Moonlighting
 

by MysticWhim

"Huggy, where the heck is he?"  Hutch impatiently paced around the apartment.  "He was supposed to be here an hour ago!"

Huggy Bear shook his head.  "I have no idea.  He's sure made himself scarce lately.  I've hardly seen the dude since Thanksgiving."

"I'm going over to his apartment.  I want to see if the Torino is out front."  Hutch grabbed his jacket.  "So help me, if he's there with some girl and ignoring the phone, I'll..."

At just that moment the two men could hear the familiar roar of the Torino out in front.  "That's him," Huggy announced.

"'Bout time," the blond grumbled.  He yanked open the door to the apartment just as Starsky had his fist raised to knock. 

Starsky grinned.  "Everybody ready to go?" 

Huggy and Hutch glared at him.  Disgusted, Hutch complained, "Starsky, you are an hour late.  We're supposed to be at Dobey's by now."

"It's a party Hutch!  It's fashionable to be late!"  He popped a candy cane in his mouth and jiggled it, as Groucho would waggle a cigar.

"You feelin' all right Starsky?" Huggy asked.  "You got a little Rudolph thing goin' on.  Looks like you're catchin' a cold."  He made a gesture of brushing his finger aside his nose.

Starsky ducked away from the two men and headed to the bathroom.  "Naw, Hug, I'm fine.  I'm not sick, just freezing is all.  It's only in the 40s out there."  Away from the sight of the other men, Starsky washed his face, taking special care to be sure his nose was free of redness.  The last stubborn remnants of his makeup were removed.  Joining his friends at the door, he held up his arms.  "What're we waitin' for?  We've got a party to go to!"  He scooped the others out the door and pranced ahead of them to the car.

Hours later at the Dobey party, Hutch was trying to locate his wayward partner.  Starsky had vanished some time earlier.  He asked a few people if they had seen him, but his friend seemed to be AWOL.  Again.

Cal overheard him inquiring after Starsky, and declared, "I know where Uncle Starsky is.  He and Rosie were in the family room watching some Christmas movie on tv."

Hutch headed for the family room.  There he found Starsky sprawled out on the sofa, sound asleep.  Rosie was curled up in the crook of his arm with a bowl of popcorn, happily munching away.  "Hiya Uncle Hutch!" she greeted him with a wave.

Rosie's sudden outburst jolted Starsky awake.  He blinked away the sleepiness as he tried to discern where he was.  "Catching a little cat nap there Starsk?" Hutch asked.

Embarrassed, he sat up and guided Rosie to her feet.  "Must've had too much holiday cheer."

Wondering what drink was strong enough to leave his partner passed out on the couch at this early hour; Hutch picked up Starsky's drink and took a long swallow.  He gave his partner a confused look.  "Holiday cheer, Starsky?  This is straight Pepsi."

Starsky cast a grin Hutch's way.  "Did I say holiday cheer?  I meant too much caffeine."  Slipping past his blond partner, he scooted out of the room, back to the party, and away from further questioning.

Hutch followed Starsky's return to the party.   He watched from a distance as his friend socialized.  Starsky's actions had created a suspicion in Hutch's mind, and he studied his partner in an attempt to discern what he was up to.  Starsky was definitely tired.  His normal springiness wasn't there, and what enthusiasm he showed for tonight's event seemed forced.  Yawns were unsuccessfully suppressed, and his eyelids were heavy.  Figuring it was time to call it a night, Hutch tried to catch Starsky's eye.

Starsky had felt his partner's scrutiny immediately.  He was tempted to ignore it, but he knew that if he did it would just set the guy off.  When he felt the stare as Hutch tried to catch his eye, he looked up to face it.  It surprised him to see the expression on Hutch's face; the "get me out of here" look.  Relieved, he made his way back to him.  No one would have to ask him twice to leave; he was beat.  Thank God they had the next two days off; he was starting to feel spread too thin.

"Ready to say our goodbyes?" Starsky asked, trying not to seem too anxious. 

With a nod, the two men started to make their rounds.  Huggy found a ride with someone else so that he could stick around a while longer.  As they were speaking to Edith, little Rosie ran in with Cal hot on her heels.  Rosie was crying.

"Mama!  Cal won't take me to see Santa Claus!" she sobbed, throwing herself into her mother's arms.  The long night was taking its toll on the little girl, but with all the excitement sleep was out of the question.

"Cal," Edith chided in a tone that dripped disapproval.  "You promised Rosie you would take her tomorrow."

