Generations III

By

Cynthia

            Starsky, Michael, Hutch and David sat around the coffee table with the monopoly game in the center.  They had all been playing fiercely for the better part of two hours.  Hutch and David were pretty even with the money and a few thousand bucks ahead of Starsky and Michael.  It was the battle between Starsky and Michael which seemed to run the game.

            It was always like this.  Starsky and Michael had a thing for competition.  They were always competing in just about everything they did.  Michael had gone to the range and he was thrilled he had been able to beat his dad’s record.  When Starsky had heard, he went to the range and stayed there until he beat his son’s record.  The both of them had been having a stormy relationship since they had accidently discovered each other not too long ago.

            Since David’s abduction and recovery, the two of them had finally settled into an uneasy peace which everyone seemed satisfied with the exception of Starsky.  He was praying to somehow find a way to breach the wall that Michael had built around himself.  The only person that really knew Michael was David, Hutch’s son.  At times Starsky found himself jealous of the bond they had formed.

            David looked over at the two of them and sighed.  Would it never end, he thought to himself.  He looked over at his Dad.  Since his own forced drug habit, his Dad had wanted to cover up the entire nightmare.  David didn’t want any part of it.  He wanted to live his life open and honestly.  He didn’t have the same fears his Dad had and he had even went into a treatment facility for almost a month.  His Dad had fought it, but in the end he realized that he had to let him go. 

            David could still remember when his Dad would come to the therapy sessions.  He let the psychologist know of his feelings by staying as uninvolved as he could.  David had given up trying to convince his dad that he felt he would have to spend the remainder of his life living as a recovering addict.  It didn’t set too well with him and it was a subject best left alone.  He looked over at Michael and David almost smiled.  Michael supported him in his decisions in every way as did Starsky.  David almost laughed aloud.  It was the only time he could remember the two of them agreeing on anything.

            Hutch finally put down his money and stood up.  He looked down at the standstill Starsky and Michael had come to.

            “I’m done”, he told them.  “You guys can finish it.”

            “Oh, come on, Hutch”, Starsky said.  “I’ve just about got him beat.”

            “In what life time”, Michael said with a laugh.  “I’ve got you cornered with no where to go.  You roll that dice and no matter what it is, you gotta pay me.”

            “Listen, kid”, Starsky said.  “I’ve been playin’ this game longer than you’ve been wearing underwear.”

            Michael laughed as he stood up and walked over to the fridge.  He pulled a beer from it and opened it.  The phone rang and he reach over to pick it up.  David looked back at Michael and he could see the seriousness in his eyes as he spoke.  Michael hung up the phone and he was quiet as he took a small drink of his beer.

            “What’s wrong”, David asked.

            Michael looked up at David and he made an attempt to recover his voice.

            “I…uh…my foster parents.  They’re dead.”

            “Jesus”, Starsky said as he stood up.

            David walked over to Michael.

            “What happened”, Hutch asked.

            “They were murdered last night”, Michael’s hands were shaking as he set the beer down.  “I have to go to San Francisco to talk to the police.  They have some things for me.”

            “I’ll get us plane reservations”, Starsky said.

            “No”, Michael whispered.

            “Somebody needs to go with you, Mikey”, David told him.

            Michael took several deep breaths and looked over at them.

            “It’s fine”, he told them.  “I’ll be back tomorrow sometime.”

            Michael left the room leaving them in silence.  Starsky started forward and David looked at him.

            “Starsky, let me talk to him.”

            David walked into the bedroom and watched as Michael was packing a small bag.

            “At least let me go with you”, David told him.  “You shouldn’t do this alone.”

            “Come on, Davey.  You of all people know this isn’t like I really cared that much about them.”

            “But still…”

            “Still nothing.  I’ll go up there, talk to ‘em, get whatever it is they have for me, and I’ll be back tomorrow.  Starsky can take care of making sure I’ve got the time off.”

            “Are you sure about this?”

            “Hey, don’t worry.  I’ll be fine.”

            Michael grabbed his bag and walked out the door.  He could see the uneasiness in Starsky and Hutch’s face.  He started to walk past Starsky when he touched him on the arm.

            “Call me”, Starsky asked. 

            “Okay”, Michael said without looking at him.

            Michael walked out the door leaving the three of them in silence.  After he had left, David sat on the couch and looked straight ahead.

            “There’s something wrong”, David told his Dad.

            “What?”

            “He’s different.  I tried to talk to him, Dad.  But he’s closed off.”

            “David, he’s been like that since we’ve known him”, Starsky told him.

            “I don’t want to sound heartless, but only with you and Dad.  Not me.  Michael’s never been like this with me.”

            Starsky leaned forward and looked at David.

            “I’ve gotta know, David.  Has Michael ever talked to you about when he lived with his foster parents?”

            “Not too much.  He told me that the old man roughed him up a few times, but that was the extent of it.”

            Hutch could see something else in his son’s eyes.

            “What else”, Hutch asked.

            “You guys know me.  I date girls all the time.  Not Michael.  I mean he’s taken some girls out and there’s only been one time that I know of that he’s actually…Well, you know.”

            “What are you trying to say”, Starsky asked.

            David shifted uncomfortably on the couch and looked at his Dad and Starsky.

            “I’m not even sure if I should say anything.”

            “Please, David”, Starsky said.  “I’ve gotta know.”

            “He’s got scars.  They’re on his back.”

            “Jesus”, Starsky said.

            “There’s got to be at least thirty of ‘em.”

            “This happened at his foster home”, Hutch asked.

            “He’s never said, but I think so.  Michael’s told me about stuff that he did when he lived on the street.  He got into a few fights and such.  He never talks about when he lived at that foster home.”

            Starsky stood and walked over to the window.

            “My god, Hutch.  He was just a kid!”

            Hutch walked over and stood behind his partner.  He put his hands on Starsky’s shoulders.

            “It’s not you’re fault, Starsk.”

            “That fuckin’ bastard beat my kid”, Starsky ground out.  “I’d like to give a medal to the one who wasted him.”

            “Michael sure was careful we didn’t see them”, Hutch said.

            “He only let me see them”, David said.  “He never wanted to talk about it.”

            Starsky swung around and looked at David.

            “Maybe you should have forced it”, he told him.

            “What?”

            “If you had…”

            Starsky stopped when he realized what he was going to say.

            “I’m sorry”, Starsky told him.  “It’s not your fault.”

            David stood up and walked over to him.

            “I’ve talked to Michael about you and he says things will change when they’re ready.  Starsky, I know Michael wants you to be his Dad.  He’s too scared to take that step.  It’s not going to be something that anyone can push.”

            “God, it’s no wonder he’s scared.  The only man that he knew as a father beat the hell out of him”, Hutch observed.

            Starsky sat down on the couch and took a deep breath.

            “I’ll be here”, Starsky told them.  “When he gets back, I’ll be here.”

