{"id":31,"date":"2022-11-09T01:48:43","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T01:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/?p=31"},"modified":"2022-12-22T05:02:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T05:02:21","slug":"december-22nd-christmas-surprises-by-dppatricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/?p=31","title":{"rendered":"December 22nd: Christmas Surprises by DPPatricks"},"content":{"rendered":"

1975<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019d you manage this, Hutch? How\u2019d you get \u2018em to let me go? Yesterday, the doc said I\u2019d have to stay a couple more days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know how hospitals are at Christmas, Starsk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I <\/em>do, now. They like to let as many patients as possible go home, at least for the day. It gives some of the staff a bit of time to spend with their own families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay. That makes sense. Are you tellin\u2019 me I gotta go back, though?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see. This morning, before I checked you out, your doctor told me that, if you don\u2019t overdo things today and tomorrow, he may let you begin your out-patient therapy earlier than anticipated. He\u2019s really amazed at your progress this past week. He\u2019s calling you his miracle patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI keep tellin\u2019 ya, Gene Autry got shot in the shoulder all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I never knew my staircase had a hundred steps before. How can it have that many now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s your first day out and about after getting shot. Twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s actually only eighteen steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re kidding!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just counted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWant to rest for a minute?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTurn around. Easy. Don\u2019t try to move your arm, I\u2019ve got you. There, now. Take a breath. Relax. We\u2019ve got all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t get a tree, Hutch. No lights or garlands are up. Your present\u2019s not wrapped. Won\u2019t feel like Christmas!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it, partner. I think Santa\u2019s elves have been busy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019re you\u2026 Wait! I hear voices. Who\u2019s up there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA few friends. Ready for the rest of these steps?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me a hand, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTurn around easy. Right hand on the rail. I\u2019ve got your back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, one step at a time\u2026. There you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood grief, where\u2019d the decorations come from? And who are all these people?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you, Santa\u2019s helpers have been here. And these are some folks you\u2019ve never met who wanted to meet you. Plus one lady you have <\/em>met.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTheresa!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so good to see you on your feet again, Detective Starsky. This is my boyfriend, Jimmy Lee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Detective.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHi. Wow! Great handshake!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStarsky, this is the famous comedian, Sammy Grovner, and his fianc\u00e9e, Robin Morton.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA comedian? What\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not surprised you haven\u2019t heard of me, Detective. I admit my act had gotten pretty stale but my lady and I have come up with one that\u2019ll blow them away in Vegas. People are going to know what heroes you and your partner are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat. That\u2019s\u2026 that\u2019s great. Uh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this is Mr. and Mrs. Durant. They came into the restaurant after you were in the back office.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHi! Walt Durant. We got caught up in the whole mess. However, thanks to your partner, my wife and I are alive and have quite a story to tell our grandkids!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTerrific. I\u2019m glad to meet you both. Looks like there\u2019s food and drinks around. Have a beer or\u2026 something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe we will. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHutch\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne more person, Starsk. This is Mr. Giovanni, the restaurant\u2019s owner and chef.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso known as \u2018the old man.\u2019 Chief cook an\u2019 bottle washer, that\u2019s me. I\u2019m here because you two saved my place, my customers, and me! Anytime you and your partner come back, your meals are on the house!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not supposed to\u2026 Oh, hell! Thank you, sir! We\u2019ll probably take you up on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m counting on it. Now, since I provided the food and know it\u2019s damn good, I\u2019m going to partake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood. That\u2019s great. You do that. Hutch\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSit for a few minutes, Starsk. I\u2019m afraid I\u2019m letting you do exactly what I promised your doctor I wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t feel like too much, yet. But, yeah, I\u2019ll sit for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need your meds pretty soon. Doctor said no alcohol, though. Want a glass of lemonade?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot right now. You can sit, too, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Mr. Durant said, I believe I will. Tomorrow, if you\u2019re feeling up to it, Huggy wants to throw his own party for you at his place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to –\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019ll be up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, because all the Dobeys, as well as most of the precinct, will be there. Plus a lot of our friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Our friends.\u2019 Huh. It\u2019s pretty great to be alive, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially since a week ago neither of us thought we would be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feelin\u2019 pretty Christmasy right now, Hutch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad, Starsk. Because this is the best Christmas I\u2019ve <\/em>ever had!