From: Beth Hillemann <hillemann@macalstr.edu>
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 11:45:09 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: "Partners"  (Part 10 of 11)
Message-Id: <01HPVD3JBZ1EAKYFFG@MACALSTR.EDU>

"Partners"  (Part 10 of 11)
By Beth Hillemann
 
 
"Sam!" Al cried.
 
Sam ducked instictively as the gun roared.  Knowing it was his last action. 
Wishing as he had never wished for anything before, even for his Dad or Tom,
that Al hadn't been there.  Hadn't had to witness his death.
 
But then he realized he hadn't died.
 
"Sam!  Get up!" Al was calling to him.  Sam opened his eyes and looked in
confusion up the hall.  He saw the guard struggling to right himself against
the side wall and another man with curly dark hair and bound hands sprawled on
the floor trying, not very successfully, to get up before the guard did.  The
gun the guard had been holding lay on the floor near the wall.
 
Sam jerked himself up and tore down the hallway, grabbing the guard and
slamming his head against the wall.  He slid down, unconscious.  Sam collected
the guard's gun then knelt by the other man.
 
"Detective Starsky," he said urgently, laying gentle hands on the man, "are
you all right?"
 
"Who wants to know?" the other man mumbled.  He lifted his head as Sam helped
him to sit up.  Sam was shocked by the bruises and the cuts.
 
"It's all right," Sam assured him, reaching to untie the hands.  "I'm Mike
Jennings.  I'm working with Hutch."
 
"Hutch," Starsky murmured, still somewhat dazed.  Deep blue eyes suddenly
focused on Sam.  "Hutch!" he said quickly.  "Cameron'll kill him.  Get me up!"
Sam helped him to stand but was supporting most of his weight.  "I've got to
get to him," Starsky fretted, struggling to move down the hall.
 
"I heard a gunshot," Sam said worriedly, looking at Al.
 
"I'll go check," Al said.  "Gooshie, center me on Hutch!"  Al disappeared.
 
"Go on," Starsky said, urging Sam with one hand, while he used the other to
prop himself up against the wall.  "Go on and help Hutch.  I'll make it down
on my own."
 
Sam checked to be sure Starsky was going to stay standing, then nodded and
hurried down the stairs.
 
Al met him at the bottom of the flight, saying, "He's alive but he and Cameron
are fighting.  I think you'd better get in there."
 
Sam raced to the room Al indicated, close to the stairs.  He flung open the
door and saw Hutch and Cameron swinging at each other.  Hutch's expression was
anguished, as if he had received a blow he'd never recover from.  Cameron
looked triumphant.  In fury, Hutch grabbed hold and slammed Cameron with a
powerful right that sent him crashing to the floor.  Hutch reached for him
again, but Cameron kicked him viciously and sent him sprawling.  The two men
staggered up and weighed in, trading blows.  It was obvious, however, that
Cameron was tiring and Hutch had all the power of black despair.  He landed a
quick right and left combination to Cameron's stomach that doubled him, then
finished him with another right to the jaw.  Cameron staggered back and fell
against the wall, dislodging a lamp in the process.  Hutch followed him, his
face savage.  All the pent up grief and rage of three weeks was finally coming
out.  He wrenched Cameron up against the wall and hit him again, full in the
face.  Blood flowed from Cameron's nose.  He was beyond asserting himself,
only raising his arms in a futile effort to protect his head.  But Hutch
didn't stop, he threw another blow at Cameron, and another.
 
"Hutch!" Sam ran to him, reaching for his arm.  "Enough.  He's finished!"
 
Hutch flung Sam aside, seeing him only as an impediment in his terrible need
to hurt Cameron, as he had been hurt, as Starsky had been hurt.  He grabbed
Cameron, who was sliding down the wall, and hauled him upright again, only to
knock him down, harder.
 
"Hutch!" Sam cried, struggling to his feet.
 
Then a new voice interrupted, "Hutch."  The voice was thready and weak but it
stopped Hutch abruptly, like a flaming torch plunged into water.  He stilled,
his hands holding Cameron upright, frozen in position.  "Hutch," the voice
said again.  And with a little cry that was almost a sob, Hutch turned,
dropping Cameron, and stared across the room at Starsky swaying in the
doorway.  "Leave some for me," Starsky called as he started sliding down the
doorjamb.
 