            Michael sat on the plane and looked out the window.  He couldn’t get home fast enough he thought to himself.  The murders of his foster parents was grisly and that was the nice part about it.  The police had called them ritual killings and there were no leads.  Michael didn’t want to care, but he did.  He had thought he was going to a nice family when the state put him there.  He found out inside of a week, that wasn’t going to be the case.  He closed his eyes and remembered how hard he had tried to get that old man to love him.  It was all he had ever wanted from him.  His wife was too scared to even fight back by the time he had been placed with them.

            Michael opened his eyes and ordered a strong drink from the stewardess.

            Starsky paced the apartment waiting for Michael.  He had called the airlines and he knew his plane had just landed.  He felt it was time to deal with everything and Starsky was ready to fight.  This time, he was going to fight like hell for Michael to realize that he loved him and that he wanted to be a Dad.

            His cell phone rang and he opened it up.  Starsky clenched his fists at what Hutch was telling him.  There was an officer involved shooting involving a fourteen year old kid.  The kid was dead and the officer was barely keeping it together.  The press had already camped out on the steps of the precinct. 

            Starsky hung up the phone and gritted his teeth.  He told himself that as soon as he took care of the fallout from this, he would deal with him and he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way.  Starsky reluctantly left the apartment.

            Half an hour later, Michael walked into the apartment carrying his bag and the box of his mother’s things.  They had sat in his foster family’s garage collecting dust and Michael had never known about them.  He walked into his room and set the box on the bed and tossed his bag onto the floor.

            Michael stared at the box for a minute before opening it up.  He found a few baby things and a few pictures of himself and his mother.  There really wasn’t much.  At the bottom of the box was another photo and when Michael pulled it out, it was an old picture of Starsky and Hutch.  He almost smiled.  He had seen some photographs of them from their old days, but they never belonged to him. 

            Micheal found some other personal things of his mothers and his old baseball mit.  He looked into the box and found a diary.  He had never known his mother to keep a diary.  He remembered how she always stayed one step ahead to just keep up her drug habit.  Michael opened up the diary and he started reading. 

            He read about her pain and her fear.  Her drug abuse seemed to be the central theme as he read through it.  It also seemed as if it also helped relieve her guilt to a certain extent.  She had felt horrendous guilt by not telling Starsky about his son.  It explained so much about her actions.  Michael reached the last six months of her life and as he read, his eyes widened.  He sat up and as he continued reading he could feel the tears in his eyes.  It wasn’t until her last sentence that he lost it.  “God Forgive Me”

            Michael dropped the diary on the floor and stood up.  He walked around the room saying no over and over again.  He felt like a caged animal.  Michael finally let out a blood curdling scream and ripped into everything he touched.  He turned over his furniture, ripped the curtains, threw everything he saw around the room including throwing the box throw the window causing it to shatter.  Michael grabbed his jacket and ran from the room.

            Starsky was chomping at the bit to get this settled.  He knew Michael was home and Hutch could see his impatience.  As soon as things started to settle down, Hutch and Starsky headed to the apartment.  Starsky practically ran up the stairs with Hutch close on his heels.  He opened the door and when he walked in, he could see David standing at Michael’s door.  David looked at him with tears and Starsky ran over to him fearing the worst.

            When Starsky saw the room, he was visibly shaken.  He took a step back and Hutch held him for support.  It looked as if a wild animal had torn into the room.

            “Oh god”, Starsky breathed.  “Michael.”

            “We’ll find him”, Hutch assured him.

            “We can call the SFPD”, David told him.  “See if those murders set him off.”

            Hutch helped Starsky over to the couch and picked up the phone.  After a few minutes he hung it up and walked over to David and Starsky.

            “There’s no leads on who killed them.  They were ritualistic killings.  Michael wasn’t allowed to go to the crime scene and the detectives kept the photos from him.  I guess it wasn’t pretty and shook some of them up.  They said Michael was fine when he left and gave no indication of anything more going on.”

            “We have to find him”, David said.

            Starsky put his hands in his head and took a couple of deep breaths.  He stood up and looked at Hutch and David.

            “I’m okay.  I’m no good to him if I can’t keep myself together.”

            Hutch patted him on the shoulder and the phone rang.  David ran over and answered it.  He hung it up and picked up his jacket.

            “That was Huggy.  Michael’s there and he’s wasted.”

            Starsky turned to head for the door and David started to follow him.  Hutch grabbed on to David’s arm.

            “Not this time, David.”

            David looked to the door and watched as Starsky walked out of it.

            “Dad, he’s my partner.  My best friend!”

            “Michael is his son, David.”

            “If that was Starsky down at that bar, you’d go”, David told him.

            “David, Starsky has made a choice to fight for his son’s love.  You’ve got to step aside and let him do it.”

            David closed his mouth knowing his Dad was right.  He threw his jacket on the couch and walked into his room.  Hutch closed his eyes at the sound of the slamming of the door.

            Starsky walked into Huggy’s and he saw Michael with a bottle and a glass of beer.  It looked like he was drinking the whiskey and chasing it with beer.  Starsky walked over to Huggy who was closely keeping an eye Michael.

            “He blew in here about three hours ago.  Grabbed a bottle and he’s drank five or six beers.  He’s been goin’ at it pretty steady.  He tried to leave and I got his keys.  Didn’t want him to wrap that pretty face around a telephone pole.”

            “Call David’s.  Tell Hutch, Michael’s gonna crash at my place tonight.”

            “Will do.”

            “Thank, Huggy.  I owe you.”

            “No man.  I owe you.”

            Starsky smiled at him and then walked over to Michael.  Michael was holding himself up with the table and the bottle.  He looked over at Starsky.

            “Well, my old man”, Michael yelled.

            Starsky wanted to smile.  It was the closest that Michael had ever come to calling him dad.

            “I guess you think you gotta come and take me outa here”, Michael slurred.  “Well I got one thing to say ‘bout that.”

            Michael pulled himself up and staggered to his feet.  He could barely stand as he looked at his father.

            “Fuck you”, he slurred.  He gave Starsky an odd look when he didn’t say anything.  “I ain’t goin’ nowhere an you can take that an shuf it.”

            Michael took a long drink from his bottle as Starsky stood there not saying anything to him.

            “Wassamatter.  Nottin to say.  I can take you ole man.”

            Michael took a step closer to Starsky who continued to stand there and not say a word.  Michael swung his arm at Starsky and his feet tangled beneath him.  Starsky barely caught him before he hit the floor.  Starsky sat on the floor with Michael who was almost unconscious.

            “Kid, I beat your ass when you were sober”, Starsky told him with a smile.  “What makes you think you can kick mine when your drunk.”

            Starsky looked up at Huggy who was walking over. 

            “Help me get him to the car”, Starsky told him.

            Both men picked Michael up and they each took an arm and put it around their necks.  As they dragged him to the door, Starsky looked at Huggy.

            “Did he say anything”, he asked him.

            “No.  You know how he is.  He walks in here, buys a bottle and has my girl keep the beer flowing.  The most he said was when he was tryin’ to kick your ass.”

            Starsky almost chuckled at the statement, but as he looked over at Michael, he wanted to know what would send him over the edge like this.

            Michael rolled over on the bed and groaned loudly.  He could hear loud music coming from the other room.  He slowly pulled himself out of bed.  He looked down and he was wearing his jeans.  His shirt was off and so were his socks and shoes.  He looked around the room and he had no idea where he was.  Michael had no memory of anything after he had ordered the bottle. 

