Disclaimer This story was written purely for entertainment and is not for profit. It is not meant to trespass in any way on the holders to the rights of Starsky and Hutch.

A/N: Aloha everyone,

And now . . . the epilogue to . . .

Tag, You're It!

Epilogue

(By: The Blintz)

The softly setting sun nestled lightly among the treetops, spreading it's rosy hue across the crystal smooth waters of the small lake. Not a breath of air stirred in the cloudless sky while, on the mossy green carpeting of the forest floor, even the animals were hushed as they prepared themselves for the night ahead. A few scattered birds sang a sweet but quiet lullaby, their melodious tones serving only to accent the peaceful stillness of the idyllic scene.

Starsky stretched luxuriously and settled back into the lounge chair. After all of the recent stress and strain he had endured, the mountain cabin with its breathtaking view and storybook tranquility was the perfect balm for his troubled soul. Even the short amount of time he'd already been there had been almost magical. With every breath he took the clear mountain air seemed to permeate every inch of his body, every exhalation purging his soul of all the guilt, shame, and remorse he harbored deep down inside. Just to have the Voice out of his head was in itself a complete relief, and he reveled in the silence that enveloped him as he relaxed.

Closing his eyes, he took a slow, deep breath and held it for several seconds as he consciously willed his muscles to relax, even though the movement still brought him some discomfort. His injuries were healing nicely and, according to the doctor, he would be back to normal in 'no time at all'. But certain actions, like moving too fast, lifting something too heavy, or taking a deep breath still caused some of his muscles to groan in protest. He released his breath slowly, counting to ten as he did so, practicing the technique Hutch had tought him. Having a broken jaw had forced Hutch to go back to drinking health shakes and getting back into his old routines. He once again took time to meditate each day and had, through written notes and gestures, taught Starsky a few simple practices to help him overcome the mental and physical demons that had nearly destroyed him.

Starsky lay perfectly still in the chair, his body and mind totally relaxed as he drank in the beauty of the scene around him. Renting this cabin for a couple of weeks had actually been Dobey's idea and the partners had jumped at the chance, each of them thinking of how much good it would do the other to get away. Hutch knew Starsky needed time to let go of the misplaced guilt he felt and to come to terms with the terrible memories of Vietnam that Dr. Whitcomb's therapy had dragged to the surface. On the other hand, Starsky knew that Hutch needed time to heal physically in a place that wouldn't put too many demands on his weakened body. Even the health food shakes had their limitations, and Hutch had lost too much weight in the four weeks that he was unable to eat anything he couldn't drink through a straw. Starsky had even tried to put pizza or steak in a blender but Hutch had only glared at him and gone back to his goat's milk and Vitamin E shakes that he mixed with a lot of green and brown things Starsky didn't even recognize as food.

But the biggest blessing of all was the quiet. The Voice was gone completely, banished forever from his mind, and Starsky was beyond grateful. Peace and quiet were exactly what he needed and the little mountain cabin offered it up in abundance. And, with Hutch gone to town to see the doctor, there wasn't a noise to be heard around him save for the stirring of the animals in the forest. Starsky glanced at his watch and smiled. Hutch had promised to stop at the general store to pick up some food, and Starsky had talked him into getting spaghetti, lasagna, and linguine. He told the blond that those foods would be easy to chew and help them both gain back some much needed weight. Hutch had readily agreed since he was finally getting his jaw unwired and didn't want to stress his newly healed bones by having to chew anything too hard or tough right off the bat. Starsky could practically taste the tender noodles with the rich tomato sauce and gooey cheese as his stomach rumbled in anticipation.

His reverie was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling into the drive and he reluctantly left his haven of peace to help Hutch unload the car. "Howdy, partner!" Starsky exclaimed as hie bounded out the front door of the cabin and approached the car, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "You get some good grub?"

"You bet I did," Hutch replied as he grabbed a couple of bags off the front seat. "I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!"

"It talks!" Starsky replied, trying to examine the doctor's handiwork while Hutch did his best to avoid his partner's scrutiny. "What did the doctor have to say?"

"He said everything looked great and he finally took those wires out. Feels good to be able to speak clearly again."

"It's good to have you back, buddy," Starky replied as he grabbed a bag of groceries off the back seat and began to poke through it curiously. "What did ya get us?"

"Oh, all kinds of great stuff," Hutch replied as he headed into the cabin. "We may be out here in the middle of nowhere, but that is one well stocked store. I found some tofu, bean curd, organic goat's milk..."

"What about the lasagna?" Starsky interrupted, pawing more frantically through the bags. "And what in the world is this green stuff?"

"That's spinach, Starsk. Great for rebuilding damaged tissue and muscles, wonderful source of iron and minerals. I figured for dinner tonight I'd toss us a quick spinach salad with tofu and some of those fresh vegetables, followed by a nice goat's milk protein shake with a little extra shot of Vitamin E. How's that sound? I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry already. Oh, and that reminds me, Starsk. There's a few things I need to talk to you about now that I can. Do you remember when I first broke my jaw? Well, I have a notebook here of all the things I wanted to say to you that I couldn't from then until now and I figure, since we have a couple of weeks here together, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to address some of the things I was unable to before. First, I want to talk about the way you went after Coyle by yourself like that. Bad move, Starsk, although I will say that it turned out okay in the end. But what you should have done...Well, let's wait on that. Here, let me get out my notebook and we'll go over some things before dinner..." His voice trailed off as he entered the cabin.

Starsky stared at his retreating partner's back as he took one last dejected look through the bag of groceries he still held in his hand. He could hear Hutch's voice as it droned on and on from the interior of the cabin and, if possible, his face got even longer. Two weeks. Two weeks of health food and goat's milk and Hutch, talking incessantly about everything he couldn't say while his jaw was out of commission. Two weeks without one small burrito or even a slice of cheese pizza to break the monotony. And two weeks of constant chatter. He took one last wistful look at his peaceful surroundings and shook his head. He was beginning to realize he hadn't really lost the voice in his head, just traded it for another one.

"Hey. You comin'?" Starsky looked up to see Hutch's head poking back out the screen door of the cabin.

Starsky sighed heavily and began trudging toward the door. "Yeah, I'm coming. Hate to let all that good health food go to waste."

"Before you do, would you mind getting into the trunk and bringing that last bag of groceries?"

"Last bag of groceries?" Stasrky repeated, confused.

"Sure. You don't think I'd come back here without the lasagna, do you?" Hutch was smiling broadly now, watching the hope come back into his partner's face.

Starsky smiled in return, eagerly turning back to the car to retrieve the promised bag from the trunk. True, he may have to sacrifice a little peace and quiet for the next couple of weeks, but, in the grand scheme of things, listening to Hutch's voice sure beat listening to that other voice he had heard for so long. And, he'd have a belly full of lasagna while he did it. Not a bad trade off at all.

finis

Our story comes to a close. Mahalo for everyone's efforts at making this round robin story a success. It was a fun and stimulating summer project. Please remember to send your reviews for this final epilogue to our "Tag" story. I know this awesome author would love hearing from you. Thank you dear readers for following this story to its completion.

Love and light . . . shawne