“If this was a cowboy movie, I’d give ya my boots.”
Oh, that’s brilliant, Starsky! We’re fuckin’ dyin’ here and the best you can do is a stupid reference to childhood escapism? Tell him, for Chris’ sake! Sure, the squad room’s fulla people. Even that woman behind ya, lookin’ at mug shots, but tell ‘im! Probably never gonna get another chance. Puttin’ our hand out there, that’s good.
“You’re my pal, Hutch.”
That’s a start, but he can’t… Holy shit! He didn’t leave it lyin’ like a stranded fish, he took it! We gotta live through this now. We just gotta!
Wait! What the hell did she say?
“Lady! Lady, please. I’m busy…”
Pay attention, Starsky! Listen to what she’s sayin’. Hutch sure as Hell is. She recognizes someone. Bellamy! It was Bellamy all along? Oh, shit! Fuck! And God-bloody-damn! We were there hours ago! But we missed something.
So what if you can’t feel our feet and can hardly move our legs, I’ll work ‘em for ya! Get up! Move!
Stay awake, Starsky. We’re in the car. We’re on our way to make Bellamy tell us everything. Wake up!
‘Can’t.’
Don’t fuckin’ tell me you can’t, boyo, I’m here, too, remember? I’m here and I ain’t leavin’! Not while there’s a chance now. That broad I.D.’d Bellamy. Hutch shoulda dropped us at the hospital but there wasn’t time. We’re here now, so you’re gonna do your part, whether you got the strength left or not. I do, an’ I’m runnin’ the show now!
Get up these stairs! Crawl, if that’s what it takes! There, he came back and helped us up that one. We gotta do the rest ourselves. He’s dyin’, too, maybe. If we quit now you think he’ll make it? I’m beginnin’ t’ think he won’t. Your silly declarations an’ puny li’l floppin’-fish hand gesture coulda told him more than I thought. And maybe when he held us, twice, at Janos’ studio, cradled us in his strong arms, held on and tried to take the pain away, maybe, just maybe… But we gotta get up these stairs! Do it!
“The roof!”
Did she say the roof? Our hearin’ ain’t too good, but Hutch just gripped our arm before he headed that way. Pretty sure he said, “Stay here!”
“Has he got a gun?”
“Yes. He made me lie.”
“‘s terrific.”
More stairs, but we don’t have a choice now. Bellamy has the answer to everything. And the antidote! But she said he’s armed. There’s no way in Hell that Hutch’ll shoot him. That canon o’ his could kill the muthafucker with a crease. He’ll never take the chance. He won’t shoot. You know that!
Oh, fuck! Shit, shit, shit! Bellamy has Hutch pinned down.
Can’t see to aim, can ya? Well, here, lemme do it. I’ll get the bastard for ya. Even if he is our last hope, we can’t let Hutch die! We won’t!… There. We did it. Congratulations, kid.
“Thanks, buddy. What’d you have to do that for? He was the only guy that knew.”
“Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
There ya go again, smartass. Denyin’ your feelings, pushin’ him away. So, yeah, go ahead, slide down the doorframe. We’re through. Might as well let go.
But no, he’s not lettin’ us go! He’s holdin’ onto us. Okay, we might as well hang on a little longer. His eyes are so blue. And scared. Well, keep our own eyes open and ‘talk’ to him, tell him that way. No? Can’t right now? Maybe in a little while then.
Ready to open your eyes again? Good, ‘cause that gaunt doctor’s just told Hutch we’ve bought the farm. They’re gonna take us upstairs for the final countdown. Never gonna see this guy again, this person who’s wormed his way into our life, our heart, our soul even. I know. ‘Cause I’m here, too.
“Hey, buddy, I… I have to go now.”
But, shit, he ain’t leavin’. One more look in those gorgeous blue eyes then. “Okay… Hey?” Oops, no more vocal chords? So what? Tell ‘im anyway. You two talk without words all the time. Tell ‘im now! Let ‘im hear those thoughts!
‘Good times, huh, babe?’
‘The best, Starsk.’
‘Gotta tell ya somethin’.’
‘What’s that?’
‘I…’
Aw, shit, kid! Don’t crap out now. You were doin’ good. Finish it!
‘I love you.’
‘I know. Guess I’ve always known. I love you, too.’
‘Ya do?’
Oh, fuck! Goddamn doctor interrupted.
“Yeah, yeah… okay, okay.”
I’m snickerin’ here ‘cause our Hutch is pissed. Nothin’ he can do, ‘o course, they shooed him out.
But ya did good, kid. Got it said anyway. Who knows? If he can work a miracle, maybe you two can figure it out. Later. Somehow. At least you know he feels the same way. Kinda makes ya wanna hang on a little longer, don’t it? Does me, for sure. And it seems like I’m the one in change right now. So listen up, Sergeant Starsky. We are not going to die. At least not right away. We are going to cling to this precarious, precious life we’ve been flingin’ around as if it weren’t. Precious, that is.
We are going to maintain. Breathe. In and out. Again. Hutch ain’t gonna give up, you know that. He loves you, too. And as we all know, where there’s love, kid, there’s hope.
You love each other
but you don’t say anything
‘til almost too late
END
This is so beautiful. You’ve captured Starsky’s thoughts in this episode really well. And I can feel Hutch’s anguish even though it’s not his POV… Starsky understands what his friend is going through so well.
I love the little snippets of dialogue you’ve inserted.
A great enhancement to one of my favourite episodes.
Thank you.
You’re very welcome, P4ul4; I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I’d never written a ‘2nd person POV’ before but this one came to me and it seemed to work. Your comment and its kind words are greatly appreciated. Thank YOU.
Nice! Fits so well with the episode, I can easily follow it in my mind. ?
What a nice thing to say, Jenny; thank you so much. I appreciate your reading and then taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it.
Those scenes are so powerful, packed with emotion.
I’ve always felt the same way, marianrose, so I guess that’s why I decided to use them when I wanted to write this ‘2nd person POV.’ Thanks for reading and thanks, even more, for leaving your lovely comment.
Great job. It reminded me of those horror movies where you yell “not that way!” at the screen. I could definitely see Starsky wanting to tell Hutch how he felt before it was too late. And those gorgeous blue eyes!
Thanks, Spencer! I’m glad it reminded you of wanting to ‘yell at the screen’. And we never tire of looking at Hutch’s gorgeous blue eyes, do we? Thanks again, my friend.
I got a real spiritual feel from this. Like Starsky’s spirit was fighting for life and love along with Hutch because Starsky’s body and mind were too weak. I loved your the use of “us.”
Thank you, mvernet. I’m not sure this lives up to the wonderful stories you’ve gifted us with this calendar, but I’m glad you enjoyed it. Although I hadn’t even realized it when I was writing, your mentioning it in your comment made me realize I did have a spiritual feeling, too. They were always connected, weren’t they? Bodies, minds and souls. Thanks for reading and then for letting me know it struck a chord with you.
Adored this, Pat! Could see and hear every word. SO very well written and so spot on for Starsky’s spirit/soul to be telling him “it’s not too late”. KUDOS! Love it!
Thank you, ks! I’m really glad it worked for you. It was something new and different for me so it feels great to know you think it’s okay. I really appreciate your reading and then letting me know you liked it. THX!!!