Ah, now came the most beautiful scene of the film.  The wedding between Tzeitel and Motel.  Hutch carefully eyed his friends' reaction to this scene, as Starsky was by now concentrating hard, frowning and chewing thoughtfully on his lip.

"Hey, I KNOW this song!"  Starsky said brightly as "Sunrise Sunset" began.  Hutch frowned as he noticed Starskys' eyes now shining - were those tears?  Hutch thought to himself.  "Couldn't be...  could it?"

"I LIKE this song."  Starsky whispered, leaning over to his friend, his eyes never leaving the tv set as he hummed along to the familiar tune.  Slowly, he began to explain bits and pieces to Hutch about Jewish weddings, the meaning of such things as the Chuppah, the wedding canopy, symbolizing the home the couple will share, all the way through to the breaking of the Kiddush cup, to remind them of the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem 2000 years earlier.  The breaking of the glass signifies the end of the ceremony, a time for celebration to begin.  Hutch was fascinated by his friends' unending knowledge.  Starsky never ceased to amaze him...

"Hey, that guy sings pretty good!"  Starsky grinned, as Perchik sang his part in the song along with Hodel, the women he'd falled in love with as they stood and witnessed the marriage...

"They look so natural together, Just like two newlyweds should be, Is there a canopy in store for me?"

Hutch was surprised at how sad Starsky seemed to be, watching the scene.  Weddings were meant to be happy occasions, but Starsky was near tears.  Was he even more sentimental than Hutch even realized, all these years?  Hutch thought he knew everything there was to know about his partner and best friend...

After the wedding scene ended, the reception began, complete with music, dancers, happy laughter and a lot of drinking and toasting to the newly married couple.  Starsky grinned happily, the change in him between the ceremony and the reception like night and day, quite obvious to Hutch, who sighed heavily.  For a moment there, during the wedding scene, Hutch was afraid Starsky would begin to breakdown and cry.  But now, during the reception scene, Starsky had brightened up, even leaning over to Hutch to comment about the bottle dancers, men who could dance amazingly well with full, opened bottles of wine on the hats on their heads without dropping the bottles or spilling any of the wine.  It brought back memories of some Jewish weddings Starsky had attended as a youngster back in New York.

Starsky really perked up at the part in the film where Perchik asked Hodel to dance, a move that was unheard of - a man dancing with a woman!

"He's got guts, that's for sure."  Starsky muttered, finishing off his beer.

"And you say he's nothing like you..."  Hutch asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Ssh!"  Starsky quieted him back, a finger to his lips.  "The movie."

"Oh, yeah."  Hutch mumbled sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

But just as Starsky sshed him, the scene once again changed, the happy reception suddenly turning to disaster when everyone there realized this was the time the Russian army had chosen to make their move, to bring the peasants back to the harsh reality of the inevitable revolution that was just around the corner in their lives.  Soldiers burst in on horseback, destroying everything at the wedding, overturning tables of food, breaking glassware, tearing linens, starting everything afire in the building that spread rapidly. 

Starskys' mouth dropped open - this was definitely something he wasn't expecting to happen in the movie and it caught him totally off guard.  Gasping aloud, he once again reached for the comfort of the pillow off to the side, holding it close to his chest.  He held his breath as he watched the devastation on screen.

Starsky very nearly jumped off the sofa when the part of the film came on where Perchik boldly tried to pull one of the soldiers off his horse to fight him, and was knocked out for his efforts, being hit in the head with one of the wedding gifts, a large, heavy candlestick.  Starskys' eyes were large and smouldering dark when he saw that happen.  Hutch cringed inwardly at the same scene - the character of Perchik suddenly looked TOO much like his partner, and seeing him go down so hard like that bothered Hutch terribly, as though it had happened to Starsky himself.  His stomach churned.  It hit too close to home for Hutchs' comfort.  Hutch swallowed hard and absentmindedly moved closer to his friend on the sofa.

But Starsky smiled wide with Hodel, again breaking all the rules of the times, rushed to kneel next to Perchik to hold and protect him from the soldiers still on horseback, hovering threateningly over him by covering him with her own body, against the wishes of her family.

"That'a girl."  Starsky muttered proudly, a wide grin on his face.

Hutch snickered at the comment.

Suddenly Starskys' eyes turned dark again and the grin vanished from his face replaced by an angry frown.  "I can't believe they did things like that to my people, just because of who they were...  their beliefs..."  he whispered angrily to no one in particular as he lie his head back on the sofa, wearily.

Hutch turned to face his friend.  "I know, buddy..."  he whispered back, his hand now on Starskys' shoulder.  "I know."

Starsky looked up momentarily, blushing at Hutch.  "Sorry," he apologized for not keeping his emotions in check.  It was as though he forgot he wasn't alone...

"No need."  Hutch shook his head, squeezing Starskys' shoulder.  "You've got a good heart, babe."  he added softly.

"I'm proud of my people and who I am because of them."  Starsky shrugged as a way of an explanation as he scratched his nose absentmindedly.

