{"id":184,"date":"2025-12-02T05:18:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T05:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2025\/calendar\/?p=184"},"modified":"2025-12-02T05:18:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T05:18:17","slug":"december-2nd-you-cant-save-them-all-by-lilibet-art-by-nicol-tyler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2025\/calendar\/?p=184","title":{"rendered":"December 2nd- You Can\u2019t Save Them All by Lilibet, art by Nicol Tyler"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even at dusk, the blond hair was like a bea\u00adcon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDamn. Why\u2019d he have to walk so far down the beach? I\u2019m get\u00adting too old for this shit.\u201d He pulled up the col\u00adlar of his navy blue BCPD Acad\u00ade\u00admy fleece jack\u00adet and start\u00aded the long trek through the soft sand.<\/span><\/p>\n

As he got close enough to see more clear\u00adly, he spied the two remain\u00ading beers of a six-pack. That\u2019s not good, <\/i>he thought to him\u00adself.<\/span><\/p>\n

With\u00adout ever look\u00ading around, Hutch greet\u00aded Starsky from where he sat in the sand. \u201cHey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHey, your\u00adself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019d you know where I was?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you did\u00adn\u2019t come home, I called the office. Min\u00adnie filled me in. I was hop\u00ading you\u2019d be at Hug\u00adgy\u2019s since it\u2019s the mid\u00addle of win\u00adter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky start\u00aded to sit, but lost his bal\u00adance and fell into Hutch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEasy there, tur\u00adbo,\u201d Hutch said as he reached out, caught Starsky, and helped him the rest of the way down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky point\u00aded at the beer. \u201cCare to share?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThose are yours. If you weren\u2019t so late get\u00adting here, you\u2019d have got\u00adten three.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky opened a beer and took a long swal\u00adlow. \u201cIt must\u2019ve been a hell of a day. You\u2019re sit\u00adting here in the dark, on the cold beach, and haven\u2019t even tak\u00aden your tie off. Wan\u00adna tell me about it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky sighed. \u201cYou can\u2019t save them all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI did\u00adn\u2019t even save one of them, dammit! And he had two more we did\u00adn\u2019t even know about in the base\u00adment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky felt his part\u00adner\u2019s pain as if it were his own. \u201cBut he won\u2019t get any\u00admore. And you know at least their fam\u00adi\u00adlies will now have some clo\u00adsure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFuck clo\u00adsure. It\u2019s just not enough, Starsk. I don\u2019t think I can do this any\u00admore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky should have been shocked by Hutch\u2019s con\u00adfes\u00adsion, but in all hon\u00adesty, he\u2019d been expect\u00ading the dam to break for over a year. And he knew he should have had a solu\u00adtion wait\u00ading but now he was on the spot and had to think fast.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019ve only got, what is it, anoth\u00ader four years until we get our pen\u00adsions. You can\u2019t quit now. We just got\u00adta find some\u00adthing else for you to do. Babs keeps ask\u00ading when you\u2019re com\u00ading to work with us at the acad\u00ade\u00admy. He\u2019s got an open\u00ading when Sim\u00admy retires next month.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky nudged him with his elbow, until Hutch looked at him. \u201cThink how much fun we\u2019d have back togeth\u00ader again. Those kids won\u2019t know what hit \u2019em after we take them around the dri\u00adving course a few times. It\u2019ll be like ol\u2019 times cruis\u00ading our beat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch smiled ever so slight\u00adly. \u201cGot it all worked out, do you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky reached for Hutch\u2019s hand and entwined their fin\u00adgers. \u201cI don\u2019t have to have it all worked out. As long as we\u2019re togeth\u00ader, I just know it will<\/i> work out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch leaned over and gave him a gen\u00adtle kiss on the cheek.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe it was the dark that gave Starsky the courage to ask the next ques\u00adtion. One that he\u2019d long want\u00aded to ask. Or maybe it was because he knew the dark would give Hutch a chance to answer hon\u00adest\u00adly, with\u00adout Starsky first see\u00ading the answer in his eyes.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you ever regret tak\u00ading our badges back after we threw them in the ocean over there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky felt Hutch stiff\u00aden, but he\u2019d learned long ago to wait out the response. He did\u00adn\u2019t have patience for a lot of things in life, but Hutch had taught him the art of patience in a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky was begin\u00adning to think Hutch had\u00adn\u2019t heard the ques\u00adtion after all, but then came the soft reply.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes and no.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWan\u00adna elab\u00ado\u00adrate?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch closed his eyes; Starsky could bare\u00adly hear him over the crash of the waves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes. If we\u2019d stayed off the force you\u2019d have nev\u00ader been shot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky was not sur\u00adprised by his answer. He had nev\u00ader recov\u00adered the mem\u00ado\u00adries from that day but Hutch, even now, still had night\u00admares about the shoot\u00ading. He would some\u00adtimes bolt upright in bed unable to breathe, shout\u00ading, \u201cStarsky! Get Down!\u201d As the years had gone by, the dreams less\u00adened in both inten\u00adsi\u00adty and fre\u00adquen\u00adcy, and Starsky could often calm Hutch back to sleep with just a gen\u00adtle touch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the no,\u201d Starsky prompt\u00aded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you had\u00adn\u2019t been shot, I don\u2019t know that either one of us would have ever had the guts to take the next step. And I can\u2019t imag\u00adine what life would have been like for the last fif\u00adteen years if we weren\u2019t togeth\u00ader. How about you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now it was Starsky\u2019s turn to take a minute before answer\u00ading. \u201cOh, I think we would have fig\u00adured us out, even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly. And I think Gun\u00adther would have kept after us no mat\u00adter where we were. But main\u00adly, I don\u2019t like to think about it. I mean, I don\u2019t think we\u2019d have got\u00adten very far as porn stars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch chor\u00adtled and squeezed Starsky\u2019s hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky squeezed back. \u201cCome on, Butch. Help me up and let\u2019s go home. These old bones can\u2019t take the chill.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut you did\u00adn\u2019t fin\u00adish your oth\u00ader beer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of us needs to dri\u00adve home. And since you\u2019ve had four, I don\u2019t think it would look good on your acad\u00ade\u00admy appli\u00adca\u00adtion if the SVU Chief was recent\u00adly stopped for drunk dri\u00adving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch stood up and grabbed Starsky\u2019s fore\u00adarm in a sailor\u2019s hand\u00adshake and pulled him to his feet. They walked back to the cars slow\u00adly, tak\u00ading time to enjoy the rare chance to hold hands while walk\u00ading togeth\u00ader on the desert\u00aded beach.<\/span><\/p>\n