"I know, Mom, but tomorrow I can't.  They scheduled the dress rehearsal for the Christmas play tomorrow.  I told her I'd take her the next day, but she started crying."

Edith sighed.  "Oh Cal.  I have the church bake sale tomorrow.  I can't back out of that now."

Hutch crouched down to Rosie's level.  "Rosie, I have the day off tomorrow.  I'll take you to see Santa if you want."

Rosie's face brightened.  "You mean it Uncle Hutch?  You'll take me to see Santa?"

Smiling, Hutch nodded.  "Sure I will!"  He was rewarded with a strangling hug from the child.

"Thanks Uncle Hutch!!"  Rosie scampered off.

Edith kissed him on the cheek when he stood up.  "Thank you, Ken.  I appreciate you helping out like that."

He waved off her thanks.  "It's my pleasure, Edith.  This should be fun."

Heading for their car, Starsky nudged Hutch.  "You old softie."

"You know, Starsk, I'm actually looking forward to this," Hutch admitted.  "I always wanted to take my sister's kids, but I've never had the chance."

"The Grinch who stole Christmas has a heart after all," Starsky muttered under his breath.

"What's that?"

"I said, you should take her to the Apache Mall," he replied.  "They're supposed to have a really good Santa this year.  Real authentic looking."

"Oh yeah?  Okay, thanks."  Hutch thought about it, but he had heard one of the malls had a nice set up where all the proceeds from picture sales and such went to a local charity.  He figured that one would probably be a nicer idea.

They climbed into the Torino and drove off in the direction of home.  Hutch's thoughts returned to Starsky's odd behavior of late.  "Starsky, you know if you ever needed money, you could ask me, don't you?"

Taken aback, Starsky shot a look at Hutch.  "Where the heck did that come from?"

"I just wanted you to know."

"Yeah, I guess I know that," Starsky puzzled, "but why would you bring that up now?  I'm not having any financial problems."

Hutch sighed. "I thought maybe you were moonlighting."

"Moonlighting!"  Starsky was startled a moment, and then laughed.

Irritated, Hutch started to explain.  "What do you expect me to think, huh?  You have been real secretive lately, hardly anyone has seen you since Thanksgiving, you're always running late, always tired...  I figured you needed some extra cash and took on a second job during the holidays.  If that's the case, buddy, you're gonna have to work harder to keep this from Dobey.  He'll have your hide if he finds out you're workin' two jobs."

Starsky shook his head.  He was amused now.  "Don't worry about it Hutch.  I'm not moonlighting.  It's Christmas, you know?  I'm just real busy with the holiday stuff.  I'm not havin' money problems, at least no more than usual.  I'll get some sleep this weekend, I promise.  I'm just worn out."

Hutch stared at him, studying his eyes.  Satisfied that Starsky was being honest with him, he settled back in the passenger seat and relaxed.  Perhaps he was just reading too much into this.  He didn't like the idea of Starsky working two jobs.  If he was overworked and stressed, it could put his life in jeopardy on the job.  In their business, it didn't pay to be exhausted.

The following morning Hutch and Rosie were on their way to the mall.  He chose the Northgate mall because of their charity.  All of the Santa display had been donated, right down to the suit that the jolly old elf wore.  Professional photographers donated their time and equipment, and the zoo brought in animals from their petting zoo so that, for a fee, the children could pet and feed the animals while they waited for Santa.  School children made ornaments and Christmas decorations to sell, as well as hot chocolate.  All proceeds from the sales and the zoo were being donated to the local Toys For Tots campaign, which purchased Christmas presents for the area children who would be without gifts this season.  This was the only charity in Bay City that had absolutely no overhead, with all of the time and supplies being donated, and every dime went to their cause and stayed in their own backyard.  It was something that Hutch felt strongly about supporting.

Santa's Wonderland at the Northgate Mall turned out to be quite nice.  Hutch was impressed with the volunteer efforts, and was glad they came to support them.  He turned to Rosie and asked her, "Honey, how would you like it if we bought a present and donated it to Toys For Tots?  Maybe we could pick out something for a little girl about your age."

"Can we do that Uncle Hutch?"

"Sure we can.  I think I'll need your help though.  I don't know what a good present for a little girl is."

"I can help you pick it out!" she cried excitedly.  She took her part in the search very seriously, finally deciding on a pretty toy horse with a long flowing mane and tail, and roses painted on its saddle. 

