Chapter 9
Both men slept that night without being interrupted by dreams and when Hutch woke up he decided to go fishing and make them a breakfast with fresh fish and some berries he'd seen the other day. Without waking Starsky, he left the tent and dressed outside, making as little noise as possible. He took his fishing gear and left their camp site, happy with the beautiful day and the surprise breakfast he was about to catch. Whistling softly he hurried to the creek and when he arrived there he prepared the fishing rod and threw the line with a skilled movement into the water. The float bobbed a few times and then stood still, waiting to be pulled under by the first fish that bit.
Hutch waited patiently, enjoying the silence and the beauty that surrounded him. 'This is the good life' he thought 'No city sounds, just birds and bees and water. I should do this more often!' He sighed in contentment and his thoughts returned to his grandfather's farm and the fantastic summers he'd spent there. 'I have to tell Starsky about him' he told himself 'he's gonna love those stories'
He was taken back from his reverie when he felt the fishing pole almost being tugged from his hands and with a quick movement he hooked the fish and reeled it in. Unhooking and killing it didn't take much time; even when a little voice in the back of his mind asked him if he was sure it wasn't Henry.
The fish were hungry that morning and soon Hutch had caught enough for a hearty breakfast. He cleaned his catch before he returned to the tent, not wanting to upset his friend by doing it in front of his friend's eyes.
By the time he returned he was hungry enough to eat the fish raw so the smell of coffee that reached him was a nice surprise. "Morning Starsk" he greeted the brunet, who was busy making coffee. "Good morning Hutch, where have ya been this early?" Starsky turned his head and saw the fish Hutch held in his hand "Oh, I see. You've been catching our breakfast." He turned back to the coffee pot and carefully poured two mugs with the hot drink. Handing Hutch a mug he said "I'm hungry. How long do ya need to cook that fish?"
Relieved that Starsky wasn't bothered by the fact that Hutch had been fishing again he smiled "Since you got the fire started already it won't be long buddy." Carefully he sipped his coffee and laid the fish down next to the fire on the ground "Coffee's good Starsk." He put a small frying pan on the fire and placed the first fish in it. "Hm hm" the brunet agreed "but I could really do with something solid now, pal. Hurry up with those fish, would ya"
Hutch grinned "Just a second, just a second" he turned the fish in the frying pan so the other side would be crispy too. It smelled delicious and both men felt their stomach rumble in anticipation of the food.
When the fish was finally done they started eating with enthusiasm; Starsky sighed and said, his mouth full with the first bite, "This is the best fish I ever tasted Hutch." Pleased with the compliment Hutch nodded "My grandfather taught me how to fish and how to cook it. I spent every summer with him when I was a kid; I wish you could meet him but he died a few years ago"
"You two were close?" Starsky asked around another mouthful and Hutch nodded, suddenly feeling sad. "Yeah, we were. I've always wished my father had been more like him but I guess he took after his mother. I never met her; she died when I was a baby"
"So" the brunet went on, trying to chase the blond's sadness away "you and your granddad went fishing a lot. What else did you do?"
"He had a farm and I loved it there." Hutch returned to better memories "I always helped him with the horses he owned and sometimes we went riding"
"You like horse riding? Geez Hutch, horses are huge. Did you ever fall off?"
Hutch laughed, suddenly enjoying himself immensely telling Starsky about his happier childhood memories "Yeah, of course I did. I even broke my arm once but grandfather always told me to climb back on the horse because, if I didn't, I'd never have the guts to do it ever again. So I did and then we just rode on until I almost fell asleep and grandfather would put me in front of him on his horse and bring me home."
He rested his head in his hand, his elbow leaning on his bent knee, and said "every time I was sad or in pain I ran to him for the comfort I didn't get at home and the funny thing is, he never said anything bad about my parents. I think that's why they let me go to him every summer" he snorted "and of course to have me out of the way so they could go on with their lives."
"And your sister?" Starsky wanted to know "Did she stay with you and your grandfather too?"
"No" the blond shook his head "she always stayed home with my mother and when my mother had to go to one of her committees the maid took care of her. You see, she's a girl and staying on the farm wasn't very lady-like. And she was a little lady. Afraid of getting dirty or hurting herself."