            He found his shirt at the foot of the bed and as he slipped it on, he hoped the girl was pretty.  Michael also hoped he would remember her name.  He took a moment to stand up and steadied himself as he walked out of the bedroom.  The music got a bit louder and Michael was determined to turn it off.  When he walked into the living room he didn’t see anyone.

            He turned around when he heard something behind him.  Starsky was in the kitchen cooking breakfast.  Michael walked over to the stereo and turned it off.  Starsky turned around and saw Michael holding his head next to the stereo.  He grabbed up the aspirin and a cup of coffee and walked into the living room.

            “Here”, he told Michael and held them out to him.

            “Thanks.”

            Michael took the aspirin and drank some coffee.  He walked into the kitchen and watched Starsky finish cooking the eggs.

            “Listen, I don’t want you to go to any trouble on my account.”

            “It’s no trouble”, Starsky told him.  “Sit down and eat breakfast.”

            Michael could feel his stomach lurch at the thought of food.  He could see the sparkle in Starsky’s eyes and he really wasn’t in any mood to have a go around with him.  Michael walked over to the table with his coffee in hand.  Starsky put eggs, sausage on his plate and then to top it all off he smothered them with gravy.  That was all it took.  Michael ran from the table and headed to the bathroom.  Starsky had to hold a smile back as he listened to Michael lurching in the bathroom.

            After a few minutes, Michael walked back into the kitchen feeling a bit better.  Starsky turned around and picked up a plate of dry toast and handed them to him.

            “I bet you got a kick out of that”, Michael told him.

            “A little.  I’m not a total asshole.  The dry toast will settle your stomach.”

            Michael took a small bite of the toast.

            “I’ve never been here”, Michael told him.

            “I know.  That’s why I brought you here.”

            “So that was you?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Where’s David?”

            “He’s at work.”

            “Shit”, Michael said with a raised voice.

            “Don’t worry about it.  You got the day off.  I can do stuff like that.”

            “Sure.  Since you’re my boss”, Michael said sarcastically.  “Why’d you bring me here?”

            Starsky sat down at the table across from him.

            “Michael, what happened yesterday?”

            Michael didn’t answer him.  He could barely control the lump in his throat.  It felt like a grapefruit as he swallowed it.

            “What makes you think anything happened”, Michael asked evasively.

            “I saw your room.  You’re behavior at the bar was also a pretty strong indication.”

            “Was I that bad?”

            “Let’s just say you wanted to go at it again with me.”

            “Great”, Michael said as he rolled his eyes.  “Just don’t tell me you kicked my ass again.”

            “I didn’t.  You were passed out before you hit the floor.”

            Michael sighed as he reached over and picked up the coffee cup.  He took a drink of his coffee.

            “Something got to you yesterday”, Starsky said.

            “Listen, I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it’s okay.  Don’t worry about it.”

            “You’re kidding?  Soon as I got off work, Hutch and I head to your place.  We get there and you’re room is in shambles.  It scared the hell out of everyone including David.”

            “I’ll smooth things over with him.”

            “Michael, start with me first.”

            “What?”

            “I have a right to know what’s going on.  You’re my…”

            “Son”, Michael said interrupting.  “Yeah, I know what I am and I know what you are.  Starsky, we’ve already done this.  I really don’t feel like going head to head with you.”

            “Michael, it doesn’t have to be like that with us.”

            “There’s one thing you had better wake yourself up to right now.  We will never be what you think we should be.”

            “What do you think that is?”

            “Hutch and David.  Who else?”

            “You’re wrong about that, Michael.  I have long since relieved myself of that delusion.  I think I found that out when we had that knock down at Huggy’s a while back.”

            “What the hell do you want then”, Michael asked.

            “A chance.  That’s all I’m asking.”

            “We’ve done that, Starsky.”

            “Have we?  Think about it, Michael.  In all this time that we’ve known each other, have you honestly given me a chance?”

            “For what?  For you to make up for not being there?  There’s nothing you can do about that.  I am what I am and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.  I don’t give a shit if you think I’m a good cop or not.”

            Michael stood up and walked into the bedroom.  Starsky followed him.

            “What was that all about?”

            “You don’t remember?  Do I have to repeat it for you?  I can still remember what you said verbatim.”

            “Yeah, tell me”, Starsky said with a hard look.

            “I’m hot-tempered and I don’t have the temperment for the job.”

            Starsky sighed as he remembered the conversation they had held in the kitchen after David had been shot.

            “Michael, I’m…”

            “Just save it”, Michael said as he put his socks and shoes on.  “We’re not getting anywhere with this.  It’s over.”

            Starsky watched him getting ready to leave and as Michael reached for his jacket, Starsky took a risk by his next statement.

            “I know about the scars.”

            Michael froze as he looked at him.  He remembered not having his shirt on when he woke up and he held his jacket in his hand.

            “I’m not like that asshole at the foster home, Michael.”

            Michael stood up and walked over to Starsky.

            “Don’t you think I know that?”

            “Why?  Why won’t you let me in?”

            Michael stood there for a moment looking at his hands.  He looked over at Starsky.

            “I won’t do it again”, he told him as he walked out the door.

            Starsky walked to the couch and sat down.  He picked up the phone and called Hutch.

            “It’s me.”

            “Hey.  So how big of a hangover does he have?”

            “It’s a good size one”, Starsky said with a little smile as he remembered Michael running to the bathroom.

            “So where is Mr. Sunshine?”

            “He left.  I guess I went too far.”

            “I’m sorry, buddy.”

            “No, it’s okay, Hutch.  We actually had a discussion this time.  It wasn’t a full blown fight.”

            “So when did he leave?”

            “Just a few seconds ago right after I mentioned the scars.”

            “Oh.”

            “Hutch, I think I’ve learned a few things since I’ve found out about Michael.  Plus watching you with David’s helped, too.”

            “Buddy, I think you’re looking the wrong direction on that one.”

            “David?”

            “Yep.  I guess you can scratch my name off the father of the year nominations.”

            “What happened?”

            “I think David’s used to being the only one there for Michael and he’s starting to realize differently.”

            “God, Hutch.  There were times I saw those two together and I would pray just to have a tenth of the affection he feels for David.”

            “I know, buddy.  I wish I could understand David better sometimes.  It didn’t used to be like this, Starsk.  Everything has changed so much in these last few months including my son.”

            “He’s growing up.  Hell, both of them are I guess.”

            “And here I thought the terrible twos were bad”, Hutch said with a chuckle.

            “I guess I should be glad I missed that”, Starsky said with a smile.

            They quietly finished up their conversation and Starsky wasn’t about to give up on Michael yet.  It’s only beginning, he thought to himself.  He’ll chip away at every single piece of that wall if it takes the rest of his life.

            Michael made it back to the apartment and he was relieved that David was on duty.  He knew he shouldn’t have lost it like that and he wanted to make it up to David.  He started by cleaning up his room.  Most things weren’t a total lost and he would have to replace a few things.  He took the box and put his mother’s things back inside it.  Michael picked up the diary and with a sense of purpose he set it inside the box.  It took nearly three hours to clean up his room and to repair some of the damage. 

