Warnings: Language and angst.

It was only eleven in the morning but already the sky was growing dark. The storm promised by the weather forecasters was on its way. Starsky turned off the radio. He had heard enough. He drank the last of his coffee and padded in bare feet to his refrigerator. It held the same meagre contents as it had half an hour earlier when he had first looked at it. The refrigerator fairy had not stopped by in the intervening time. Starsky poured another cup of coffee and ladled three spoons of sugar in to it. He hesitated for a moment then plucked the phone from its wall cradle and dialled a familiar number.

"Hello."

"Hutch, do you feel like picking me up early and having brunch somewhere?" Starsky sipped at his coffee.

"Empty refrigerator, huh Starsk?"

"Yep, but it's worse than that. Merle called. The Torino won't be ready for a few days and the part she needs is expensive so I was hoping you'd spring for lunch."

Hutch sighed. "All right, Starsky, but I swear that damn tomato eats more of your salary than you do. I'll pick you up at noon."

"Th..." But Hutch had already hung up.

Starsky pulled a navy windbreaker on over his worn brown leather jacket and closed the door behind him. Hutch's LTD was parked outside. The sky was now almost completely black and the rain was coming down in sheets. Starsky fumbled with the passenger door of the car and then almost fell in when it gave suddenly.

Hutch was dressed in a long rainproof slicker. Starsky giggled. "You've been watching too many Clint Eastwood movies, Partner."

Hutch glared at him. "Starsky have you heard the storm warnings?"

"Sure, I have Hutch, but that's still no excuse to dress like a cowboy."

Hutch pulled the car out from the kerb. "Where to?" He asked Starsky while keeping his eyes on the road.

"You mean you're paying and I get to choose where we eat?"

"Yeah!"

"Del Rios? You get to eat a salad and I get a decent burger."

"Okay."

They drove in silence but Starsky felt relieved at their easy companionship. Lately things between him and Hutch hadn't been right. It was only two months since Hutch had lost Gillian but instead of coming to terms with his grief Hutch seemed to be building a wall between himself and Starsky. The last few weeks had been very busy for the detectives and both men were physically and emotionally drained. They had had a run of serious crimes to solve but the effects of long hours and little sleep had meant that they had no time to discuss what was happening to their friendship. Hutch had become sullen and most of the comments he made to his partner in the course of their shifts were barbed and meant to inflict hurt. Starsky knew that Hutch was hurting emotionally and initially he had tried to make allowances but in the last few days his patience had worn thin. Starsky had been a little cautious about phoning Hutch this morning but now he was glad that he had done so. Maybe Hutch was coming round and after their shift ended Starsky hoped they could spend some down time together and talk things over.

Hutch pulled into the car park of the restaurant and found a space near the door. The detectives entered the restaurant and were surprised to find it almost empty. A young waiter with a bad case of acne and a broad Brooklyn accent showed them to a table near the front of the restaurant. Starsky chatted to the waiter as he made trips to their table. Within five minutes the young man had revealed his life story to Starsky. Hutch sat silently through the exchanges but when the young man appeared at their table to check if everything was all right he said. "What is it with you people? Every time you hear an accent like Rhoda's you feel the need to confess your inner thoughts." The waiter turned pink and fled. Starsky put down the burger he had been eating. "Hutch, I've had enough!" Starsky's eyes were blazing. In a cold voice he added. "I know you're hurting, Hutch but I don't know what you want from me. After this shift is over we are going to have to talk." Starsky left the table and went to the men's room. He stopped at the counter on his return trip and said something to the young waiter. Whatever he said worked because Hutch heard the young man laugh and then Starsky was back. He downed his soda in one go but left his partially eaten burger and a plate of fries. "You ready?"

Hutch finished his last fork of salad and nodded. Hutch paid for the meal and left a generous tip for the young waiter who scowled at him but gave Starsky a big grin. The rain had become heavier while they had been in the restaurant and Hutch turned the demister up high and waited for the windshield to clear. He turned towards Starsky. "What did you say to the waiter?"

Starsky smiled. "I apologised for you and told him you were the jealous type."

"Fuck you!" Hutch turned his attention to the wipers that were making little progress in clearing a path through the heavy rain.

"Lots of people want to and some have tried but no one has yet succeeded." Starsky looked at his partner.

Hutch drove out of the car park. The rest of the day continued with an uncomfortable silence falling between them. They worked at their paperwork and barely acknowledged Dobey as he left for the evening. Around ten p.m. they headed for the car and started the usual patrol of their area. The rain was coming down in torrents and unusually for California it was cold. Lightning lit the dark skies and thunder rumbled ominously. It was a bad night and even the lowlifes that inhabited this part of the city seemed to be lying low. Starsky rubbed at the passenger window, trying to clear a space through the haze. Hutch concentrated on the road ahead and nothing was said in the confines of the car. They stopped at a junction and Hutch rubbed his closed eyes with his fingers.

"Headache?" It was asked softly.

"Yes. I have a headache but then what else could you expect driving through a storm like this?" Hutch looked across at his partner. Starsky was slumped in his seat and even in the dim light of the car he looked tired. A pang of guilt went through Hutch.

"Do you want me to drive?"

"No, Starsky, I can drive" And then before he could stop himself Hutch added, "Just because I don't display juvenile tendencies about driving doesn't mean I can't manage to manoeuvre this vehicle in a storm."

Starsky didn't reply he just turned his interest to the streets outside. Ten minutes passed in silence and then Starsky tried again. "Hutch, even the bad guys have too much sense to come out tonight. Do you want to head back to Parker and catch up with some reports?"

Before Hutch could reply the radio spluttered into life. "All units in the vicinity of tenth and Willow a two-ten is in progress at Vines drug store."

"This is Zebra three we are in the area and are responding."

