He was running; scrambling; tripping; trying not to fall flat on his face – or on his ass – desperate to get to the bottom of the cliff before it was too late.
Down below he could see his partner lying face down half buried under the sand and half in the ocean. He concentrated on staying upright as he continued his pell-mell descent.

It had all happened so quickly. Neither of them had seen it coming.

Arms flailing he scuttled to the bottom of the cliff and ran across the beach. The waves were washing over the body lying a few yards away. Another fifty yards and he’d be there. He could see his partner’s jeans were already dark with the sea-water. He ran on; his lungs felt as if they were bursting; his heart was thumping and it felt like it had climbed up to his throat. He forced himself on and arrived by the motionless figure.
He knelt down and started scratching at the sand. Back when he was a kid; his parents had always taken him and his little sister to the beach in the summer. They played at burying their dad. But this time it wasn’t a game. This time it was deadly serious. His eyes stung with the salt spray from the sea that mingles with his own tears. He continued to scratch and tear at the sand; praying, promising God that he’d go to the services every week; he’d do anything but “Please let him be alive!”

He looked down at what he was doing. He had uncovered his partner’s face. He leaned down and listened…was that a faint breath he could hear? The ocean was roaring. He concentrated and listened again. He felt a trace of warm air against his cheek. His partner was alive; but only just. He started mouth-to-mouth. Breathing into his partner’s mouth and pumping his chest; doggedly repeating the training he had hoped he would never have to use for this.

His partner coughed and spluttered. He stopped the massage and turned to look at the other man’s face.
Two blue eyes flickered open. Although they closed again almost immediately; he had the time to see the terror in his friend’s eyes. He pulled him up and held him to his chest.
“You’re going to make it buddy. Just stay with me long enough for help to get here.”

Help. He hadn’t thought to call anyone before he started down the cliff path…and he didn’t have his walkie-talkie. He looked around – the beach seemed deserted. He hugged his partner’s limp body to him; willing him to take strength from his own healthy body. The other man coughed and his body became even more limp – if that was possible. He took a deep breath and assessed the situation. He couldn’t leave his partner; but he needn’t help. He looked up again and saw a kid with a dog coming towards him. There was a woman running behind them.

“Hey kid!”
The little figure came towards him. The kid could only have been about eight years old; but something in his eyes showed that he was bright and could be trusted.
“You like my dog?”
“Yea. He’s a great dog. Listen, do you live near here?” The kid pointed up to a beach house about two hundred yards along the cliff.
“I need help. My friend here is hurt and he needs an ambulance. Can you go and ask your mom to call…” He didn’t need to finish. A woman arrived at their side.

“Timmy! I have told you a thousand times not to….” She stopped her scolding and looked at the two men on the beach.
“Oh my god; what happened? I thought I heard something – people yelling; and I was so worried about Timmy”
“It’s a long story, ma’am. My partner needs medical help – he nearly drowned; I can’t leave him and…”
The woman stopped him. “I’ll go call the emergency services right now. You stay with your friend. Timmy; you come home with me now.” She started to walk away and then turned back. “Should I call the police too?”
“No ma’am; we are police officers. The important thing right now is the ambulance.”

He waited; still holding his partner in his arms. He sensed that his friend’s breathing was becoming more and more difficult. He felt the breathing stop. Carefully he laid his partner back on the sand and took up the desperate rhythm of resuscitation procedure again.

When the medics arrived they found one cop almost dead and the other one too weak with exhaustion to stand on his own.
_______________________________________________________________________

The ambulance ride was like a nightmare. He felt every turn and swing as they as they made their way to Memorial. He refused to lie down and sat clinging desperately to his friends arm. The paramedics worked around him as best they could – but he was in their way and finally one of them took him gently by the shoulders and sat him on the gurney on the other side of the ambulance. He watched in a daze as they connected an oxygen bottle to the mask over his partner’s face. A monitor started to beep and the moment he dreaded arrived…the beeping became one long sound; the sound of death.
A paramedic started the resuscitation process and as he pumped against the strong muscular chest his colleague removed the oxygen mask and replaced it with a hand pump. They worked together in silent unison for what seemed like hours – but it was only a matter of a minute or two. The beeping came back; regular but weak…at least they had saved the man’s life; but not for long. His heart stopped again just as they approached the Emergency ramp. They pushed the gurney out and with one paramedic astride the patient, pumping desperately on his chest they made their way to a side room.