They could just see the cars when Hutch stopped sud\u00adden\u00adly. \u201cWait a minute. I\u2019m <\/i>Sun\u00addance, you\u2019re<\/i> Butch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat tie must be too tight. I\u2019ve always been Sun\u00addance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut I ride a horse bet\u00adter than you. And I\u2019ve got blond hair. Why do you think I grew that mus\u00adtache for God\u2019s sake?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI told you then, and I\u2019ll tell you now, it did\u00adn\u2019t look any bet\u00adter on you than it did on Red\u00adford! Plus, you\u2019re always say\u00ading you\u2019re the brains of this out\u00adfit, and that was def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly Butch. We can\u2019t both be Sun\u00addance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As they walked up the dune to the park\u00ading lot, Hutch asked, \u201cWhat are we going to do about my car?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI used your radio and told dis\u00adpatch to send some\u00adone out here lat\u00ader tonight and take it back to the office. I\u2019ll drop you off in the morn\u00ading.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStarsky, you can\u2019t tell them to do that!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI might have pre\u00adtend\u00aded to be you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMoron.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

They got into Starky\u2019s mid\u00adnight blue Charg\u00ader, and as he pulled out of the park\u00ading lot, he glanced at the man that was his every\u00adthing. He could\u00adn\u2019t be sure if it was the con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion of the future, or the four beers, but Hutch was def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly more relaxed than when he\u2019d first seen him on the beach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHey! I\u2019ve got a great idea!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStarsk, I\u2019m not sure how many more of your great ideas I can take in my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll love this one. On your first day at the Acad\u00ade\u00admy we\u2019ll wear match\u00ading Me and Thee shirts. Ya know, just to let every\u00adone know we\u2019re back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch laughed out loud. \u201cWon\u2019t Babs be jeal\u00adous?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky could\u00adn\u2019t hide his excite\u00adment. \u201cHe already is! He\u2019s always askin\u2019 in what uni\u00adverse is he sit\u00adting at home divorced and alone while I\u2019m sleep\u00ading with a tall, leg\u00adgy, blond bomb\u00adshell every night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Even at dusk, the blond hair was like a bea\u00adcon. \u201cDamn. Why\u2019d he have to walk so far down the beach? I\u2019m get\u00adting too old for this shit.\u201d He pulled up the col\u00adlar of his navy blue BCPD Acad\u00ade\u00admy fleece jack\u00adet and start\u00aded the long trek through the soft sand. As he got close enough \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u201cDecem\u00adber 2nd- You Can\u2019t Save Them All by Lili\u00adbet, art by Nicol Tyler\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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