            He then set out to clean the entire place up and worked on fixing David’s favorite meal, spaghetti with garlic bread.  Dinner was almost complete when the door opened and David walked inside.  David gave Michael a smile as he walked into the kitchen.

            “I’m sorry about last night, Davey”, Michael told him.

            “Don’t worry about it.”

            David walked over to the stove and smiled when he saw what Michael was fixing him.

            “You hate cooking”, David told him.  “You even cleaned the place up.”

            “I kinda thought I owed you.”

            “Wanna talk about it”, David asked.

            “I will, David.  Not now, but I will, bro.”

            David smiled and gave Michael a pat on the shoulder.

            “When you’re ready, Mikey.  I don’t want you to feel like you have to tell me anything you don’t want to.  But I also want you to know that I’m here for you whenever you need me.”

            After a few minutes both men sat in the living room eating their dinner and David looked over at Michael.

            “So you woke up over at Starsky’s”, David said.

            Michael nodded remembering blowing chunks in Starsky’s toilet.

            “Yeah.”

            “How’d it go?”

            “Okay, I guess.  David, you told him about my back, didn’t you?”

            David set his fork down and sighed.  He looked over at Michael.

            “Are you pissed?”

            “I should be.  But I know you were worried about me.”

            “The other day when you found out about you’re foster parents and I tried to talk to you, I was really worried.  You had locked me out the moment you heard what happened.  It really threw me, Mikey.”

            “That part of my life is like an old movie that I have to relive much too often.  I guess that’s why I never talk about it.”

            “If you ever feel like spilling your guts, I’m here.”

            “I know.  What about your old man, David?  Did he go to that NA meeting with you yesterday?”

            “Are you kidding?  I think I actually offended him”, David said with a smile.  “This is one thing Dad and I will never see eye to eye.”

            “I’ve been thinking about that and maybe you should try a different approach.”

            “What?  Bring the NA meeting to him?”

            Michael started laughing.

            “I can see it now, Michael.  A dozen recovering drug addicts converging on his office to have a meeting.”

            Michael and David busted out laughing.

            “Yeah”, Michael said.  “They can stand up in front of Hutch and say “My name’s Bob and I’m a drug addict.”

            “Dad would a fit!  He’d have ‘em all arrested including me!”

            Michael laughed at the idea.  They both ate their dinner and thought of different ways of how to drive Hutch crazy.

            The next day Michael and David were at the precinct working on paperwork when David ran up to Michael.

            “I did it”, David told him.

            “No way!”

            David’s grin told Michael he had really done it.

            “How many?”

            “Fifteen.”

            “Serious!  He won’t get a thing done all day!  Davey, remind me never to pull anything on you.  I don’t think I could take paybacks.”

            Starsky was walking down the hall and he sad Michael hunched over Minnie’s shoulder.  They were in what looked to be a very serious conversation and she was busy typing on her computer.  Starsky watched them for a few minutes and Michael bent over to give her a kiss on the cheek.  She waved him off with a blush on her face.  Starsky watched as he left and then he walked over to Minnie.

            “Minnie, what’d Michael want?”

            “Oh, just some information on a case”, she told him.

            Starsky nodded and walked away with a feeling he wasn’t sure about.  She had such a guilty look on her face and he wasn’t about to call her on it.  He headed to Hutch’s office and when he opened up the door Hutch was yelling into the phone.

            “I’m not interested”, Hutch yelled and slammed down the phone.

            “Telemarketers”, Starsky asked.

            “I wish!  It was…it was…”

            “Hutch, you look like you’re ready to blow a gasket”, Starsky told him.

            “I’ve gotten three sex phone operators in the last hour.”

            Starsky tried to unsuccessfully hide his smile.

            “I thought you were supposed to call them”, Starsky said as he attempted to control himself.

            “Yeah, that’s usually how it works”, Hutch said with an angry look.  “You know, Starsk.  This has your kid written all over it.”

            “My kid?  Are you kidding?  Moody Michael?”

            “Yeah.  I wouldn’t put something like this past him.”

            “Well, Hutch.  You’re kid is the brains of that team.”

            “You think David would do this?  My David?”

            “You gotta admit it’s got originality”, Starsky told him.  “Why would mine do this anyways?  If he’s going to do anything he’d come after me with it.”

            Hutch sat back in his chair in frustration.

            “I should pull the both of them in here and get which ever who is responsible to own up to it.”

            “Mr. Detective, with this one I don’t think you’ll get very far.  I don’t see either of them doing that.”

            “Why did you come in here anyways”, Hutch asked.

            “Oh, I forgot”, Starsky told him.  “I’ll remember later.”

            Starsky left the office and when he closed the door he heard Hutch’s phone ring.  He started smirking as he heard Hutch yell and slam the phone down.

            For the next week things remained relatively calm for everyone with the exception of Hutch.  He had mysteriously become the target of someone’s practical jokes.  Starsky was relieved that he wasn’t the one with the bulls eye painted on his back and he figured his time would come.  He didn’t talk to Michael as much as he’d hoped.  Lately he had been gone a lot and David really didn’t have a clue of what he was doing.  From time to time he would see Michael huddled together with Minnie around her computer.  He asked a few times and he would get the same answer from Minnie.  Starsky quit asking after the third time.  He wished Michael would trust him enough to come to him.

            Michael was just about to go off duty and as he walked past Starsky’s office, he stopped.  His investigation into his mother’s past was getting nowhere.  Everything he had came up with led to nowhere.  Minnie had pulled up every idea she had, but it was a dead end.  It was the same with his calls to San Francisco and the private investigator he had hired was coming up with nothing.  Michael knew he couldn’t keep paying him the exhorbitant amount he was paying the man.  He was running low on his savings as it is.

            Please don’t let this be a mistake, Michael prayed as he stood at the door.

            Starsky was almost finished with a case file when the door opened.  He looked up to see Michael walking in and sitting in a chair across from him.  Michael took a deep breath before he spoke.

            “I need your help”, Michael told him.

            It was the four words Starsky had never expected to hear from his son.  He stopped what he was doing.

            “Sure”, Starsky said with shock.  “Name it.”

            Michael licked his lips and he clasped his shaking hands together.

            “I have a sister.”

            “What?”

            “That day when I came back from San Francisco, I brought back a box of my mother’s things.  I guess the old man at the foster home stashed ‘em in the garage while I was there.  I never knew about them until that day.  When I went through them, I found a diary.  I had no idea she had even kept one.”

            Michael rubbed his eyes before continuing.

            “I read the diary and she had gotten pregnant almost ten months before she died.  God, I had no clue.  She kept using while she was pregnant.  I don’t know how I could’ve missed it.”

            “Michael, you were only a kid.  How were you supposed to know?  With her being a drug addict on top of it all!”

            “I should’ve seen it.  Anyways, she had the baby.  Mom was always disappearing for three or four days at a time and I never thought about it at the time.  She gave the baby up.  In her diary, she wrote that she had given birth to a girl.”