"She's no lady anymore?" Starsky grinned.
Hutch grinned back "No, she's no lady anymore." He now laughed out loud "if she throws one of her tantrums she can be as foulmouthed as any sailor."
"Hey I think I like the lady," Starsky chuckled "Any chance I'll meet her one day?"
"Aren't you forgetting something Starsk? She's married, remember?"
"I never said I wanted to marry her Hutch. I just wanna meet her, she sounds real interesting."
Still laughing Hutch filled their mugs with the last bit of coffee "She lives near Duluth so I don't think there's a big chance you two will ever meet but who knows" he finished his coffee " She married a nice guy you know. He's a little older than she is but still, he's a nice guy."
"You see them a lot?"
"No, just now and then; mostly with Christmas when we're supposed to come home and celebrate but …." he shrugged "most of the times I'm gone long before dinner."
"That sucks Hutch, Christmas should be a happy time, not you fighting with your father and walking away angry. I love Christmas."He added "When I was a kid we didn't celebrate Christmas."
"Why not?"
"What do you think? We're Jewish, so no Christmas for us but we did celebrate Hanukkah though."
"I didn't know that." Hutch said, "about you being Jewish I mean."
"Does it make any difference to you?" Starsky had had his share of hostility directed at him just because of his religion and he was afraid that his new friend would have second thoughts about their friendship now.
"Don't be an ass Starsk! Of course not, why should I care what religion you follow. I guess I'm glad about it, now we don't have to celebrate Christmas"
"Who says I don't celebrate Christmas?"
Confused Hutch stared at him "You just told me you're Jewish and you never …."
"I do now." Starsky interrupted him "I love Christmas! All the lights and decorations. And presents of course, lots of presents." He grinned at Hutch's stunned expression "Get used to it buddy, we're gonna celebrate Christmas like you never celebrated it before!"
The next morning after they finished breakfast and Hutch started to break their camp while Starsky cleaned the pots and pans and packed them in his back pack together with the rest of his stuff. They had decided to look for another place to camp, neither wanted to go home yet and Hutch was especially eager to explore the mountains. Starsky wasn't keen on more walking but he didn't want to disappoint his friend and pretended to be as eager as Hutch was to go on with their expedition.
Soon they were walking shoulder to shoulder without saying much but feeling totally at ease with each others company. It surprised them both that the silence didn't feel awkward and Hutch thought about that during their walk but even after hours of mulling over why he felt so at ease with the brunet he could not come up with a reason.
Starsky was having similar thoughts and he thought about it for a while but when he didn't come up with a reasonable explanation he let the subject rest and concentrated on his surroundings.
Around noon they were hungry and with a sigh of relief Starsky sat down on a tree trunk that had been blown down during the last storm. Hutch sat down beside him and opened his bag pack. "What's for lunch?" Starsky asked "or is there nothing left?"
"Well, we still have some fish from breakfast" Hutch was rummaging through the contents of his back pack and came up with a soda and the last candy bars, "And this" he held up his findings to show Starsky. The brunet grabbed a candy bar from Hutch's hand, unwrapped it and took a huge bite "Great," he mumbled around a mouthful, "I'm starving."
"Hey, leave something for me will you?" stunned, Hutch looked at Starsky. "You're not the only one who's hungry."
"Sorry, I couldn't stand it any longer. I need to eat regularly or I'll get grouchy and you wouldn't want that, would you?" He grinned innocently at his friend and tried to get hold of another candy bar. But Hutch quickly put his hand behind his back keeping the candy safe from his greedy friend.
"Come on Hutch, give me something more. It was just one lousy candy bar and that's not enough for me to keep on going you know."
The blond grinned "We share what we have Starsk so don't look at me with those begging eyes, it won't help you, you know. I have the food and I'll share it out."
"You don't even like candy," Starsky pouted "Why don't you go and find yourself some berries or something green?"