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1979<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLook at you, Starsky! You made it up the stairs and didn\u2019t have to stop once! You\u2019re not even breathing hard!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can take the credit for that, Hutch, and you know it. Went to P.T. with me every day and got me swimming all those miles at the Y. Geez, you\u2019ve even got me runnin\u2019 with you three mornings a week!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did all that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGot me almost ready to re-qualify, too. What are we doin\u2019 here, though? We\u2019re due at the Dobeys\u2019 house in an hour. And what\u2019s with the wreath? You haven\u2019t hung a wreath on your door in all the years I\u2019ve known you. You hate <\/em>Christmas!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you well know, it\u2019s not the season, it\u2019s the commercialism I detest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2026 a wreath?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHelping you decorate your place put me in the mood, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, that\u2019s great. Wow! You really meant it, didn\u2019t you? A tree, with all the trimmings. Garlands all over the place. You even bought a poinsettia!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought three. There\u2019s one in the greenhouse and one\u2019s for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s nice, Hutch. Thanks. But I don\u2019t have your present. It\u2019s back at my apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you not to get me anything, Starsk. You\u2019ve already given me the best gift I could ever want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. You told me. I lived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I meant it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you did. I got you something anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can give it to me when we go back there tonight. The car is full of stuff for the Dobeys but I wanted this time, with just the two of us, so I can give you your present.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot another tree, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope. Just this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA photo album?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA Memory Book.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGeez! Look at all these clippings. Our cases?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs many as I could find in the Bay City News archives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a video tape?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has your TV appeal to Callendar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d never seen it before. I was busy dying at the time, if you recall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t remind me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt got to me, Starsk. If I\u2019d been Callendar, I\u2019d have come in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did. So what else is on here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mayor\u2019s misdirected attempt to return our badges after Dobey talked us back onto the force. Plus interviews we\u2019ve done following noteworthy cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll <\/em>of \u2018em?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSmartass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust yankin\u2019 your chain, buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what do you think about these things?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love \u2018em! I also think, as soon as we get back on the streets, we should start another album!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, Starsky and Hutchinson, Part Two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should write a book, Hutch! Put the BCPD on the map the way Tombaugh did for the LAPD.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you mean Joseph Wambaugh, <\/em>don\u2019t you? Cop-turned-author? Clyde Tombaugh <\/em>was the astronomer who discovered Pluto.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight! I always get those two guys mixed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEasy to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway, we\u2019ll write a book! Maybe they\u2019ll turn it into a TV movie. Or even a series!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave I ever told you I love your imagination, Starsk?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that I remember. Wanna tell me now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I just did. Repetition would only diminish the sincerity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh. Well, since I love your sincerity the way it is, don\u2019t bother repeating yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly won\u2019t. Now, let\u2019s get our butts over to the Captain\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I show \u2018em my present?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we caused Dobey so much grief during most of those cases, do you think we should?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never got into any real <\/em>trouble because of our\u2026 shenanigans. Hell! I bet he\u2019ll get a kick out of it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, by all means, bring it along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, Hutch. This feels like it\u2019s gonna be a really good Christmas!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2022<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, Starsk? You\u2019ve been awfully quite this whole month. You didn\u2019t put up your tree. Your cards aren\u2019t on display. Carols aren\u2019t playing on the CD. It\u2019s not like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot feelin\u2019 real jolly, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow come?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHutch! The world\u2019s a mess. This country\u2019s a mess!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, but –\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened? Where\u2019d it all go? How did we let it get this bad?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe <\/em>didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry. I\u2019m just depressed, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWant to go to my place? We could order a pizza. Go for a walk on the beach?