ROAD WORK AHEAD: EXPECT DELAYS

CHAPTER 15

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Author's note: End of active imagination zone! The previous story made possible by all of your support and encouragement along the way.

May the road of life you travel be free of potholes, delays and detours. If you encounter such obstacles, call on your loved ones to guide you; take advantage of the friends you meet along the way who help map out a new path and look forward to and anticipate your destination!

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As the laughter died down, Captain Dobey strode into the room. He always walked with purpose, as if his destination was of high importance. Actually he was very relieved to hear his detectives in such a happy mood. He knew how they both hated being confined in a hospital, so a jubilant mood was far better than being ill-tempered.

"You two must be feeling better. Nice to hear you upbeat rather than grouchy." The captain pulled up an upholstered chair. He was glad that he didn't have to sit in a hard plastic chair most common in hospital rooms.

Hutch held up the two cans of beer while Starsky offered the card for the captain to read. Laughter again filled the room. Captain Dobey cleared his throat and wiped the tears from his eyes caused by the typically strange but likable Harry Hawkins.

As the room quieted, Starsky's face evened out as the significance of all that they'd been through caught up to him. A bit of guilt that Huggy met with his aunt's cooking mixed with another difficult adventure sobered his thoughts.

"Hutch was just tellin' me about Huggy. Hey, thanks again for all that both of ya did for us." Nervously, Starsky fingered the pages of his book and then set it back on the bed. His night stand fortunately was on his right side so he leaned over and picked up his glass to drink from.

"We were both worried about you. Huggy wouldn't have let me come without him when I went to The Pits looking for answers. But I shoulda known that the two of you got into trouble because ya can't leave the ladies alone." He grunted and stood up. He walked over to the tray table by Hutch's bed. He helped himself to an apple from a fruit basket sent from the station. The card said it was from everybody, but Hutch was pretty sure Minnie was responsible for the idea.

"Now Captain, we were only following Harry's directions. He wanted us to find Billie and expose her drug business." Hutch's face turned red remembering the beautiful woman and the pleasant association with her.

"EXPOSE is the word alright! Drugs weren't the only things you uncovered, were they Hutch!" Starsky laughed and threw his book at Hutch. The blond raised his index finger and warned his friend to back off. The attempt to convey a serious look was spoiled by the smile that spread across his face.

Dobey decided to let the boys know about the drug trafficking business that Harry Hawkins had wanted the detectives to find. True to his odd nature, Harry made sure that they were distracted by the road work and knew that their curious nature would have eventually led them to find Billie. He hadn't counted on the fact that one of them would actually need her nursing skills but that just made the evidence more accessible.

"You'll be happy to know we broke up a very large drug ring that Billie was the head of. We've been trying to find the source of that one for months. So Harry came through again, as only he can."

Hutch absently scratched his neck. A few welts still lingered and itched slightly. But the IV's had diminished the possibility of any infection. He listened as Starsky talked, echoing his own thoughts about the peculiar snitch.

"He sure is eccentric but helpful. I guess we owe him 40 bucks instead of the usual 20." Starsky shook his head, thinking of the snitch. His information was always valuable; they just never knew what they'd have to do in order to get it.

"Hey, what happened to Jimmy and Beth? I know they stole my car, thanks to my pal over here," Hutch pointed at Starsky. ---" but what's the rest of their story?"

At the mention of Hutch's car, Starsky squirmed, thinking about how he was responsible that the car got stolen in the first place.

"Remember, I cleaned it out. All you gotta do is throw the one bag away and wash all the damn clothes in the other one."

"That's supposed to make me feel better, knowing you cleaned out my car and then played tonsil hockey with Beth? If you'd have kept your hands to yourself…" Hutch's voice rose with his annoyance but was cut off by Starsky's equally frustrated voice.

"Now wait a minute, while I was trying to defend myself from Jimmy, weren't you doing the horizontal waltz with Billie? Look here, pal.."

"Starsky! Hutchinson! Quit arguing and let me tell you the rest of the story. Then you can get as loud as you want, after I leave." The captain grumbled under his breath, not sure he wanted to tell them what else happened to Hutch's car.

Both men took a deep breath, glared at each other but didn't say another word. Hutch crossed his arms and Starsky rolled on his right side, away from Hutch but still facing Captain Dobey.

"You aren't gonna like the rest of this Hutch. But before you get all bent out of shape, listen to me and then decide what you think." Dobey held up his hand to stop the argument he was sure Hutch wanted to engage in. His dark glare stopped any response from the blond.