Hutch smiled, turning his attention back to the movie.  His Starsky...

It was now months later in the film, at the point where Perchik tells Tevye he's going back to Kiev to help others resist the government as best he could.  He informed Tevye that he intended to send for Hodel and marry her;  he didn't ASK Tevye, he TOLD him, which didn't exactly endear himself to his future father-in-law, but Tevye was fascinated by this rebel.  He actually liked Perchik and told Golde so when he worked up the courage to tell his wife about the upcoming marriage that he gave his blessing to.  Unfortunately, Golde wasn't quite as accepting of the situation, she saw Perchik as a troublemaker who couldn't possibly provide for her daughter.  But if Tevye gave his blessing...  and they WERE in love...

Love.  Tevyes' song, his question to Golde, "Do You Love Me?" now played in the movie, Tevye asking his wife if, after 25 years together, she LOVED him. 

Theirs, as many others at that time, was an arranged marriage, meeting for the first time on their wedding day.  Starskys' eyes misted over as the song played.

"Reminds me of my ma and pop."  he leaned over and told Hutch quietly.  "They practically met for the first time on their wedding day, themselves."

"Yeah?  And I'll bet they loved each other until the day..."  Hutch began, then caught himself before he said anymore.  Damn, he berated himself.  Don't bring up Starskys' dad, not now, not during this film of all times...

"'s okay, Blintz."  Starsky smiled warmly, sighing as he patted Hutchs' hand as if reading his partners' mind.  "They loved each other until the day pop was killed."  he said the words Hutch couldn't bring himself to say.  "And ma still loves pop to this day, prob'ly even more than ever."  Starskys' eyes glistened with the thought.

Hutch never realized the feelings this movie would bring out in his best friend, all he'd ever meant to do was to prove to Starsky how much Perchik and he looked alike.  But instead, feelings rooted deep within Starsky all his life were making their way to the surface.  Some good, his feelings of pride, and some not so good, the feelings of betrayal and injustice of his ancestors.  Hutch sighed deeply, he hoped he hadn't started something he would wish he hadn't...

But Hutch didn't have time to worry about that right now, as the movie was moving along to the next scene, truly one of the saddest scenes in the film.  Tevye and Hodel were at the train stop out on the frozen fields of Anatevka in winter.  Hodel was leaving for Kiev to marry Perchik, who unfortunately had since been arrested for resisting the government, but she'd marry him and set up a home there, while waiting for him to eventually be released from prison.  Both Tevye and Hodel realized that she may never see her father or family ever again as she sang the haunting song, "Far From The Home I Love". 

Hutch felt the couch cushion move slightly next to him as Starsky crossed his legs yoga style on the sofa, the pillow against his chest.  Glancing over, he could see his best friends' shoulders slumped over as they shook almost imperceptively.  Was Starsky crying?  Hutch didn't want to embarrass his sentimental friend by saying anything, but he knew that one of the saddest things that could ever happen in Starskys' life was the chance of someone leaving his life forever, and not necessarily by death.  Just knowing the special person was somewhere in the world, but he would most likely never see them again in his lifetime was SO heartbreaking to Starsky...

Hutch leaned across to gently give the back of Starskys' neck a tender squeeze, purposely keeping his eyes on the screen.  Starsky was trembling under his touch. Hutch glanced down at Starskys' hands, clenching the pillow in his lap with a death grip. 

Hutch looked up to see Chava, the youngest sister, begging her father to let her marry Fyedka, the man she loved.  But Tevye refused...  doing so would go against his faith and everything he'd believed in.  Tevye turned her away, disowning her, his heart breaking at the prospect of losing yet another daughter so soon after Hodel...

"How could he do that to his own daughter?"  Starsky whispered in a trembling voice to no one in particular.  Hutch squeezed Starskys' neck even tighter, giving it a little rub for good measure.  "Starsk..."  he began in a quiet voice, turning to frown at his partner.  Hutch was really beginning to think this whole movie was not such a good idea after all...

They were now coming to the end of the film.  Hutch couldn't believe over two hours had already passed by.  Two hours, and so far Starsky had been totally interested and intrigued by the movie, running the gamet of emotions.

The Constable had come to the villagers to inform them of the forced departure of the village of Anatevka, the only place they had known as their home.  In a daze, all the villagers began to pack.  All the people, the friends they'd ever known their whole lives would be parting ways, many destined to never see each other again.  It was argueably the saddest scene in the movie, people leaving people as close as family, knowing they'd never see each other, ever again. 

As the parting friends began to sing the sorrowful song "Anatevka", Starsky gasped audibly once again, causing Hutch to turn sharply to see if his friend was allright.  Tears were now rolling down Starskys' face as he drew in a deep, shuddering breath.  "Starsk?  You 'kay?"  Hutch whispered.  "It's almost over."

"Hutch,"  Starsky began, gesturing at the tv.  "That's the saddest thing...  these people are leaving each other, they'll never see each other again..."  his sniffles turned into hiccups.  "It'd be like you and I, never..." his voice drifted off.