The other cop followed at a run and caught up with them as they went into the treatment room. A nurse barred his way.
“Not you sweetie.”
“I have to be with him; he’s my…he needs….”
“What he needs now is the doctor’s help without you getting in the way. And what I need is for you to give me all his ID details so that I can get his admissions form filled out. It looks like you could do with a cup of coffee; so come with me and we’ll both get what we need, OK?”
He followed obediently. She led him to the staff room and motioned to him to sit in a comfortable chair. She poured coffee and sugared on cup liberally before handing it to him.
“I don’t…”
“Drink it, you need it – shock does things to you.”
He sipped and waited for her questions.
“Name?”
“Starsky, David Starsky”

__________________________________________________________________________

The last thing he remembered was seeing the cliff start to come down. He’d seen avalanches on the TV but he didn’t think that kind of thing could happen on a beach.

He was looking forward to a jog along the beach as the sun went down over the ocean.

Did he really hear Hutch speaking to him?

It felt like someone was jumping up and down on him – and then he was suffocating.

Was that Hutch’s voice he heard just now? He heard someone sobbing; no, not sobbing fighting to breathe. He tried to bring himself to focus on the sound and realized that what he could hear was his own battle to stay alive.

He’d fought this one before. Concentrate Dave. Breathe in…and out…and in…and out.
There was something on his face and breathing got easier again.

“I think he’s going to pull through.”

I’ll do my best!

__________________________________________________________________________

Harold, Edith, Cal and Rosie Dobey were getting ready for church when the call came through. Edith stepped away from buttoning little Rosie’s coat to answer the ‘phone. She put her hand to her mouth and turned to her son. “Go and tell your father to come in right away.”
Cal ran out to the driveway, where his father was waiting in the car.
“Mom says you should go right back in. Someone called and there’s something wrong, dad.”
Dobey heaved his fat body out of the car and ran back to the house. Edith was still standing holding the telephone in her hand and staring at the receiver as if it had bitten her.
He took the handset and spoke.
“Dobey here….what? I’ll be there right away.”

He turned to his wife. “Take Cal and Rosie to church. Don’t say anything about this to anyone; but just pray as hard as you can.”
“Is he dead?”
“Yes and no. His heart stopped three times now…they don’t know if he’ll pull through; or if he’ll suffer permanent damage.”

Edith ran outside and shooed her kids into the car. All the way to church Rosie kept up a constant stream of questions. “Why isn’t daddy coming with us? Who’s hurt? Is it Uncle Dave or Uncle Ken?” Finally Cal told her to shut-up and although usually Edith would have scolded him for that; this time she was grateful that the questions had stopped. As she ushered Rosie into their regular seats she whispered “Uncle Dave needs you to pray real hard for him today sweetheart.”

_________________________________________________________________________

Although it only took ten minutes for a patrol car to arrive from the nearest precinct it seemed to Dobey that he waited at least an hour. The clock was ticking louder than normally and every tick seemed to him to mark a minute – not a second. When the car finally pulled up outside the house he slammed the door and ran down the path.

The driver hit the sirens and the lights and started off to Memorial Hospital. Once there, Dobey made his way to the Emergency desk only to learn that Starsky had already been transferred to Intensive Care.
“Where’s my other officer? Hutchinson?”
“He needed a couple of stitches in his hand; then he went straight up to find his partner.
“Where?”
“Take the elevator over there.” She nodded to her left. “Third floor – the waiting area is to the right.” She had to shout the last phrase because Dobey was already stepping into the elevator.

Hutch heard the elevator doors slide open; but he didn’t react. Dobey walked over to him. Hutch was slumped in a chair, his head lowered onto his arms that were rested on his thighs. Dobey saw his shoulders heave slightly and he knew that the younger man was crying. He sat on the chair beside Hutch and put a hand on his shoulder.

Hutch sat up. “He’s already died three times. How much can his body take? I mean it’s not like it’s the first time…”

Dobey sat back. No it wasn’t the first time. Dave Starsky’s will to live had carried him through another crisis a couple of years earlier. Poison gas and ill-treatment had nearly finished him off; it had been touch and go that his lungs would recover; but somehow he’d coughed at just the right moment.

“What happened, Hutch? How in the hell did he get half -drowned?”
Hutch turned pale blue blank eyes to his boss. “I don’t know. I mean…” he put his hand to his forehead, “…one minute we were going down the cliff path, then everything started to move and….

Dobey touched Hutch’s arm. “Take it easy, son. I’ll tell Jordan to take you home. Edith can come and fetch me later.” Hutch started to protest but Dobey silenced him with a look. “You can’t do anything to help him here – and you need to rest. I’ll stay until they have more news.”
Dobey went over to the nurses’ station and spoke to the nurse on duty. Hutch saw her pick up a ‘phone and speak rapidly to someone. A couple of minutes later Jordan was at his side and leading him down to the waiting patrol car. As they walked past the ICU room where Starsky was lying motionless Hutch hesitated. He went over to the observation window and put his hand on it. Starsk, if you can sense that I’m talking to you; please, don’t go.

He followed Jordan into the elevator and allowed himself to be driven home.