Hutch, his eyes alight with joy, reached his partner in two steps and grabbed
hold of him with infinite care, lifting him up again.  "Wait a minute,
Starsk," he called softly.  "Let me get you somewhere more comfortable."
 
"Hutch?" Starsky said, groping blindly with one hand for his partner.
 
"I'm right here, buddy," Hutch said, beginning to ease Starsky toward the
couch.  "Right here."
 
"Where?  I see three of you," Starsky complained.
 
"The one in the middle," Hutch advised him.  Starsky's hand found Hutch's
shoulder and latched on, as if to a lifeline.  Hutch settled Starsky carefully
on the couch, his hand slipping to the back of his partner's neck, then down
to his shoulders to pull him close.  Starsky sighed, the hand on Hutch's
shoulder tightening as two heads, one dark and one blond, met briefly in
thankful communion.  Sam, watching the two men, felt his throat tighten with
emotion--joy and relief mingled with something close to envy at the ease of
the embrace.
 
In a voice that didn't hide its shakiness, Hutch said to his partner, "I heard
a shot.  I thought they'd killed you."
 
Starsky grinned at him tiredly, "Well that makes two of us."  Then he winced
as an inadvertent movement caused pain.
 
"Let me check you out," Hutch said, gently starting to see how badly Starsky
was injured.  His face still held a look of wonder as he probed his friend.
 
"Watch out for the ribs," Starsky commented, flinching.  "I think they busted
one of 'em."
 
"Hmm, I guess so," Hutch agreed.  "It's going to be the hospital for you,
buddy."
 
"Terrific," Starsky grimaced.
 
Sam turned his attention to Bergie and Cameron, handcuffing them together just
to make sure there was no trouble.  Cameron was still out, but Bergie had
begun to stir slightly.  "I'll call for some squad cars," he said to Hutch. 
"And an ambulance," he glanced at Cameron.
 
"Two," Starsky called.  "I'm not riding in one with _him_."
 
Hutch chuckled.  He finished his examination of Starsky and made sure he was
comfortably propped up on the couch, then he looked over at Sam.  "What about
the other guards?" he asked, after Sam finished his phone call.
 
"There were three of them upstairs," Sam said.
 
"Let's go make sure they're secure then," Hutch said, retrieving his gun from
the floor.  He brought Bergie's gun over to Starsky but pointed a finger at
him.  "You stay put," he ordered severely.  "And don't get lost again."
 
"I ain't goin' nowhere," Starsky assured him.  "But don't you go gettin'
yourself killed before I have a chance to talk to you about a few things," he
threatened as Hutch and Sam moved through the door.
 
They arrived upstairs and peered around the corner of the hallway.  "Two
bodies," Sam whispered to Hutch.  "There should be three."  Quietly, with guns
drawn, the two men moved out into the hallway.  They came to the first door,
and with one on either side, opened it with guns trained on the interior.  No
one was there so they moved on to the next room.
 
Al came up the stairway and began peering into rooms to try to locate the
missing man.  He was two rooms ahead of Hutch and Sam when he poked his head
out and said to Sam, "He's in here, the nozzle.  It's the one that was
carrying the tray.  He's got a gun, Sam."
 
Sam nodded and indicated to Hutch that he had heard something from that room. 
The two of them split to either side of the door and Hutch pounded on it with
his foot.  "Police!" he shouted, "come out with your hands up."  The only
response was gunfire through the closed door.
 
"Give it up!" Hutch called.  "Cameron's in custody downstairs.  The police are
on their way.  Don't make it any worse for you that it already is!"
 
Nothing but silence came from the room.  Hutch looked at Sam, eyebrows raised.
Sam nodded and prepared himself.  Hutch slammed the door open with his foot
but stayed to the side of the door.  Gunfire again erupted through the open
doorway.  As soon as it faded, Hutch and Sam burst through the door, Hutch
going high and Sam going low, firing as they came.  The man inside the room
screamed and fell prone on the floor, his gun skidding away from him.  Sam and
Hutch slowly advanced and Hutch picked up the gun while Sam checked the
guard's condition.  He found a graze from one of the bullets, but nothing
else.  Sam hauled the guard to his feet and escorted him out to the hallway
where the other guards were stirring.  Hutch handcuffed the two guards already
in the hallway and herded them towards the stairs, while Sam brought along the
wounded man.  At the top of the stairs, however, Hutch paused.  He turned to
Sam and stopped him with a light touch on his arm.  Sam looked at the
detective inquiringly.
 