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaw. I\u2019m not feeling very sociable today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m your partner, Starsky! You never have to worry about that kind of thing with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, but\u2026 just the same, no, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got an idea. Let\u2019s go visit your tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s winter. The leaves have fallen off. The limbs\u2019ll be naked. It\u2019ll look like a skeleton. I don\u2019t really think that\u2019ll cheer me up very much!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrust me, Starsk. If being there doesn\u2019t improve your mood, we\u2019ll leave. I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPromise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, since you never break your promises\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrab your jacket, it\u2019s chilly this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this? What\u2019re all these cars doin\u2019 in the parking lot on Christmas Eve?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe somebody\u2019s having a party.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the park?<\/em> It\u2019s fifty degrees! And cloudy! Sun\u2019s not even s\u2019posed to come out all day!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really are grouchy, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou knew that before you dragged me all the way over here. What\u2019s goin\u2019 on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s my tree, all right. Sure has grown, hasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cForty-six years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook! It\u2019s got decorations on all the lower limbs. Balls and lights. Garlands and more lights around the trunk. Looks like somebody hung stuff as high as they could reach. Maybe even had a ladder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSort of makes up for the lack of leaves, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHutch\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a minute! Where\u2019d all these people come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked them to hide as well as they could until we got here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou asked them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember the bash you threw for me on my birthday?\u201d*<\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCouldn\u2019t forget that could I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I thought it might be nice to invite everybody to a Christmas party.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean\u2026 Hey! There\u2019s Huggy. And Minnie. There\u2019s Kiko and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMolly and hers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019re Cal and Rosie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re picking up the food so they may be a little late. Their spouses, kids and grandkids are already here, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did this for me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou knew I was down, didn\u2019t feel like celebrating\u2026 anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is your favorite time of year, Starsk. I couldn\u2019t stand to see you unhappy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you invited everybody to come to my tree and try to help me feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid it work?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know it did. \u2018Cause we\u2019ve known each other for how long?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNineteen sixty-nine to twenty twenty-two. You do the math.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. A long time. But\u2026 Wait! Is that my train set under the tree?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep. Since you didn\u2019t set it up this year, I got it out of your storage bin. Sweet Alice and her husband brought it over and put it together early this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019ve you got the generator hidden? I don\u2019t hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo generator. Alice\u2019s husband brought a deep cycle marine battery from their boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMust be powerful. Mr. Lionel never ran that fast for me! Hey, look! It\u2019s got a caboose! I never had one of those.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do, now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYa know\u2026 That\u2019s what I was hoping for that year. When you gave me this tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do <\/em>know. And I figured you\u2019d waited long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, Hutch\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo soapy scenes. You hate those.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but –\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHuggy just signaled. He told me he was going to ask you to propose the first toast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go, then!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure you don\u2019t want to leave? I promised, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember. But you knew just what it would take to dig me out of my funk and you did it! I\u2019ve said it before and I\u2019ll say it again – you\u2019re the best friend I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBack at you, Starsk. So, do you know what you\u2019re going to say? For the toast?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCare to share?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNope. Wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ll knock our socks off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCount on it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh\u2026 Starsk?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMerry Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, Hutch. Really. Thanks!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>*<\/strong> In the story 79th<\/sup><\/em> on Archive of Our Own<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1975 \u201cHow\u2019d you manage this, Hutch? How\u2019d you get \u2018em to let me go? Yesterday, the doc said I\u2019d have to stay a couple more days.\u201d \u201cYou know how hospitals are at Christmas, Starsk.\u201d \u201cNo, I don\u2019t.\u201d \u201cWell, I do, now. They like to let as many patients as possible go home, at least for … Continue reading “December 22nd: Christmas Surprises by DPPatricks”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fic","category-gen","category-sfw"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":508,"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2022\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}