"Starsky? It might be a while before the other units will respond as there's a bus overturned on Wood ford."

"Thanks, Mildred, we copy."

Hutch accelerated but it was difficult to get up any real speed in the rapidly deteriorating storm. Starsky opened the window in order to put the mars light on the roof and was engulfed in a torrent of rain. Starsky closed the window hastily and wiped his face with his hands. Hutch's car skidded to a stop outside a brightly lit storefront that proclaimed in neon '24 Hour Store -- We're Open for all your Needs'. Starsky exited the vehicle as it stopped and was just in time to see a man running from the store. The neon sign reflected enough light for the detective to spot the shape of a gun in the suspect's hand. Starsky shouted a warning but the man just speeded up and Starsky was left with no option but to give chase. Hutch ran towards the store with his Magnum clutched in his hand.

Hutch found a strange but welcome sight when he entered the store. The owner, a man in his late forties with a balding head and a gold front tooth, was standing behind the long counter and he held a small hand gun which was pointed at a man who was lying on the floor. The man was lying amidst an overturned stack of beer cans. Hutch alerted the owner that he was a police officer and made his way towards the fallen man. On closer inspection Hutch realised that the perpetrator was a man in his early twenties and he was out cold. Hutch removed the knife the man held in his hand and turned his attention to the storeowner. "Put down the gun, please Sir."

"I will, officer, as soon as you handcuff that son of a bitch."

Hutch sighed but did as he was requested and 'cuffed the young man's right hand to a convenient Steel shelf which looked solid. The man put his weapon down on the counter and let out a low whistle. He related to Hutch that two men had entered the shop and his suspicions had been aroused by their furtive conduct. He guessed they were strung out and so had pressed the silent alarm button and reached for his legally held gun. The first perp. had brandished a handgun and demanded the takings from the till but unfortunately for the thieves the second young man had slipped on the wet floor and fallen into a display of beer cans. He had knocked himself out cold and that's when the storeowner had produced his gun. The first young man panicked and fled.

Hutch used the telephone behind the counter to call in the events and request an ambulance. The storekeeper kept up a stream of adrenalin-fuelled chatter which aggravated Hutch's headache. Hutch was just on the point of asking the babbling man for some aspirin when he realised that Starsky had not returned. Hutch told the man to keep an eye on the perp until backup arrived and he left the store in search of his partner. Huge drops of rain assailed Hutch as he stepped outside. He called Starsky's name but the sound didn't travel far over the howling wind and thunder. Hutch glanced at his car but quickly discarded the idea of using it. In these conditions it would be too easy to miss something if he was driving so he took off on foot in the direction he had last seen Starsky moving.

The rain lashed against Hutch's face and the bulky coat he was wearing seemed to slow his movements. The streetlamps gave very little light in the face of the storm's darkness and only the streaks of lightning that split the sky gave any real light. Hutch moved further from the store and as he did so the panic rose in his gut. The streets were deserted and the heavy rain made running an almost impossible act but run he did as if all the demons of hell were on his back. Starsky was in trouble. He knew it. The invisible chord that joined them drew Hutch further into the night and without conscious thought he turned into an alley. It was completely black in the laneway and Hutch strained his eyes to make out shapes but all he could see was darkness. Suddenly lightning light the sky and Hutch saw a shape huddled against a dumpster.

"Starsky!" Hutch pushed through the water that lay in deep puddles and made his way to the figure that he knew was his friend. Hutch reached out a shaking hand but before he could touch the solid form of his partner he heard Starsky's laboured voice. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"The perp tried to grab the fire escape but it was too rickety to hold his weight." Starsky pointed in the direction of a broken metal ladder that Hutch could just make out in the darkness. Starsky continued on. "He fell but I was right behind him so I broke his fall." Hutch heard the pain in Starsky's voice.

"Starsk, are you hurt?" Hutch knelt beside Starsky and started to run his hands over the outline of his partner's body. Another flash of lightning briefly illuminated the scene and Hutch could make out his friend's huddled form. Starsky didn't look good. A knot of panic pushed its way into Hutch's throat and he fought back the urge to vomit. "Starsky, where are you hurt?" The words were rushed.

"I'm okay, just winded but the perp wasn't so lucky." Starsky swallowed hard. Another flash of lightning and Starsky grabbed Hutch's hand and pointed down the alley. Hutch made out the shape of a man clutching a metal fence but in the brief moment of illumination it was clear that the man wasn't moving. Starsky coughed. "He made for the fence, Hutch and just as he was climbing it lightning struck. I don't know how they'll get his body down from there in the storm."

Something inside Hutch broke free. "I don't bloody well care if they never get him down. I thought I'd lost you." Hutch grabbed Starsky in a hug. "Oh God! Starsky, I have been a bastard lately. I lost Gillian and I thought my world had ended but it didn't. You were there for me like always and I took it all out on you." Hutch's words came out in a torrent and he felt a pressure lift from his heart.

Starsky's words broke through Hutch's thoughts. "It's all right, Hutch. Everything's gonna' be okay.

For the first time in weeks Hutch felt like the storm clouds were lifting. Another flash of lightning reminded Hutch that he needed to get his partner out of the dirty alley and back to the store. Hutch stood up and reached out to his partner. Starsky took the offered help and grunted as he stood up. Starsky swayed slightly and Hutch was immediately at his side. "You are hurt?"

"Think I twisted my ankle when I fell. It's no big deal." Hutch put his arm around his partner and bore most of Starsky's weight as they left the alley. The rain eased off as the partners emerged onto the street. They made their way slowly towards the store. "Starsky, I think the storm is easing off."

"Partner, I think the storm is over." Starsky leaned into his friend and smiled. Hutch was okay now and their partnership was back on track.

End