Hutch laughed "Oh, I will buddy, I will. But that doesn't mean you can stuff yourself with chocolate and soda. I'll see what I can find for the both of us so we can keep the candy for emergency food." He stood up and put the candy back in his back pack then took out the fish left over from breakfast and gave Starsky half of it. Starsky still sat on the trunk and scowled at Hutch "Who are you, my mother?" he asked but took the fish and ate it in two large bites.
"No" Hutch shook his head grinning "Just the guy who wants to keep you healthy. You should be grateful Starsk; it's for your own good."
"Yep, you're my mother in disguise. Creepy to hear her talk with a man's voice, yuck."
"Idiot."
"You're the idiot Hutch, you eat all that green stuff and health shakes with all kind of weird ingredients I don't even wanna think about, and you call me an idiot? Hmm, that strange food makes sure makes you weird, my friend."
"You should try it, buddy. It would do you a world of good." Hutch had finished his share of the fish and was ready to go and look for more edible things in the woods. It was something he loved to do; searching for food in the wild made him feel free and independent. He really wished that Starsky would go with him and experience the same feeling but the curly haired man was very clear about that "I'm not going with you Hutch, I'm tired and wanna take it easy for the time you're food hunting."
"Are you sure Starsk? It's great to pick your own food and…"
"No, really Hutch, I'm tired and I'll wait till you're back so that I'll have the energy to hike to our new camp site."
Hutch shrugged. "Suit yourself then, but you'll miss a lot of fun."
"That's okay; we'll have more fun later."
"Be right back." Hutch walked towards some bushes, and disappeared from Starsky's sight.
Starsky saw him leave and felt suddenly very alone. "Don't be an idiot Davey," he berated himself "Hutch'll be right back and if you're as clever as you think you are you'd better start looking for the candy bars." He grinned at his own words and emptied the bag where he thought the candy was in. Rummaging through the items on the sandy ground he hummed an unintelligible tune but his good mood soon turned into indignation when he couldn't find the sweets. Angry he emptied the other back pack but there were no candy bars either; the only edible item he found was the last can of soup. "Hutch, you sonofabitch! You took my candy!" he yelled and with an angry cry he threw the can against a nearby tree.
Shocked by his own anger he let himself slide onto the ground and wondered what had happened to him the last few minutes. Images flashed before his eyes and suddenly his surroundings changed and he was somewhere else. It was hot and humid and there was a smell of blood in the air that made him sick. Starsky jumped up to search for cover, knowing he was in enemy territory, and dove behind the first bush he could reach. He couldn't find his weapon 'must have lost it somewhere' he thought and with his arms over his head he lay there, facedown, waiting for something horrible to happen.
Hutch returned with his pockets full of berries and smiled, thinking at the brunet's behavior earlier that afternoon. 'I don't know what you've been through buddy, but somehow you managed to stay a kid deep down inside,' he thought, remembering the almost childish reaction of his friend when he didn't get more candy.
Still smiling he reached the place where he'd left Starsky behind and looking around for his friend he called "hey Starsk, where are you? I've got some goodies for you to eat." The last word hadn't left his mouth yet when he was attacked from behind and before he knew it he was on the ground face down and someone held him down whispering "Sshh! Keep quiet or they'll hear ya.."
"Starsk?" The stunned blond whispered back, "what's wrong? Who are they?"
"Quiet!" Starsky put his hand over Hutch's mouth to keep him from making a sound. "Shut up will ya?" Slowly he took away his hand from the other's mouth. "You gonna keep quiet now?"
Not understanding what was happening Hutch nodded and watched Starsky crawl carefully towards the bushes. When he noticed that his friend was still on the ground and showed no signs of following him, Starsky gestured for Hutch to hurry and confused he crawled towards the man he hardly recognized as the same person he'd left behind half an hour ago.
The moment he was within reach of Starsky, the brunet grabbed his arm and pulled him into safety behind the bushes. The haunted look in his friend's eyes told Hutch that something was terribly wrong; he only wished he knew what it was. "Hey Starsk" he whispered "what's the matter buddy?"
"Shh, they can hear you and if you don't shut up they'll kill us."
"Who'll kill us?" Hutch dared to whisper.
"The VC!"
'Oh my god, oh my god.' Hutch suddenly knew what was wrong with his friend 'he's having a flashback.'
TBC