"Ssh, I know, buddy, I know."  Hutch soothed, knowing how traumatic the thought was to his friend.  Hutch knew how he himself would feel, being forced to leave Starsk, and even Dobey and Huggy, knowing his hands were tied and he would never live to see them again.  His heart broke at the very thought.

Hutch offered Starsky the shirt sleeve on his forearm in front of his friends' face.

"What are you doing?"  Starsky frowned, hiccupping.

"Wipe your face..."  Hutch smiled warmly.

"Goof..."  Starsky grinned through his tears as he pushed Hutchs' arm away and wiped his tears with the back of his own hand.

Their eyes met, Starskys' red and filled with unshed tears, and Hutchs' hurting at being the cause of even a small amount of anguish in his friend by tricking him into watching the movie. 

"It's okay, buddy."  Hutch whispered with a wink.

"I know,"  Starsky sighed in return.  Credits now rolled up the screen, various bits of music from the soundtrack playing in the background. 

"You're right, Hutch.  It WAS a good movie..."  Starsky conceded with a shrug.  "Sad, though.  Sorry I lost it there..."  he smiled sheepishly, his face turning red as he hung his head, embarrassed, and again wiped his face.  "Some big bad cop I am, huh?" 

Hutch merely leaned over, smiling warmly, and pulled his best friend into a bone-crushing hug.  "I wouldn't want you any other way, partner.  You and your big heart."  Starsky tossed the pillow aside and grasped Hutch around his neck.

"Ya' big lug..."  Starsky chuckled.  "Makin' a soapy scene..."

"Sorry I tricked you into watching the movie."  Hutch apologized, pulling back.  "But you gotta' admit, you and Perchik..."

Starsky laughed and shook his head.  "Okay, Blintz, I give.  Me and Perchik.  Twins."  he added, holding his left hand up, his index finger and middle finger pressed tightly together.

Hutch beamed.  "Told 'ja."  he announced proudly, standing up to stretch and pulled Starsky up with him.  Starsky yawned and consulted his watch.

"I'd better haul ass, it's late and I'm beat."  he yawned again.  "Thanks for tonight, Blondie."  he said, sincerely, putting Hutch at ease.  Hutch was worried his friend would still be angry with him for deceiving him.

Together they gathered up the mess they had made of beer cans, empty chip bags and other garbage, depositing it in the kitchen before Starsky headed for the door, drawing his car keys from his jean pocket.  As he reached for the doorknob, Hutch shouted after him.

"Hey, Starsk!"  Hutch called, snapping his fingers.  "Wait up, I almost forgot, I have something for you."  With that, he disappeared.  Starsky leaned against the door, crossing his legs at the ankles and waited.  "You got something for me?"  he asked curiously.  It wasn't unusual for the pair to occasionally give each other gifts for no special reason, Starsky just wasn't expecting anything.

Hutch reentered the room from his greenhouse holding a tiny little green plant in his hands.

"I was at the nursery earlier today to pick up some plant food and since I knew you were coming over tonight to watch the movie..."  At this point, Starsky raised his eyebrow at Hutch as if to say, "how could you be certain I'd stay once I realized I was suckered?"  Hutch went on, ignoring "the look"...

"I saw this little beauty and knew I had to get it for you.  It's a wandering jew plant."  he announced with a grin, handing it to his friend.  "I thought it looked like it needed a good home."  he shrugged, hands on his hips.

"Aw, thanks, Hutch!"  Starsky said softly, gently fingering the leaves.  "A wandering jew, just like me!"  Hutch laughed and reached out to squeeze Starskys' arm.  "I hope you'll be very happy together, wandering through life."

"Thanks, buddy, I'll take Anna home right now, I know JUST the right spot for her."

"Anna?"  Hutch asked curiously, frowning as he walked his friend to the door.

"Anatevka!"  Starsky announced proudly, with a typical Starsky grin, holding the plant out in front of him.

And with that Starsky turned and left Hutchs' place, running out into the rain, waving his free hand behind his head and holding Anna close to his chest to protect her from the rain.  "Hey, my place tomorrow night!"  he invited to Hutch over his shoulder.  "There's a movie on called 'Magnum Force' that I want you to see.  There's a blond cop in there that looks JUST like you!"

Hutch laughed heartily, shaking his head.  What would he do without his best friend in his life?  "Okay, it's a date.  Your place tomorrow, PERCHIK."  he called after his friend.

Hutch could hear Starsky whistling a song as he made his way to the car.  What was that, he wondered with a frown standing in the doorway.  It was a song from the movie...

"Hey Hutch, Mazeltov!"  Starsky turned and smiled, holding up the plant as he headed for the Torino.

"Mazeltov to you, too, Starsk."  Hutch smiled, shaking his head.  "Careful going home..."

Hutch could hear the sweet sound of Starskys' humming as he disappeared into the night.  He sighed, closing the door.  With his own Perchik in his life, Hutch was truly a rich man after all...

THE END