Jordan pulled up in front of the Venice Place apartment. “Is there anything I can do for you, Hutch?”
“No. No thanks. I-I’ll be o-okay.” He ran into the building and up to his apartment and slammed the door against the outside world.

______________________________________________________________________

Rosie Dobey was saying her prayers in church.
“Please God don’t let Uncle Dave die. I promise not to be sassy to mommy if you will just let Uncle Dave be OK. I, I’ll even let Josie Simmons play with my best doll and I won’t cry when Cal pulls my pigtails and..and…”
Her mother glanced down and saw big tears rolling down the little girl’s cheeks. She put her hand on Rosie’s shoulder and leaned down to kiss her.
“He’ll be Ok sweetheart; especially with you on his side.”

Church Service was over and Edith hurried the kids back to the car. As they left; the pastor called after her. “Edith, is anything wrong? Is there anything I can do?”
She turned back. “One of Harold’s men has been badly hurt. I guess we all believe in the same God in the end – so maybe if you prayed a little for Starsky.”
“His god is our lord’s father, after all.” The pastor replied; I’ll remember him in my prayers.

They drove home in silence. Cal was thinking of all the times Starsky had shown him how to get the better of Hutch with a baseball bat or on the basketball pitch outside the garage. Rosie was thinking how “Uncle Dave” had helped her when she was having difficulty writing ‘S’ and ‘Z’ and ‘3’ and ‘5’ because she was a lefty and seemed to get things back to front. Now he was teaching her to draw. Edith was thinking of the gentle, brusque, naïf, intelligent, gregarious, shy enigma that was Dave Starsky. She knew that her husband was fond in his way of both Starsky and Hutch; she also knew he had a particular protective instinct towards them and that Starsky was perhaps the one he would prefer to be with in a tight situation. She was also thinking of Lily Starsky; a mother’s instinct made her wish she had Lily’s ‘phone number.

_________________________________________________________________________

Starsky hadn’t moved. He was where Hutch had left him. The tubes went in and out of his body – just like when Hutch had left him. The breathing machine hissed and puffed as it
pumped air in and of Starsky’s lungs. The heart rate monitor beeped regularly. Everything was just how Hutch had left it. A tube was draining yellow fluid from somewhere under the blanket.
No wait…there was a new machine. Hutch looked again and saw that there were two electrodes stuck to Starsky’s temples; he followed the wires and his gaze focused on a screen where a series of regular jagged lines were displayed.
“It looks like a read-out from an earth quake.” He turned to the nurse.
“It’s and EEG. It’s reading his brain activity. You’re right, Hutch, something is moving in there. I think our blue-eyed boy might come back to us after all.”
She turned to leave. Hutch dragged a chair across the hallway and settled down to keep vigil over his partner.
__________________________________________________________________________

He had been sitting next to Starsky for about an hour when the whole nightmare started again. This time the tremor was higher on the Richter Scale and it knocked out the hospital’s electricity supply. It only took a couple of minutes for the system to automatically kick over to the back up generator…but a couple of minutes without a life-support system can be a couple of minutes too long. When the lights came back on the ECG was showing a normal rhythm. Hutch shook his head. Could that be possible? He dared not look at the EEG readout. A nurse and a technician arrived to check the machines that were keeping Starsky alive. Hutch waited with bated breath. “Everything’s functioning perfectly” the technician told the nurse. They went to the neighboring room to check the next patient; leaving Hutch to sit and stare at his friend and try to will him back to life.

Hours passed, maybe days, Hutch lost count.

Starsky’s eyelids flickered. Hutch touched his face and both eyes opened.
“Hi buddy.” He said gently. “Glad to have you back. Now would you try to stay with us this time, please?”

Starsky smiled sleepily. He wanted to speak but the breathing tube made it impossible. As usual he used his eyes to communicate. Hutch understood. “I’ll be right back.”

The doctor removed the breathing tube and Starsky coughed dryly. Hutch poured a little water and supported his head while he sipped.
“Did you miss me?”
“Oh Starsk…”

“Hutch?”
“Yes?”
“What happened?”
“Earthquake…it was an earthquake. We were on our way down to the beach, the cliff fell away and took you with it.
“Chicken Little”
“What?”
“You know: “the sky is falling down!”
“Oh Starsk!”

“Hutch?”
“Yes?”
“Where you frightened?”
“Dumb question buddy.”
“Well?”
“Yes, I was frightened.”

“Hutch?”
“Yes?”
“Did I die?”
“Oh Starsk – get some sleep willya.”
“I did, didn’t I? You don’t need to answer – I can see it on your face.”

“Hutch?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
There was no answer to that except one. Hutch leaned over and kissed Starsky on the cheek. “Now go to sleep!”
“Night mom.”