"I...I just want to say thank you," Hutch said quietly.  "For giving me back
my partner."  The expression in the blue eyes told Sam how deeply those words
were felt.
 
Sam felt his throat close up again, and struggled to speak normally.  "You're
welcome," he managed, then nodded and smiled, blinking rather rapidly.
 
Hutch put a gentle hand on Sam's shoulder and squeezed.  The gesture one of
thanks and respect.  "If you ever need anything," Hutch promised, his eyes
serious, and he nodded once in affirmation of the vow.  Then the detective
turned back to the handcuffed guards, gesturing for them to precede him down
the stairs.
 
Sam's eyes found Al, and his heart turned over as he saw the expression
shining on the face of his friend.  "You did good, Sam," Al said with complete
satisfaction.  "Real good.  I'm proud of you, kid."  Sam nodded again but he
was thinking of all Al had done for Starsky and Hutch, and for him.  Just by
being himself.  Sam's breath caught as he suddenly realized what Hutch had
been trying to say--was it only this morning?--in his apartment.  He reached
for Al, his face alight with discovery, but he was interrupted by a voice
coming from below.
 
"Hey Mike, you coming?"  It was Hutch, pausing halfway down the stairs to see
what was taking Sam so long to follow.

Sam started, and saw that Al was now peering at him with a perplexed
expression.  "Take the guard downstairs, Sam," Al advised him dryly.  Sam
hesitated, then turned to comply, knowing that now was not the time for a
discussion with his partner.
 
When the group arrived at the study they found Starsky dragging himself along
the floor towards the door.  He sighed in relief as Hutch and Sam appeared,
then collapsed to rest for a moment.  Hutch glanced at his partner as he
pushed the two handcuffed guards to the other side of the room.  Sam took
charge of them while Hutch went over to Starsky.  "What are you doing on the
floor, Starsk?" Hutch asked, lending a hand to help him back to the couch.
 
"Would you please stop shooting guns all over the place," Starsky complained,
causing his partner to grin.  Hutch settled wearily next to Starsky on the
couch, watching as Sam secured the prisoners--handcuffing Bergie and the
wounded guard together, leaving the still unconscious Cameron free.  It was
rather like a game of musical handcuffs.
 
"So what took you so long to find me, huh?" Starsky asked his partner.
 
"Well, everyone thought you were dead, buddy," Hutch explained.

Starsky nodded.  "Cameron showed me my obituary.  You thought so too, huh?"

Hutch glanced at him.  "Yes," he admitted quietly.
 
Starsky grimaced.  "Score one for Cameron."  He took a deep breath.  "So why
are you here today?  Did he contact you?  He said he would."
 
"No.  I think he was planning on doing that tonight--or maybe tomorrow.  He
had a picture of you, you know."
 
"One of my better ones, I'm sure."

"I thought so.  No, we're here today because Mike figured this whole thing
out."
 
"Mike?"
 
"My new partner," Hutch explained, gesturing toward Sam.
 
"And what am I?  Chopped liver?"

"You're my dead partner," Hutch shrugged.
 
"Sounds kinda kinky to me," Starsky commented.  He looked across the room at
Sam, who was leaning against the desk, relaxing.  "So he figured it out, huh?"
 
"Yeah," Hutch confirmed.
 
"Hey, Mike," Starsky called out.  "You wanna be my partner, next?"  Beside
him, Hutch snorted.  In the distance they could hear sirens approaching.
 
"I think you two are dangerous," Sam said from the desk.  "I'm going back to
Chicago.  At least I know who's out to kill me there."
 
"You'd be bored," Hutch assured him.

"Yeah, stick with us," Starsky agreed.  "We've got, let's see:  vengeful
relatives, people who are facing conviction, hitmen, cultists, ex-cons..."
 
"Relatives of people facing conviction," Hutch chimed in.
 
"Who was that?" Starsky turned to him.
 
"Remember the look-a-likes?"
 
"Oh, yeah.  But they didn't try to kill us, exactly."
 
"No, only get us kicked off the force.  Oh, and don't forget the vigilantes,"
Hutch reminded him.
 
"Oh, yeah.  Them too," Starsky grinned at Sam.
 
Sam rolled his eyes and looked to Al.
 
"I wish you'd hurry up and leap, Sam," the hologram grumbled.

