Dark Angel - TLR3 - Starsky & Hutch [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Dark Angel
By TLR

Plot: A trafficked girl seeks to repay Starsky for his kindness.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Hutch's point of view.

I admire Starsky's heart. He has a knack for seeing the good in people, no matter how deep it's buried. But sometimes, that heart gets him into trouble. This was one of those times.

It started one evening at Huggy's. Starsky and I were nursing beers after a long shift when a young teenage girl ran in out of the rain.

She looked as skittish and uncomfortable as a wet cat, and hunkered into herself in a back booth, as if hiding.

Hug's head waitress Diane walked over to her. "You're in the wrong place, sweetheart. What are you, fourteen or fifteen?"

"Thirteen," the kid said meekly. "I just want to rest."

"Get her some soup," Starsky said getting out of the booth and taking off his jacket to put it around the girl's shoulders. "What's goin' on, kid?"

He's good at reading people too. He could tell she wasn't the average schoolgirl type caught in the rain.

She looked around. "Combs..." She glanced at his holstered gun. "My pimp. He's after me. I ran away."

Starsky glanced over his shoulder at me. My cue to join him in the booth with her.

"We're cops," Starsky said as he took out his handkerchief and dried her wet face with it, then tried to pat her hair dry too. "You a runaway?"

"Kind of. I ran from my home six months ago. Can't go back there. Can't stay with Combs anymore either."

"I think we can help you," I said. "Maybe get Combs off your back too. We work with people who can find you a foster home and--"

She bolted for the door, but Starsky caught her arm gently.

"Hey, no. You can um... take my couch for the night. Or till we can figure something out. I don't bite, and I'm not a dirty old man, I promise."

She looked from him to me, seeming to relax, as if she'd dealt with worse, and I suspect she had, but I still didn't like his idea.

"Okay," she said quietly. "Just for the night. I'm Jonesy."

He gave her a smile. "I'm Dave. And he's my partner Ken. We won't hurt you."

She went back to her booth, and Diane carried a mug of soup over to her.

I took Starsky's arm and pulled him aside.

"Starsk," I whispered. "Come on. Your place? You know what kind of trouble you'll be in if--"

"No kiddin'. But I got a feeling about this one, Hutch. She needs us. She needs protection, and help. We got to find that Combs guy too."

"Starsk..."

"She deserves a chance. Everybody does."

It felt like Sharman Crane all over again, his childhood friend turned alcoholic actress he helped get clean. Only worse this time, because Jonesy was thirteen years old.

He nodded. "She needs a shot at life, Hutch."

I couldn't argue with that.

Jonesy drained her soup in one long drink. She was starving, scared, alone, and in danger of a vengeful pimp named Combs.

"Okay," I finally relented. "Mum's the word. But so help me, this is the very last time."

Starsky gave me a slight smile that said maybe it was and maybe it wasn't.

::

Jonesy sat quietly in the backseat of the Torino as Starsky drove to his place, her eyes darting nervously around. Who could blame her? She was placing all her trust in two strangers, hoping we could shield her from a world she desperately wanted to escape.

When we arrived at Starsky's apartment, he led her inside and showed her to the bath and put a sheet, blanket, and pillow on the couch for her. "Make yourself at home, kid. You're safe here. Help yourself to the fridge and the bathroom anytime."

She gave him a long, curious look, then said, "Why you doing this for me?"

He looked a little flustered, then gave an offhanded shrug. "Let's just say we have a lot in common. One street kid to another."

She gave him a grateful smile, the first real one I'd seen from her. "Thank you, Dave. No one's ever been this nice to me before."

With that, she disappeared into the bath to take a shower.

Starsky began to make her a cup of hot blueberry tea.

"I'll run out and grab some clothes," I told him. "Wonder what size?"

"No idea. Just use your best judgment. And thanks, huh?"

::

Starsky's apartment became a shelter for her, and not for just the one night. He gave her food, a place to sleep, some fatherly advice, and hope for a future. It helped that Juvenile Services said that she could stay with him until they found a placement.