            Starsky was silent for a minute as he digested the shocking news.  He leaned forward in his chair.

            “What about the father?  Did she say who it was?

            “No.  She brought a lot of men around, but there was nothing to say she even knew who it was.”

            Michael could feel himself on the verge of calling Starsky Dad, but he caught himself.

            “I’ve asked Minnie to help, I’ve called San Francisco and I even hired a P.I.  I’m getting nothing.  It’s all a dead end.”

            “Michael, would it be okay if I read the diary.”

            Michael nodded.  They quickly left the office and headed to the apartment.

            When they arrived at the apartment, David and Hutch were playing a quiet game of cards.  Michael was quiet as he walked to his room as Starsky followed him.  He pulled the box out and opened it.  Starsky walked forward and when he looked inside he held his breath.  He looked over at Michael.

            “Is it okay if I…”

            “Sure”, Michael told him.

            Starsky reached inside and pulled out a baby’s rattle and booties.  He gently held them in his hand as he studied them.  He looked inside and smiled as he pulled out a mitt.

            “I didn’t know you play”, he told Michael.

            “Not much”, Michael replied.

            Michael watched as Starsky picked through the things and when he looked at a few photos, he smiled.

            “It’s at the bottom of the box”, Michael told him.

            Starsky saw it and reached inside.  He held the diary for a moment before opening it.

            “Wait”, Michael said.

            Starsky froze.  He was afraid Michael had changed his mind.  Michael looked over at David and Hutch.

            “Could you guys give us a sec”, Michael asked.

            Hutch nodded and David closed the door leaving Starsky and Michael alone.

            “There’s something else I think you should know before you read that.”

            “What, Michael?”

            Starsky was on the verge of saying son, but he was so frightened of pushing him away he held back.

            “She committed suicide”, Michael whispered.  “It wasn’t an OD.  I guess no one bothered reading her last entry and so it was classified as an overdose.”

            Starsky sat on the bed with the diary in his hand. 

            “I would have never thought”, Starsky said unable to complete the sentence. 

            He looked over at Michael and stood back up.

            “God, Michael.  I’m so sorry”, Starsky told him.

            Starsky took a step towards him and Michael took a step back. 

            “I’ll leave you alone to read it”, Michael told him as he quickly left the room. 

            Starsky watched him leave and when the door was closed behind him, he opened up the diary.

            Michael walked into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge.  He took a long drink from it and looked at Hutch and David who were closely watching him.

            “Mikey, what’s going on”, David asked.

            Michael grabbed two more beers from the fridge and handed them each one.  He sat down on the couch and took a deep breath.  He told the both of them everything.  As he talked he kept looking at the closed door of his bedroom where his father was reading his mother’s diary.

            “You had no idea”, Hutch asked.

            “No.  She was in and out so much.  She would leave for days at a time.  I’m not sure if she even knew who the father was.”

            “Michael, I’m so sorry, man”, David told him.

            Michael didn’t say anything as he took a drink from his beer.

            “Michael”, Hutch said.  “I’m glad you came to Starsky with this.  You could have went to anyone.”

            “He’s got a lot of contacts that I don’t have.  I want to find my sister.”

            “It took a lot of courage”, Hutch told him.

            Michael looked at Hutch.

            “You might want to go in there in about half an hour”, he told him.  “He’s going to read some things that will probably upset him.”

            The three of them didn’t have to wait long.  A loud bang erupted from the room and Hutch stood up and slowly walked into the room.  David watched as his Dad closed the door behind him.

            He looked back over at Michael who had a mournful look on his face.

            “Is this why you went over the edge last week”, David asked.

            Michael nodded his head and looked down at his hands.

            “I guess knowing what she had done…it sent me over.  She was on drugs, she had a baby and gave her up.  Then to top it all, she offs herself.  I guess it just all came crashing down on me.  I was so angry at her for everything she had done and even now I have no clue as to what put her there.”

            “Probably never will”, David told him.

            Michael leaned his head down into his hands and he could feel the tears on his face.  David moved over to him and pulled him tightly in his arms.  He held on to Michael as the pain escaped him.

            Hutch stood over Starsky as he sat on the floor against the wall.  Starsky closed the diary and set it on the floor next to him.  He looked up at Hutch.

            “She loved me, Hutch.  Goddamn it, she loved me.  I thought it was a casual romance we were having and she was head over heels in love with me.”

            “Does Michael know about how you felt”, Hutch asked.

            “I’ve never told him.”

            “Starsk, you had no way of knowing how she felt about you.  She may have even known it wasn’t serious for you and she chose to say nothing.”

            Starsky picked up the diary and held it out in front of him.

            “I’m angry Hutch.  I’m pissed as hell.  On one end I’m sad for her and for the life she had and then when I think about it, I’m so damn angry I could scream at what she put that boy through.”

            Starsky hit his head against the wall and he could feel his tears on his face.

            “My boy”, he cried.

            Hutch got on his knees and held Starsky as tightly as he could as he cried.

            The four of them sat quietly in the living room not speaking for a brief moment.  No one wanted to.  Starsky turned towards Michael and put his hand on his knee.  Michael didn’t move from the affectionate touch at all.

            “The first thing I can do is call some contacts I have in San Francisco.”

            “Like the ones when you got a hold of my juvenile record.”

            “Michael, I’m sorry about that.”

            “No.  It’s okay.  That’s why I came to you.  If you’re able to get a hold of my record, I figured you could also find out what happened to my sister.”

            Starsky nodded his head.

            “Adoptions are pretty tricky”, Hutch said.  “If you were a birth parent or child who had been adopted, it might be easier.”

            “She would be thirteen”, David said.

            “She would be too young to do any searching unless her adoptive parents made the choice to do so”, Starsky said.  “We can start advertising.  If they are trying to find anything out, we can make it easy to find you.”

            “And if they’re not”, Michael asked.

            “The only option then left open to you is the courts”, Hutch told him.

            “That could take years”, Michael said with a heavy sigh.

            “Maybe”, Starsky said.  “We’ll hire a new private investigator and start with where she had the baby.”

            “San Francisco Memorial”, Michael told him.

            “We should be able to get some hospital records at least on your mother if nothing else.  From there we’ll track where the baby went”, Hutch told them.

            “This sounds almost like a case”, David said.

            “It is”, Starsky told him.  “Look at it like a missing persons.  We start from where they were last seen and go from there.”

            Michael felt a little more hopeful than he had before talking to Starsky.  He rubbed his eyes and stood up.

            “Michael”, said Starsky.  “Why don’t you get some sleep?  You look bushed.”

            Michael nodded and walked into his room.  When the door closed Starsky sighed. 

            “I think I’ll follow his lead.  See you guys tomorrow.”

            “Night, son”, Hutch told him.

            David nodded and headed to his room.  Hutch looked over at Starsky and he saw something in his eyes. 

            “What is it?”

            “This has been a depressing horrendous day, Hutch.”

            “You’re telling me.  I can’t even express how shocked I am by all of this.”

            “It’s also been a good day, Hutch.”

            “What would make you say that?”

            “My son.  He came to me for help.”

