see the picture from where they were standing, but they didn't try to look at it. Angel sighed and tucked it back into her shirt.

"So to get this strait," Dobey began, "she runs to you and your friends a couple times a week beaten, she becomes scared when someone mentions her parents but her mother is dead, she gets bullied at school, and she won't talk. Do I have everything?"

Roxanne shrugged. "In a basic summery, yes, that's about it." Roxanne looked at her watch. "Aw man, I'm late for work."

She kissed Angel on the forehead and made a bee line for the door, but was stopped by Dobey. "Hey, what are we going to do with her?" Dobey pointed at Angel behind the chair.

Roxanne stopped for a moment and thought about it. "Uh…let her go with whoever she trusts, give her good food, and do not, I repeat, do not call her parents whoever they may be. I don't trust them." And with that she hurried out the door.

They were all still for a few moments before Dobey fell back onto his chair and sighed. "Great, just great! Now what are we going to do? It's not like we can keep her here at the station."

Starsky looked at Dobey, then at Hutch, then at Angel, and then back at Hutch. They shared gazes for a few seconds before Starsky looked back at Dobey. "Look Cap', that girl Roxanne said to let Angel go with whoever she trusts."

Dobey sighed again. "Yea well, who does she "trust", exactly?"

"Well, why don't we ask her?" Hutch said.

He and Starsky walked over to Angel and knelt down. Slowly, she looked up at them both and smiled slightly. They couldn't help but smile back; she was such an innocent thing. She looked at them both closely, as if she were seeing something they didn't. Then she did the strangest thing, she picked up both their hands and pressed them together. By instinct their fingers curled around each other's hands. They looked at each other and felt their stomach's flutter. What did this mean? What was she telling them? She obviously saw something that they, or others, didn't see. And she was trying to share a little bit of it with them? It seemed as if they were entranced with each other's gazes. They didn't stop staring at each other until they heard a small giggle. Startled they looked at Angel. Sure enough, it had been her. It felt a little strange to hear her giggle, but at the same time pleasant. Besides…she had the cutest little giggle that either of them had ever heard (so far).

"Does that mean you trust me and Hutch?" Starsky asked giving her a crooked grin.

She smiled and nodded. She glanced at Hutch and giggled again. She couldn't help it; the look on his face was priceless! Starsky couldn't help but smile more at it. They all got up from the floor and brushed themselves off.

"You do know what this means, right?" Dobey said.

Starsky and Hutch looked at Dobey slightly confused. "What?"

Dobey leaned forward in his chair. "It means that this girl, Angel, is going to be your responsibility until things clear up, you got that?"

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other. They could handle this, right? It would kind of be like babysitting, yea…babysitting. Babysitting an unknown person's child for who knows how long. Yea, they could handle this just fine.

"Well…as you said Captain, we can't keep her here at the station all day, and it's already past noon." Hutch said.

Dobey looked at both Starsky and Hutch, then at Angel. "Hmm, I allow you two to go home early today. Mainly because she look's as if she hasn't eaten all day. If Roxanne comes back looking for her I'll give her your addresses."

And with that they left for Hutch's place.

AND SCENE! Hehe, I've always wanted to do that. So…any thoughts so far? I think it's more than obvious that our little Angel sees something going on between our two detectives, hm? Then again anyone reading this sees it also but eh, what can ya do? I guess I should have explained this earlier but the main reason she's from NY is because I live in Central NY. I've been to other places in the USA but I've only stayed there for a week or so, so in other words I'm stickin' with the place I know best. I guess that's another reason why I find it really cool that Starsky's from NY 'cause I live here. I remember I was watchin' the movie "My cousin Vinny" the other day I was like "Damn, do we (New Yorkers) really sound like that to people?" so I decided to listen to myself talk and realized that we really do sound like that. But I guess I should throw it out there that not everyone in this beautiful state of mine has that heavy Brooklyn accent, we just pronounce things differently. Sorta like how we pronounce our t's as d's sometimes. I'm getting a little off track, aren't I? Anyways reviews appreciated!