What I didn't expect was for them to get so close so fast. Even though kids were out of school for spring break, he called in a favor and got her enrolled, bought her some new clothes, and stocked the cabinets with her favorite foods. He even read newspapers and magazines with her, trying to prepare her with current events for when school started back up. She was safe, and had her whole life ahead of her.

::

But life for Starsky and I wasn't always so easy.

One night I got a call that froze my blood.

It was Huggy. His voice was low and shaky.

"Hutch... man, Starsky was found beaten and left for dead in Panz Alley. Better get to the... "

Out my door before he could finish his sentence.

Driving to the hospital was unnerving, but in some strange way it helped me focus.

Huggy met me just inside the emergency room doors.

"Pretty bad shape," Huggy said gripping my shoulders. "He's in a coma."

I gripped him back, my breath now a dry pant, heart punching my chest and skipping beats. I was sure my heart would come to a screeching halt. "Who? Who, Hug?"

"Can't be sure, but I think it was Combs."

It made sense. I was torn between going for Combs and staying with Starsk. I needed to notify Captain Dobey, have him put out an APB--

"Dobey's on his way," Huggy said as if he'd read my mind. "He's got some cops on it already."

"I have to see Starsk," I said moving around him, but Jonesy came shoving me aside to run down the hall.

I gave Huggy a goodbye pat and ran to catch up to her.

"Hey," I said gently taking her shoulder. "Take it easy."

She jerked her arm away from me. "Leave me alone. I want to see him."

"So do I. Let's go together."

She clung to my sleeve when we stepped inside ICU, looking as overwhelmed as I felt at the condition my partner was in.

"All those..." Her voice grew more childlike now, and there were tears in her eyes. "Those machines and screens. Tubes, wire things..."

We moved a little closer. I swallowed a lump in my throat. "They're helping him, Jonesy."

She reached her hand out and touched his still one, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Is he going to die?"

"I... don't know how to answer that. The next twenty-four hours will tell us a lot. He... he's tough. He's going to make it." But something about my words sounded uncertain, and the girl caught it.

"This is my fault," she said close to a whisper. "He saved me. Helped me when nobody else did."

I squeezed her shoulder. "It's our job, sweetheart. He did what he thought was right. You can't blame yourself."

I reached for his hand too, tears blurring my vision. Jonesy looked up at me, studying me for a long time. "You really love him, don't you?"

I almost lost it. But I kept myself in check. "Yeah," I whispered. "I really do."

When a nurse poked her head in and said, "Ken, your captain is on the phone, you can take it at my desk," I nodded and went down the hall to take the call. But when I got back to the room, Jonesy had left the room. Perhaps to use the restroom, get a drink, talk to a doctor, or just be alone.

"Starsk," I said leaning down close to make sure he heard me. "If you can hear me... I'm right here. I want you to hang on, fight your way back."

I wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light, or the tears in my eyes distorting my vision, but I thought I saw his lashes moving. I blinked my eyes clear, and then heard a slight sound in his throat as he began to come to.

My heart picked up with joy. "Hey, buddy. That's it. Come on."

His forefinger twitched under my hand. I squeezed his hand again.

His groggy gaze tried to find me, and then he smiled through his bruised eyes. Then when Huggy joined us, Starsky's eyes smiled at him too.

"Starsk," I said, then with a glance at Huggy too, "I need to make sure the girl is safe, and get Combs into custody. Don't worry. Everything will turn out all right."

When Starsky gave a slight nod of understanding, I raised up and looked at Huggy, who said in a low voice so Starsky couldn't hear, "Try Rhine's Rooms on Breen."

I nodded. "Take care of him, Hug. Reach me through Dobey if you need to."

Huggy pulled up a chair, putting his attention on Starsky as I left.

::

It didn't take me long to get there. I parked a few buildings down from Rhine's and walked up, debating on whether to call for backup. Instinct told me to wait a few, see what I could scope out first, maybe take him singlehandedly and with no muss or fuss. But it was a little more complicated than that.