The sirens by now were growing quite loud, and soon they saw flashing lights
in the driveway.  Hutch got up to look out the window.  "Three black and
whites, one unmarked and, yep, two ambulances."  He glanced at Sam.  "What'd
you tell them, anyway?"
 
>From the hallway came a familiar bellowing voice: "Hutchinson!  Jennings!"
 
Starsky winced and looked at Hutch.  "Did you tell Dobey about me?"
 
Before Hutch could answer, Captain Dobey erupted into the room, followed
quickly by uniformed police officers.  The Captain glared around the room,
taking in the sight of Cameron and his men, Sam, Hutch...and Starsky on the
couch.  His mouth fell open and Starsky and Hutch both enjoyed the rare sight
of their Captain at a complete loss for words.  Then a scowl descended. 
"Starsky!"
 
Starsky held up a hand.  "It wasn't my fault, Captain, honest!  Ask Hutch."
 
"Get those paramedics in here," Dobey growled at one of the uniformed police
officers.  He advanced towards Starsky and Hutch, who had returned to his
partner's side.  Dobey shook his head.  "Revenge for the brother?" he
hazarded.
 
"Yes," Hutch answered.
 
Dobey nodded.  "And you knew he was here when you came with that warrant?"
 
"Uh, well, not exact--that is I thought maybe he...I...yes, sir," Hutch
admitted, squirming under his Captain's glare.
 
"I like this guy," Al commented to Sam, looking at Dobey with admiration. 
"He'd make a good naval officer."
 
"We'll talk about it later," Dobey said, as the paramedics swarmed into the
room.  He looked at Starsky and his face softened.  "It's good to have you
back, Starsky."
 
"It's good to be back," Starsky replied with a smile.  The paramedics then
descended on him and soon he was transferred to a gurney to be wheeled to one
of the waiting ambulances.  Hutch hovered near him until Dobey finally ordered
him to go to the hospital with Starsky.
 
"Boy, I can't wait to get back to my own bed," Sam heard Starsky say to Hutch
as the paramedics began wheeling him out of the room."
 
"Uh, Starsky, they thought you were dead..."
 
"What do you mean?  You mean my apartment's gone?"

"Well, yes."
 
"What about all my stuff?"
 
"We had a good sale," Hutch said heartlessly.
 
Suddenly, to the consternation of the paramedics, Starsky struggled to sit up.
"What about my car?!" he cried.
 
"Uh, well..." Hutch began.
 
"Hutch...!" Sam heard Starsky wail as the gurney was taken out of the house,
and he shared a grin with Al.
 
"What happens to them, Al?" Sam mumured as Dobey took charge of the situation,
taking care of Cameron and his men, and collecting the evidence to convict
them all of kidnapping, multiple attempted murders and drug dealing.
 
Al pulled out the handlink to consult with it.  Then he smiled at Sam.  "They
go on being who they are."
 
Sam smiled, feeling extraordinarily light-hearted.  But as he looked at Al,
his smile wavered.  He wanted to explain to Al everything he had learned in
this leap.  Most especially what he had leared about Al's everyday decision to
stand and watch as his friend exposed himself to countless dangers.  The
partnership he had entered into with Al was never meant to be tested by the
crucible of leaping.  But it had been, and each had grown as a result, and
their friendship and partnership had deepened.  Al wouldn't be Al if he
weren't willing to keep coming back while Sam faced all the dangers.  Sam
might have wanted to spare him that, but he heard Hutch's voice echoing in his
mind:  _He was himself.  And I could be myself with him_.  Hutch was right, it
was a wonderful privilege to have a partner like that--and a terrible
responsibility.
 
"It's probably time for you to be leaping, Sam," Al said.  And there was a
hint of sadness in the eyes regarding Sam.
 
Sam blinked at his partner, feeling tears at the back of his own eyes.  "Al,"
he said, then stopped at a loss for words.  He shook his head, and simply
said, "Thank you."
 
"For what?" Al asked, surprised.
 
"For being my partner."
 
Al looked at him sideways, some puzzlement in his expression.  But then his
face changed and his eyes took on a light very like Hutch's had gained when he
learned Starsky was alive.  "Just keeping faith," he told Sam.
 
And they both expected Sam to leap.  But he didn't.
 
--End of Part 10--
 
Beth Hillemann
hillemann@macalstr.edu