Dobey's POV

I should have told them not to bother to come in. They both had leave coming to them but arguing with those two is worse than trying to convince Rosie to go to bed on Christmas Eve.

There was nothing much to do. The boys had just squared off the dance-hall case and they'd made up their quarrel over that little bitch Kira. I had her transferred to another precinct and now I hear she's put in to be sent to another city

So there they were playing table tennis and bouncing song titles or something off one another.

Starsky and Hutch at their best – banter and friendship and a perfect coordination between them that kept that ball pinging and ponging from one end of the table to the other.

Starsky concentrating like a kid with his tongue in the corner of his mouth: then I saw it, the little signal that Hutch was going to lose. Starsky's eyes glinted and he made that quick movement of biting his lower lip and sent the ball across the table to bounce right on the edge of the line and off out of Hutch's reach.

Starsky slapped his bat into my hand and made some remark about 'sucker' or 'loser'….I don't remember anymore. I was mad at him for a second before I realized he meant Hutch. But they were out of the room before I could say anything anyway.

I looked at the painter munching his sandwich and remembered that I hadn't eaten since six thirty that morning. I put down the bat and went back into my office to tidy up a couple of files before getting some lunch.

I was coming out of my office when I heard the shots.

It seemed like everyone in the building was running down the stairs to the garage.

The crowd was already gathering. I walked out into the daylight and the first thing I saw was the car. Starsky's pride and joy, the Torino. The side windows were shattered.

My heart missed a beat. Were they still in the car? I looked again. The car was empty.

A cop was using his car radio to call for an ambulance.

I looked for the boys.

I could see Hutch's legs from behind the car. I couldn't see Starsky.

I went over to the Torino and had to bit back the sob that rose in my throat when I saw them.

Hutch was crouched over Starsky, cradling him in his arms and weeping silently.

Starsky's face was deathly gray; a sharp contrast to the red all around him; the red paint of the car and the pool of blood on the ground. I lowered myself to be beside Hutch. He turned his tear-stained face to me and whispered 'He's going to die this time Captain."

I saw the four holes in the back of the jacket.

They took Starsky away and I put Hutch in my car and followed the ambulance.

So now we're sitting here waiting for the doctor to come and tell us if he pulled through or not.

An orderly brought his clothes and stuff for Hutch. He's sitting there unwrapping the bundle that they made by putting everything inside Starsky's leather jacket.

"You know how he got this jacket Captain?"

I knew more than Hutch about it but I let it ride. "No." I said knowing that he needed to talk about Starsky.

"When he got called up they found out what a good shot he was and made him a sharp shooter straight off. He got assigned to airborne." Hutch forced a laugh, "can you imagine Starsky jumping out of a plane Captain? Anyway, he says he got on the wrong plane but he kept the jacket. I never knew if that was true or not…I guess I never will now."

"It's true Hutch. He did it on purpose; slipped in with an infantry group marching to the next plane. Perhaps if he hadn't…" I didn't finish. If he'd gone with the airborne would he have survived to come back? Maybe he wouldn't have taken the injury he did. All the what ifs and maybes in the world. It seemed to be a terrible irony that this brave young man had survived the horrors of war and appalling injury to be gunned down in a police garage.

Hutch was fingering the wallet with the badge. Did he know about the ID behind Starsky's? Yes, he did. He pulled it out and held the two photos next to each other.

"You know Captain, he's nearly the same age as his dad was when he was killed."

"I know."

Neither of us could say out loud what we were wondering; would he live to be older than his father?

Hutch started hunting through the bundle. "There's something missing. His keys, the key to the car; he was holding it when…" He choked and sniffed. "And his neck thong; you know those I-Ching discs he wears? It's not here either. I guess they must have cut the thong and thrown it all away."

We sat and stared at the door to the surgery block and waited.

I still think of Starsky as a kid. I first saw him when he must have been about fifteen and John brought him to a boxing contest for officer's kids. "He's not my son; but his dad was a cop and I've been keeping an eye on him." The kid did pretty well; he knew how to defend himself but you could see he didn't really want to fight for the sake of fighting.

I saw him once more. John brought him in and showed him the whole process of booking to scare him. The kid was running with a rough crowd. "He lives with his uncle," John told me and when he added the uncle's name I understood.

I remember when John told me that the kid had been called up and the relief when he came back. We didn't know about John back then; not that I've ever thought there was anything more to his relationship with Starsky than that between a mentor and a kid who needed someone to turn to. No-one would ever call into question Hutch being a Big Brother would they?

And then Starsky joined the force. John took care not to pull strings for him – but he didn't need to; Starsky was made detective within eighteen months of graduating the Academy. I don't think Hutch was too happy about that head start but he got there in the end and Starsky worked my ear off until I agreed to let them work together. It wasn't the first time Starsky got a field promotion either. He went to Nam an ordinary GI and came back with a Second Lieutenant's gold bar. John never really learned the details and Starsky is not exactly forthcoming on the subject anyway. I wonder if he's ever told Hutch.

The doctor just came over. He knows these two well. I lose count how many times I've been here sitting with the one while the other is patched up. They have a bond that no-one can really explain; if one is in the hospital the other sits vigil and somehow pulls him through.

This time…this time is worse than ever before.

The doc is talking to Hutch. He knows that the boys hold power of attorney for one another. He also knows that Hutch started out at school to be a doctor.

He's saying something about massive internal damage and waiting before making a decision. He says he'd going to keep Starsky in a deep coma for forty eight hours and then see what happens. I guess that means either Starsky stays in the coma or he comes through…or….

Hutch is walking over to the ICU. They won't let him in and he's standing staring through the window with his hand on the glass; as if he's willing Starsky to take his hand. He sits down and I think he's praying. I'm praying too.

It's up to me to call the next of kin.

I guess I'd better go back to the office and make that call before the networks pick up the story and Lily hears about it.