I could see through the blinds in a window of the rundown hotel that Jonesy had beat me to it.

She had the pimp cornered in a tattered easy chair, standing about six feet in front of him, a pistol gripped in both of her hands and aimed at his face. His hands were in the air and he was sweating. She had murder in her eyes.

Carefully, slowly, I knocked on the door.

"Jonesy? It's me. Hutch."

Only silence came back.

"I want to talk to you, okay?"

Then she replied, "So? I don't want to talk to you. I'm busy."

"I know. Let's talk about it. I'm coming in. I won't hurt you."

She didn't say yes or no, so I quietly opened the door and stepped inside, my hands raised chest-high so she could see I meant her no harm.

Combs looked at me like he wanted me to do something, or help him.

"Jonesy," I said calmly, "I know how you feel. Believe me."

She took a step forward, closer to him now. "He deserves to die for what he did to Dave."

"Listen, I... I'd like nothing better than to pull that trigger myself. It would make things even, wouldn't it? Not to mention make us feel a hell of a lot better. But Starsk... David... wouldn't want you to do this."

"This piece of... has to pay."

"And he will, but not like this. If you pull that trigger, you'll destroy everything Starsky tried to do for you. He believes in you, Jonesy. Don't let that be for nothing."

Combs swallowed with a half-sneer, but I could see the fear in his eyes. "Listen to him, girl. You don't wanna do this."

She took a step closer and fired at the wall next to his head. "Shut up, Combs. I'm making the rules right now."

The room was lit by the neon lights outside, an obscenely serene pastel standoff.

"Jonesy," I said moving a little closer to her. The gun could go off accidentally. I certainly didn't want to see this girl's life go down the gutter, or see her live with something she'd regret for the rest of her life. "David's awake now, sweetheart. He woke up. He's going to be okay. You can go visit him again, and this time you can talk to him. He'll want to talk to you. Don't throw your new life away. This guy is going down for what he did, to both of you."

Then, with a sob that came from a love I'd bet she never felt before... a love for her dark angel who had protected her... she lowered the gun. I took it from her gently, then cuffed Combs and read him his rights. I called Dobey and backup, then held her until reinforcements arrived.

::

By the next day, Starsky's hospital room was filled with flowers and get-well cards. Jonesy brought him a small bouquet of wildflowers from my greenhouse, her eyes bright with hope. She looked like a different girl.

Starsky was pale and bruised, but he reached out and took the flowers, then her hand.

"Hiya, sweetheart," he said softly as he kissed her hand. "Good to see ya. You're a good girl."

Jonesy smiled, her eyes shining with tears. "You saved me, Dave. I love you."

"Love you too, kiddo."

She visited him every day in the hospital, and I saw a bond form between them that went beyond the rescue. She was on her way to getting her life back, with help from services, a good foster home, and a new school.

Starsky healed famously, both physically and emotionally.

::

Weeks later, with Starsky fully recovered, we decided to celebrate. Jonesy found an after-school job as a dogwalker and was doing well. She even met a boy at school that she liked... Ronny.

"How about a triple date?" Starsky ventured upon his release from the hospital.

"You got a date already?" Jonesy asked when she and Ronny showed up in the hospital lobby on discharge day.

"Of course," Starsky said with a wink to me. "I have my pick of nurses. And Hutch can round a lucky lady up in a heartbeat."

::

As we sat in the restaurant on our triple date... yes, I have a nurse friend or three... laughter and music filled the air. Starsky was telling a bunch of jokes, then he and I did an off-the-cuff Laurel and Hardy routine, which had everyone laughing. I'd never seen this girl so happy.

I guess I learned a lesson: A faulty start doesn't mean a faulty finish.

I think she'd have been one of those girls who fall between the cracks, one of those invisible kids who have tragic ends. He made a difference in her life.

"Here's to new beginnings," I said, raising my glass of ginger ale.

"Yes!" Jonesy said as she raised hers, and everyone else did too.

end