            Hutch smiled and he could see the twinkle in his best friend’s eyes.

            The next few weeks passed quietly and Michael felt on edge.  Starsky and Hutch used their pull to find out information about the baby girl but nothing was giving anywhere.  It was odd.  There should have been something some where.  The biggest hurdle they faced was gaining access to a birth certificate.  No one would budge unless there was a court order and the courts were moving slower than molasses.  Michael used the money from his mother to hire a lawyer.  Starsky tried to keep his hopes up while at the same time helping him to keep his feet on the ground.  It was a precarious situation at best.

            Leave it to David to break the strain on everyone.  Hutch stormed from his office carrying a file.  He was seeing red everywhere he went.  As he passed people in the hallway, they jumped out of his way and Hutch was becoming angrier at the snickers he heard behind his back. 

            He turned into the squad room and when he flung the door open he looked at the various uniformed officers.  He held up his file and he gripped it tightly as he watched them attempting to control themselves.

            “If I get my hands on the squirley little runt who did this, you’ll be doing traffic duty in a school zone until you hit retirement”, he yelled.

            Hutch turned around and ran straight into Starsky who burst out laughing.  Hutch gave him a lethal glare.  Hutch had blue ink on his moustache.  His moustache was half blonde and half dark blue ink.

            “Don’t you have something to do”, Hutch told him.

            “Sure”, Starsky said with a smile.  Hutch gave Starsky another glare before walking out of the room.  The entire squad room burst out laughing in spite of the threat that Hutch had given them.  Starsky slowly left the room still laughing.

            Michael looked down at David who lay hidden behind a desk.

            “They’re gone”, he told him.

            “How was it?”

            “Priceless, just like the others”, Michael said with a smile.

            He helped David up off the floor.

            “You are really pushing your luck, David.  You’re gonna get caught if you keep this up.”

            “Mikey, haven’t you ever heard about the legendary pranks our Dad’s pulled on Dobey.  Especially yours.”

            “That’s just great, David”, Michael whispered angrily.  “He’s thinking I’m doing it.  Just when I think I’m actually getting on their good side.”

            “Michael, we do have a reputation to live up to and I’m doing my part.”

            Michael shook his head at David.

            Hutch looked in his bathroom mirror to check his face.  He looked side to side and thought that maybe he should have shaved his mustache off long before this.  He sighed as he looked at himself.  Who would have thought it would take something like this to get him to even consider it.

            He heard the familiar knock at his door and he walked out of the bathroom as Starsky walked into his apartment.  Starsky gave him a once over after seeing his face.

            “You should have shaved it off sooner, Hutch.  You look younger.”

            Hutch was silent as he walked into the bathroom and wiped his face with a towel.

            “I thought you had a meeting this afternoon”, Hutch told him.

            “I sent Washington to it.”

            “Starsk, I know you hate these departmental budget meetings, but you should try to make at least one of them.”

            “I needed to talk to you”, Starsky told him.

            Hutch walked out to the living room and headed to the kitchen.  He opened up the fridge and pulled out two beers.  He handed one to Starsky and opened his up.

            “What about”, Hutch asked.

            “I got a call about half an hour ago.”

            “From who.”

            “A lady by the name of Maxine Saunders.  She thinks that her sister might have been the one to adopt Michael’s sister.”

            “Serious?”

            Starsky nodded.

            “Does Michael know?”

            “Not yet.”

            “Starsk, he will bust a screw if you hold out on him.”

            “I’m going to tell him as soon as I leave here.  I just wanted to run it by you first.”

            “Do you think it’s bogus?”

            “I don’t know, Hutch.  I’d really hate to get his hopes up.  He’s been on edge so much lately.  It would be a bitter disappointment if this lead was a dead end.”

            “It does seem odd that we’re not getting anywhere on this”, Hutch told him.

            Starsky was strangely silent at the comment and Hutch studied him closely.

            “There’s something going on in that head of yours”, Hutch observed.

            “I thought of one possibility that won’t settle well with Michael at all.  One I’m afraid to even check into.”

            Hutch was silent as Starsky took a long drink from his beer.

            “From ready Rebecca’s diary, she had an expensive drug habit.”

            “Yeah.  You’ve mentioned that.”

            “Hutch, this trail is so damn cold and there isn’t anything with the exception of this phone call.”

            “Starsk, spit it out.”

            “I think Rebecca might have sold that baby on the black market.”

            “Jesus, Starsk.  It would explain why we’re banging our heads against the wall on this.  Did this Maxine Saunders say how her sister got this baby? 

“She didn’t really go into too much detail.  It’s the only thing that makes sense to me right now.”

“God, I’d hate to agree with you on this, but I think you might be right.  Have you talked with Michael about any of this?”

“Hutch, he’s had so much to deal with over learning that Rebecca committed suicide and then giving up a baby he knew nothing about.  I’d really hate to bring this possibility up to him.”

“If this lead doesn’t pan out, you’ll have to bring it up.”

“I guess we can take a drive up there tomorrow and check it out.  If it’s a dead end, I’ll tell him.”

“Do you think he’ll let you go with him?”

“I hope so.  Lately we are talking more.  He’s really talking to me, Hutch.  I was starting to believe that Michael just didn’t like me.”

“I’m glad, Starsky.”

“Since he came to me that day asking for my help, it’s really changed a lot with us.  Maybe he’s finally learning to trust me.”

Starsky could see the sad smile on Hutch’s face as he finished off his beer.

“You don’t look too happy”, Starsky told him.

“Well, your son is just now starting to be your son and mine…Well, him and I don’t hardly talk anymore at all.”

“You and David?  Hutch, you guys are usually pretty tight.”

“Before Forest snatched him, we were.  Ever since this drug thing with him, it’s like I don’t even know him now.  I guess he’s finally realized my feelings will never change.”

“Hutch, just give it some time.  Things will get better.”

Hutch gave Starsky a bitter laugh.

“Listen to you.  Wasn’t that long ago when I was telling you the same thing about Michael.”

“Think we’ll ever have this parent thing figured out”, Starsky asked him.

“Not in this lifetime, buddy.”

It was a two-hour drive over to where Maxine Saunders lived.  Michael had tried to talk to her over the phone, but she had felt uncomfortable and tight-lipped.  She felt it would be easier to discuss in person and Michael agreed.  As he drove his car down the highway he looked over at his passenger.  Michael could barely believe it.  The words had tumbled out of his mouth before he had even realized it.  Sitting here in his car with him now, Michael was glad that Starsky was with him.  He almost chuckled aloud.  He never imagined that they would be both sitting in the same car.

Michael remembered when they had left over an hour ago.  Starsky wanted to drive and bring his car, but Michael had said his car would work just as well.  It was an argument, but nothing compared to the ones that had seemed so common in the short time they had known each other.  It was a matter of compromising and he felt comfortable with it.  He was surprised with himself and with Starsky.  Ever since he had went to his office that day, Starsky had shown him a lot of understanding and willingness to help.

Starsky looked over at Michael as he drove down the highway.

“I’ve got to know something”, Starsky asked.

“Yeah.”