Arms still crossed and his jaw tight, Hutch stayed quiet as he waited to here what the captain had to say.

"Okay… Huggy and me found ourselves by dumb luck behind your car. We knew it wasn't either one of you in it and we recognized your license plate Hutch. I thought we could find out pretty quick who was in your car if I called in a request for a DMV reading, knowing he'd hear it over the radio. Well, yeah, that worked, except when Jimmy got out of the car, he yanked your radio out and smashed it to bits. But before that happened,-- and son, this is gonna really hurt you, but you gotta know about it. Before he ripped out and destroyed your radio, he'd driven over a spilled load of nails."

"Hold it right there captain. You mean my radio is destroyed and now you're tellin' me I got a flat tire too because of a bunch of spilled nails?"

"Where'd the nails come from Cap'n?" Starsky interrupted Hutch's train of thought. He'd been very interested in how this story was playing out but loved the fact that now the precious car had a flat!

"Shut up Starsky, and let him finish." Hutch's voice was tight with anger, his eyes narrowed, waiting for the rest. He could see that there was more by the uneasy look on the captain's face. He just knew he wasn't gonna like the end of this.

"No, not just one tire, but three. Somehow one of the supply trucks on the work crew had dropped his load of supplies including nails." Dobey stood up and began to pace.

"Because you were on duty, the city is payin' for new tires and the city garage will also replace your radio. But… you're both on suspension for a week without pay because you didn't keep me informed of your progress. If you woulda checked in like you were supposed to, we would've known exactly where you were and I wouldn't have had to chase after either one of you!" The captain let that bit of news sink in, enjoying how both men bristled when they'd heard that they were suspended. He looked from one to the other, fixing them both with a dark, angry look. He took another bite of his apple before he continued. He was enjoying having control of the conversation for the time being.

"Sorry Cap'n. I just wasn't thinking." Starsky apologized but winced as a stab of pain ran down his arm.

"No, it's my fault. When I got bit by those ants, I just wanted to find relief. I took off without letting the captain know what was going on. I guess none of this would've happened if I'd of followed procedure. Sorry Starsky." The look of guilt on Hutch's face almost made Dobey want to tell them the rest but, he'd let them sweat a bit longer. A little guilt never hurt either one of these men.

"Hutch, it's my fault. I should've insisted on driving you to the first aid trailer. We would've found the drugs together and your car never would have been vandalized and we never would have ended up here." Starsky punched the mattress with his free hand.

Nobody did guilt better than Starsky and Hutch. When one hurt, the other hurt and as far as Dobey was concerned, the boys needed an opportunity to apologize to each other and to own up to their responsibility.

But, well he guessed they'd had enough. He enjoyed knowing he had the power to change their moods.

"Not so fast. Enough with the guilt and apologies. Your suspensions have been lifted by order of the mayor and you've each received a service award for solving an important and dangerous drug ring. As a further thank you, you've got a two week paid vacation coming to you after you get out of here." Dobey puffed himself up, proud of his best detectives. His smile spread across his face and he took another healthy bite out of the apple.

"You mean we screwed up but still came out shining examples of experience?" Hutch dry washed his hands together, in anticipation of a camping trip with his buddy.

"I'd say this calls for a vacation to the beach! What'ya say Hutch? Two weeks of sand, scantily clad bathing beauties…" He raised his eye brows at Hutch who's first response to that suggestion was a frown that deepened the crevice between his eyes.

"No way! It was women that got us into this mess in the first place. Nu-uh. I want to get away to nature! To contemplate the earth!"

"You're crazy blondie. No way am I spending two weeks with bears and snakes and… you really want to risk another attack of bugs? What happens if you're out in the wilderness and you get stung by bees, or wasps or… spiders? What happens when you break out in hives again, can't breathe.." Starsky's voice trailed off but he saw his argument was working. Hutch's face went from a dark frown to thinking about being no where near civilization when he couldn't breathe or was being driven crazy by itching without the benefit of medical help. Nope, this time, Starsky was right.

Dobey silently backed out of the room. He chuckled to himself as the men planned their vacation. It didn't matter to him where they went, only that they would be well enough to once again return to the life they loved. As long as they did it together, they could deal with any problem, work through any heartache and with a little good natured kidding, they'd always be able to enjoy being together.

It didn't matter if life was full of delays and detours because they'd always make the best of the road ahead.

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The end! Thanks for riding along.

Becky