Chapter Text
Pairing/Characters: S/H
Summary: It's been over to years since Hutch left. A death brings them back together and
Starsky finds out why Hutch left.
Warnings: Sexual scene but nothing graphic
Notes: Feedback is welcome.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to Ne'i chan for her assistance, again! Any mistakes are all mine.
Leave the Past Behind
Ken Hutchinson replaced the receiver. He stood there, hand still touching the phone. Then he blinked. He dropped onto the couch, staring at the phone as if waiting for it to speak - to deny what he'd just been told. Harold Dobey was dead.
He shook his head, it couldn't be true. Captain Dobey gone? He leaned his head back on the couch, eyes closed. Huggy had just called to say that Dobey had died in his sleep, a heart attack. The funeral was in three days, Friday. Would he come?
He got up and headed for the kitchen. He needed a beer, lots of them. But first he called his office to tell them he'd be going out of town, a death in the family. Harold and Edith Dobey were more like family than his own. He couldn't let them down by not showing up. He grabbed a beer, dug out a photo album and plopped down on the couch. After many beers and many more tears he fell asleep.
***
Hutch sat in the window seat watching the clouds and years roll by. He hadn't though of himself by the name 'Hutch' in awhile. Two years and five months to be exact. Since the day he'd left Bay City. People had asked him if he had a nickname or what he liked to be called and he'd tell them Ken. He'd stopped being Hutch long ago.
He let the past wash over him, thinking of Dobey but side stepping the one name, the one person who kept trying to crop back up in his mind. He wouldn't allow himself to think the name. To name him was to conjure him, to give him power and he already had enough of that.
This was a mistake. A little voice in his head kept telling him. Go to the funeral, speak to Edith and run like hell. "Yeah, you've got that part down."
"Excuse me?"
Hutch turned from the window to see the stewardess looking at him.
"Can I get you something?"
"Coffee, two creams, please." Hutch gave her a smile.
The stewardess smile and blushed. "Right away." She hurried off down the aisle.
Stewardesses, he thought. How many did you sleep with in the past? And can you remember one of their names? He shook his head. No, they'd all had "Y" names. Candy, Sherry, something like that. Course he'd called them all "Honey". He smiled. Made it easier.
He lowered his tray as he saw the stewardess coming back down the aisle with his coffee. She flashed him a big smile as she sat the cup down.
"Thank you," he looked at her name tag, "Debbie." He wondered if the airlines made them use fake names. Witness protection for stewardesses. The thought made him snort and he saw the lady across the aisle turn to look at him. He turned back toward the window and the past.
~~~
He was sitting by the hospital bed. He stared at the monitors, refusing to blink. He knew if he did, if he looked away, something bad would happen. He felt tired, so very tired. He couldn't sleep, he must keep watch. His eyelids felt heavy, no, he must stay awake. Then next thing he knew a buzzer was going off. He jerked awake.
He was still in the plane. His heart was thudding in his chest. Just a dream, he told himself. Just a dream. That time was behind him, Starsky was okay. Hutch unbuckled his seatbelt and headed toward the bathroom. After using it, he splashed water on his face. He looked in the mirror. Sometimes the face looking back at him surprised him. He didn't feel older though the image said differently. His hair was short and there was a little less of it. New lines were visible around his eyes and mouth. He glanced around the restroom. He hated these tiny rooms. It felt like a flying outhouse. Mile high club. How could people have sex in these things? Well he could think of one person who could get him hot enough to want it anywhere. He opened the door and headed back to his seat.
***
Starsky reached down beside the sofa for his beer. He took a long drink then held it on his stomach. He stared at the television but wasn't really watching it. Tomorrow was Dobey's funeral. He still couldn't believe he was dead. Starsky had just been over for dinner a few nights ago. Now Dobey was gone. It only reinforced how short life was, how you never knew from day to day if your time was up or someone you loved. Or if someone you loved would disappear.
Would he be there? Would Hutch stay away from Dobey's funeral? Starsky let out a laugh. He'd managed to stay away for over two years. It still ate at him. Why had Hutch disappeared? One day he was there and the next gone. Starsky had searched but he hadn't been able to find out where he went. He had a feeling that Huggy knew but he would never say. His mind drifted back to those days.
~~~
He was about to get out of the hospital in a few days. It had been touch and go at first but Hutch had been with him every step of the way, as usual. Right now Nurse Cathy, as Starsky called her was taking his vitals. Starsky had been flirting with her since he'd been feeling better and he couldn't wait until he got out of here so he could ask her on a date. She had been spending extra time with him, even stopping by on her off time.
"You shouldn't try taking my pulse, it's gonna be fast with you around." Starsky gave her a grin.
She laughed and the door opened. In walked Hutch.
"Hey, can I talk to you a minute?"
"Not now buddy. Can't you see I'm busy?" Starsky looked up at Cathy and took her hand.
Starsky looked over at Hutch and there was a strange look on his face. He saw Hutch look
towards Cathy and then she ran a hand through his hair and Starsky looked back at her. When he glanced at Hutch again, he was gone. The next day he'd received a plant and a card from Hutch. The card said he was leaving. That was it, no reason, not where he was going or for how long. Just that he'd have enough of being a cop and was moving on.
Starsky had asked Dobey, Huggy anyone he could think of. No one knew or was saying where Hutch was. After he got out of the hospital he'd tried to find him but he'd had no luck.
That had been over two years ago. He still had had no word from or about Hutch. Would tomorrow be different? Would he finally get to see Hutch again, talk to him? Starsky got up and got another beer. Maybe this time he'd finally get his wish.