“Which one of you is pulling these pranks on Hutch?”

“You mean you don’t think it’s me?”

“I don’t know what to think”, Starsky told him.  “Back in the old days, that was always my specialty.”

“It’s David”, Michael said with a smile. 

“I knew it!  I told Hutch but he didn’t believe me.”

“I would imagine Hutch thinks I’m the culprit”, Michael said with an easy smile.

“Sorry, Michael.  He does.  Not because of how things have been in the past with us, but because of me.  I pulled some great ones back in the day.”

“I’ve heard the stories.  Sorry if I’m not living up to your reputation.”

Starsky laughed at the little joke.

“Hey”, Michael said.  “Has Hutch forgiven me about what happened with David?”

Starsky looked over at Michael and he could see the seriousness in his eyes.  He hoped he could say the right things to Michael.

“You’re talking about something that is still very hard for Hutch, Michael.  When it happened to him, that was one thing.  When it turned around and happened to David, that was an entirely different matter.  I still think you should have came to us, but I do understand why you did what you did Michael.  Hell, I don’t blame you a bit for not doing it.  Especially after you found him.”

“I guess I just don’t want to come in between David and Hutch.  I’d hate to think I’m the cause of their problems.”

“No, Michael.  You’re not.  What’s going on with them has nothing to do with what you did.  Hutch is having a hard time accepting David’s openness about his enforced drug addiction.  David sees it differently than Hutch and he’s dealing with it much differently than what Hutch ever did.”

Michael sighed and thought about what he was going to say next.  He looked in the rearview mirror and saw a black van barreling up the highway right behind him.  It came up and slammed into the back of Michael’s car.  The shock lurched the both of them forward.

“What the hell”, Michael yelled.

Starsky looked behind him and watched the van surge forward again.  The second time it hit, it served it’s purpose as Michael lost control of the car.  The car swerved into an embankment and crashed into a tree.  The van stopped and several figures dressed in black headed to the car.

David ran into the apartment quickly stripping his uniform from him.  He was running late and he didn’t want to be late for this NA meeting.  He kicked his shoes off and walked into the bedroom.  He pulled some jeans out of the closet and after taking the slacks off he slipped them on.  David leaned down and picked up a shirt from the floor.  He grabbed a pair of socks and his tennis shoes.

David sat on the couch and began putting his socks on.  There was a knock at the door and instead of walking over to answer it, he yelled come in.  The door opened and Hutch walked inside.

“I’m running behind”, he told his Dad.

“I wanted to let you know that I just read the report on that drug bust you and Michael were on a few days ago.  It’s fine.  I don’t see a problem.”

“That’s good.  I wasn’t sure if I called it right or not.”

“Just have to trust you’re instincts”, Hutch said.

David stopped and looked at his Dad.

“You could have called to tell me this.”

“Yeah.  Listen, David.  I came by to tell you that I’m sorry for not supporting you the way I should have.”

David looked at Hutch and he could see the earnestness in his face.

“It’s okay, Dad.  I mean I understand why you’ve had such a hard time with it.  Come with me.”

“What?”

“I want you to come with me, Dad.”

“David, we’ve been over this before.”

“I’m not saying you gotta stand up and say anything.  I just want you to see what I see.”

“I’ll be a supportive as I can, but going to one of those meetings is just out of the question.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean”, David asked angrily.  “You’ll be supportive as long as it doesn’t interfere with how you think things should be and ‘those’ meetings have helped me a lot.”

“I don’t get why you feel this need to admit to something that you’re not”, Hutch told him.  “It’s not like your running the streets selling yourself for your next fix.”

“No, Dad.  It’s not.  But those meetings and Michael have done a hell of a lot in keeping me from doing it.”

David grabbed his jacket and headed out of the door.  He was feeling angry and frustrated over his Dad’s lack of understanding.

Starsky slowly opened his eyes and for a moment everything was pitch black.  It took him a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and he realized it wasn’t as dark as he thought it was.  He slowly pulled himself up and the rattling of the chains and the heaviness on his wrists stopped him.  He looked at his wrists and saw they were chained.  As he moved around he realized, that the chains were cemented in the wall. 

He looked down and saw Michael still unconscious on the floor.  He was without a shirt and barefooted.  Starsky looked down and saw that he was the same as his son.  He leaned over Michael and slapped him a bit on the face.

“Michael”, Starsky whispered.  Starsky hit him on the face a few times and spoke his name louder.  Michael slowly opened his eyes and then he suddenly thrashed around a bit.  Starsky grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Michael.  I’m here.  It’s Starsky!”

Michael looked at him and slowly sat up.  He saw the chains on his wrists and touched his own chest.

“What happened”, he asked.

“You don’t remember?”

“I remember us being ran off the road.  That’s it.”

“Whoever it was brought us here, where ever here is.  I think they chloroformed us or something.”

“How long have we been here”, Michael asked.

“I’m not sure.  Hard to tell.”

Michael played with the chains a bit and turned around at the wall.  He began pulling on the chains and after a minute, he was straining to pull them out of the wall.

“Stop it, Michael”, Starsky told him.

Michael ignored him and braced his feet on the wall and strained to pull the chain out of the wall. 

“Michael”, Starsky yelled.  “It’s no use.  Their cemented in the wall!”

Michael let go and looked over at him.  He tried to stand up but there wasn’t enough length on the chains to do so. 

“Michael, relax”, Starsky told him.

“We’ve got to get the hell out of here”, Michael told him.

Starsky looked at him and he could see the frantic desperation in his son’s eyes.  He reached over and pulled Michael down to a sitting position. 

“There is no getting out of here”, Starsky told him.  “We’ve got to wait until someone comes down here and gets one of us out of these things.  Find a chance to escape or something.”

“Who”, Michael asked.  “Who would do this?”

“I don’t know.”

“Jesus”, Michael groaned aloud.  “The phone call.  It was a damn ruse.”

Starsky leaned against the wall and knew his son was right.

“They were after you or me”, Starsky told him.  “Or both of us.  Damn, I’ve made too many enemies over the years.”

“I’m not going to sit here and wait for them to take us out”, Michael told him.  Starsky watched in amazement as Michael began pulling on the chains at the wall and messing wit the ones on his wrists.  He watched as Michael attempted to squeeze his hands through the chains.  Starsky reached over and grabbed his hands when he saw the blood on Michael’s wrist.

“You’re hurting yourself”, Starsky told him.  “Stop it.”

Michael jerked away from him and kept working at his wrist.

“I said stop it”, Starsky yelled.

“No”, Michael yelled back.  Michael looked at Starsky and leaned his head back against the wall.  He looked away towards the metal door.

“I’m claustrophobic”, Michael told him.  “I hate being in dark small places like this.”

“It’s okay”, Starsky told him.

“No, it’s not.  I’m a cop.  I’m supposed to be strong.  Not like this”, Michael said as he held his hands up with the chains on them.

Starsky suddenly realized something about his son.  It was something he had never seen before.

“You became a cop because of that old man at the foster home”, he told him. 

Michael didn’t say anything for a moment and he looked down at his hands.