"Are you sure this is the right thing to get?" Hutch asked her.

Rosie nodded solemnly.  "I would like it," she confessed. 

Hutch looked the horse over.  "You know, Rosie, with these roses on the saddle, it's like it has your name on it."

Rosie's face brightened with a huge smile.  "Hey, that's right!  Roses from Rosie!" 

The roses felt like an omen, pointing them to the right gift to buy, so they happily took the pretty horse to the checkout to purchase.  Rosie clutched the gift to her chest as she got in line to wait for her visit with Santa.  They got in the line that wandered through the petting zoo, so she reluctantly gave up her gift to Hutch so that she could pet some of the bunnies and goats.  The hot chocolate smelled great so they both indulged in a cup.  He sprung for having her portrait taken with Santa, paying for two photos so he could keep one and give one to her mother.   Near the end of the line, they deposited the gift in a collection bin that had been conveniently set up there.

Finally her time with Santa came.  As Hutch paid for his photographs, Rosie approached Santa.  She suddenly felt shy and scared without her friend at her side.  She froze.  Hutch had his back to her, and didn't see Santa lean forward extending his arms to the girl.  Nor did he hear the jolly man say softly, "Rosie Dobey, I'm so glad you came to see me today!  I know for a fact that you've been especially good this year.  Come on over hear and tell ol' Santa Claus what I can bring you for Christmas!"  Forgetting her fears, Rosie ran to the man and climbed in his lap. 

Hutch finished paying for the pictures and turned around to watch them being taken.  He was instantly struck by the animation on the girl's face.  She obviously was completely taken with this Santa, and he looked just as taken with her.  They were laughing and speaking conspiratorially, looking like the best of friends.  Hutch chuckled to himself.  He was glad this was such a positive experience for the young girl.  As they finished their little chat, Rosie threw her arms about the man in the red suit, and hugged him tightly.  With that, Santa gave out the requisite "Ho, Ho, Ho!"  He gave her a candy cane, kissed her on the forehead, and sent her on her way.  She pranced off to Hutch, delighted with her visit.

Breathless, she exclaimed, "Uncle Hutch!  Santa said I was a real good girl this year!!"

Grinning, Hutch replied, "Well of course he'd say that honey.  You are a good girl."  He picked up the envelope that contained his photos and took her hand.  Together they walked to the exit.

"He gave me a candy cane!"  She busied herself with opening the treat.

"Did you tell him what you wanted for Christmas, Rosie?"

She excitedly told him of the gifts she requested, and Hutch made a mental note so that he could share the confidence with her mother.  Soon they were driving again, as Rosie excitedly related her visit with Kris Kringle.

The LTD pulled up in front of the Dobey residence, and Rosie climbed out, anxious to tell her family about the visit with Santa.  As she stepped from the car, a small box fell to her feet.  "Oh!  I almost forgot!!" she cried.  "Santa asked me to give this to you, Uncle Hutch."

Hutch walked up to her and took the small package from her tiny hands.  "What's this?" he wondered.

"Santa said he was glad you were having fun today.  He said sometimes Christmas makes you unhappy because people forget the true meaning of Christmas.  He wanted to give you this because he could see you were trying real hard to make other people happy today."  She turned and ran for the house.

Hutch stood there with his mouth dropped open.  He suddenly regained himself and yelled, "Rosie, wait!"  She had already ducked into the house, so he jogged after her.

"Rosie!" he called.  She came running back to the living room, happily sucking on her candy cane.

"Honey, what else did Santa say to you?"

Rosie thought for a moment.  Then she smiled.  "He said he saw the present we bought for Toys For Tots, and that he was real glad that we did that.  That's when he gave me that present."

Confused, Hutch opened the gift.  It was a cassette tape, one that he had been searching for to purchase for himself.  This was too costly to be a generic gift that they handed out to the multitudes as tokens from Santa.  Quickly he grabbed the envelope with the photos in it and studied the picture of Rosie with Santa.  The photo came out quite nicely, capturing the big hug that she gave him.  Santa was looking at the camera with laughing eyes.  Laughing deep blue eyes.

In spite of the makeup and costume, nothing could hide the familiar eyes that stared back at him.  Hutch laughed.  He gave Rosie a hug and left one of the photos for Edith before returning home.

Starsky didn't return home until after 8pm that night.  He was worn out but happy as he sank into the couch with a beer in hand.  It had been a very long day, the kind that gave great satisfaction. 