“Yeah”, he told him.  “That son of a bitch had so damn much power and control over me and everything I did.  I could never please him no matter what I did.”

“What you told me when you were over at my place makes so much sense now”, Starsky told him.  “You didn’t want to open yourself up.”

Michael wiped the tears that threatened to overwhelm him.

“When Mom died, I was all alone.  I didn’t have anyone and I was so damn scared.  They told me that I was going to a new home.  Even though I missed her, I was happy about it.  I thought I was going to have a real home with parents and the works.  The things I never had before.  I found out real quick that wasn’t the case.”

He looked over at Starsky and a bitter smile crossed his face.

“I tried”, he said as he shook his head.  “Damn it, I tried.  I did everything I could think of to get that fucking bastard to love me.  No matter what I did or said, it wasn’t good enough for him.  I hate being here because that asshole would lock me in his closet to keep me out of his hair so he can watch a fucking football game.”

“Oh, God, Michael”, Starsky whispered.

“When David and I finally got hooked up as partners I could see how much he looked up to you and Hutch.  I thought that you must really be something for him to think of you that much.  I wanted…I wanted.”

Starsky could see he couldn’t finish as he covered his eyes with one hand.

“You wanted to please me like you tried to please that guy at the foster home”, Starsky told him.

Michael nodded and Starsky did something he had wanted to do for a long time.  He reached over to his son and pulled him in his arms.  Michael didn’t attempt to stop him.  Michael let him and when he felt his father’s arms around him the tears poured from his face.  He brought his arms around him and sobbed as he held on to his father.  Starsky held as tightly as he could to his son.  He smiled as the tears rolled down his face.  He finally had his son in his arms.

It was late in the evening and Hutch sat on his couch drinking a beer thinking about David.  His son felt so far away from him and wasn’t sure what to do about it.  He looked over at the phone and he wondered when Starsky would call.  He was really feeling the need to talk to his best friend.  He picked up the phone and dialed his home number.  After not getting an answer, he called his cell phone.  It was the same.  Hutch then called the precinct and Starsky had not checked in.  Hutch then immediately called the apartment.

“Hello.”

“David, it’s Dad.”

“I was just about to call you”, David said.

“Have you heard from Michael today?”

“I was going to see if you had heard from them.”

“Let’s hook up at the precinct”, he told David.

Hutch hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket as he headed out the door.

Michael looked over at his father.  His head was laid back and his eyes closed.  He knew he wasn’t sleeping.  Michael closely studied his features and wondered how much they really looked alike.  People had told him they had a strong resemblance but he just blew it off to having the same color hair and the same color eyes.  Michael’s eyes studied his face and they went to his neck and they stopped at his bare chest.  Michael hadn’t seen it before.  He had been so worked up over being put here, he didn’t even notice.

Starsky’s chest was covered with scars.  Some he recognized as bullet wounds and other’s he wasn’t sure about.  Michael could see he had been operated on some years ago.  This was one story Michael had never heard about.  He had heard so many since he had met David, but how he got hurt was one that had never been spoken of. 

Starsky could feel Michael’s eyes on him and when he opened them, Michael jerked his head away as if not to notice.  Starsky looked at his chest and almost laughed at the irony of the situation.

“What happened to you”, Michael asked.

“Courtesy of a man by the name of Gunther”, he told him.  “Hutch and I stepped on his toes once too often.”

“How long ago?”

“It’s been almost 27 years”, Starsky said with a sigh.

“That was before you met my mother.”

“Yeah.”

“Did it hurt?”

“I don’t really remember, Michael.  I don’t think I really started feeling it after I woke up in the hospital.”

“How many times…”

“Five bullets and three surgeries.”

“Jesus.  How could you live through something like that?”

“I almost didn’t.  I died and they brought me back.”

“I couldn’t imagine the pain of the recovery.”

“It was hell”, Starsky chuckled.  “I had Hutch and I came back.  I wasn’t about to let it beat me.”

“You’re a strong man”, Michael told him.  “I always thought…”

“What?”

“I thought that you expected too much out of me and when I couldn’t meet your expectations I thought you were disappointed in me.  Remember when David and I showed up late for that briefing?”

“Yeah.”

“I wasn’t the one that was late.  David was.”

“Why did you take the rap”, Starsky asked him.

“I figured you would expect it from me.”

“Michael, I’ve never been disappointed in you.  Ever since I found out that you were my son, I’ve been as proud as you as any father could.”

Michael looked over at Starsky and smiled.  He could almost feel the tears in his eyes and he blinked them back.

“I never imagined I would ever hear anyone say that to me”, Michael told him.

“I never thought I would ever say it”, Starsky told him honestly.  “I thought my days of fatherhood had long since passed.  The closest thing I ever had to a son was David before we met.”

“God, I was so jealous of the three of you.  It was like I was looking at a real family and I wasn’t good enough to touch it.”

“That’s how I felt when I saw you and David together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  You guys are so close and I thought if I pushed too hard it would destroy what you have with him.”

“I guess we both had a lot of the same ideas”, Michael told him ruefully. 

“I wish we had found a way to get this stuff out long before today”, Starsky told him.  “Michael, just because this was a setup, doesn’t mean you’re sister doesn’t exist.  I can’t make any promises to you, but I will do everything in my power to help you find her.”

Michael nodded and then he heard something.  It was so low he wasn’t even sure what it was until it got louder.  As the volume slowly increased, he realized it was chanting.  At first he couldn’t make it out and then it slowly began taking form.  It wasn’t long until he could make the words they were saying.

“Si-mon, Si-mon, Si-mon.”

It kept repeating over and over and the chanting increased in volume.

“What the hell is that”, Michael yelled.

He looked over to his father whose eyes were wide with fear.

Hutch followed David inside the apartment.  They had looked up the phone number on the computers and found an address.  As it was, it was going to take two hours to get to the house.  Hutch knew if he called them to inquire about Starsky and Michael, it could put them at risk.  Him and David made the decision to check it out.  An APB was already out on them and Michael’s car.  He followed David to Michael’s bedroom.

“Help me”, David told him.

Hutch watched as he grasped the mattress to Michael’s bed and he bent over to help him push it over.  When the mattress had been upturned, Hutch stared in shock at what he was looking at.  On the box springs were guns.  Almost a dozen.

“Jesus Christ, David”, Hutch almost yelled.

“I guess it must some thing with his army days.  He keeps the ammo in his closet.  Hutch opened the closet door and found the ammo sitting on the top shelf.  David grabbed up the weapons and walked into the living room.

“Do you really think we’re going to need this”, David asked as Hutch handed him a box of shells.

“No, I’m not sure.  All I know that is that if they’re both in trouble, it’s got to be big.  Come hell or high water one of them would get to us somehow.”

David nodded as he loaded one of the weapons.  He looked over at his Dad and he could see the determined intensity in his face.

“You look like, grandpa”, David told him.

“What?”

“Yeah, just now.  I never saw it before.”

“I never thought anyone would ever say that to me”, Hutch said with a chuckle.

“Why?  He’s your dad.”

“Yes, he is.  But we’re nothing alike.”

“You really think so”, David asked.

“You don’t?”