He didn't know how long he had been asleep when he heard Hutch come through his door.  Rubbing his eyes, he gave his friend a wobbly smile and a cheery greeting. 

Hutch sat in a chair across the coffee table from him, stretching out his long legs.  He flipped an Eskimo Pie into Starsky's lap. 

"What's this?" Starsky asked grinning.  "You came all the way over here to bring me ice cream?"

"I thought you might like a little taste of home, Kris Kringle." Hutch replied casually.

Starsky laughed.  "Ya finally figured it out, huh?"

Hutch tossed the Santa photo onto the table.  "The makeup job was very good, but you can't disguise those baby blues of yours."

"The costume shop that loaned us the suit gave me some real good pointers on the makeup and stuffing.  I knew when you left you still had no idea it was me."  He examined the picture and declared, "I do look pretty good, don't I!"  Concerned, he asked, "So Rosie bought it?"

"Hook, line and sinker."

"Good.  I was afraid she'd recognize me.  I tried to steer you to another mall, but I guess I wasn't persuasive enough.  I didn't want to be too obvious.  I had a feeling you two would show up."

"How did you end up doing this?"

"I saw it on the news, how they were organizing the whole thing for charity.  I thought it was a really nice deal.  I went down to volunteer as a photographer.  But when I got there they told me they had more than enough photographers, and what they really needed was a Santa.  I didn't want to do it at first, but they talked me into it.  Now I'm really glad I did it.  It's been fun!"

"How come you didn't tell me?" Hutch asked.

Starsky shrugged.  "I dunno.  I guess I didn't want ya to give me a hard time.  I sure didn't want the rest of the guys at work to hear about it.  They'd never let me live it down.  And I figured you'd hassle me about being a Jewish Santa."

"I wouldn't have done that," Hutch stated.  "I would've teased you, sure, but not about the Jewish thing.  Actually, I can't think of anyone better qualified to play Santa than you.  You're a natural."

This comment elicited a smile from Starsky.  "Ya mean that?"

"Yeah, I mean that.  You were really good with Rosie today.  I noticed that before I knew it was you.  I also noticed that none of the kids were crying, none of them were afraid of you, and they all opened up to you.  Rosie left the mall convinced that she had just spoken to the one and only Santa Claus.  It takes a special person to be able to do all that."  Hutch rose and headed for the door.  "You're a natural, Starsky.  You have the Christmas spirit in you."

"Thanks, Hutch.  Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Starsky."  With that, he was gone.

Starsky sat for a moment, basking in Hutch's kind words.  He was genuinely surprised that his friend didn't tease him about his little stint as Santa Claus. 

Suddenly there was a blast of a police siren.  It sounded like it was just outside his window.  He walked over to see what was going on.  As soon as he appeared at the window, the siren ceased its wail.  Starsky realized there were more than a dozen cops outside, with several of them waving to him to open the window.  He opened it and poked his head outside.  The first thing he noticed was the poster.  The picture of him as Santa had been blown up and mounted on a sandwich board, large as life in the middle of the crowd.  Hutch appeared, wearing an elf-like hat, and walked out front and center in the group of policemen.  The gang all burst into song, serenading their favorite Santa with a special Christmas carol...

Oh! You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why:

Starsky Claus is coming to town!

He's making a list,
He's checking it twice,
He's gonna find out
who's naughty or nice.

Starsky Claus is coming to town!

He sees you when you're sleeping,
He knows when you're awake.
He knows when you've been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake!

So...You better watch out,
You better not cry
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why.

Starsky Claus is coming to town.

Little tin horns,
Little toy drums.
Rudy-toot-toot
and rummy tum tums.

Starsky Claus is coming to town.

Little toy dolls
that cuddle and coo,
Elephants, boats
and Kiddie cars too.

Starsky Claus is coming to town.

The kids in Girl and Boy Land
will have a jubilee.
They're gonna build a toyland town
all around the Christmas tree.

Oh....You better watch out,
You better not cry.
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why.

Starsky Claus is comin'
Starsky Claus is comin'
Starsky Claus is comin'
To town.

Without a word, Starsky ducked his head back inside and disappeared.  At first they all laughed, but then they started to look at each other questioningly. Wasn't he going to say anything?

Starsky came walking out the front door wearing a huge grin and his Santa hat on his head.  He had two big handfuls of candy canes that he was passing out as he belted out his own Christmas Carol.

Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus!
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer
are pulling on the reins.
Bells are ringing, children singing;
All is merry and bright.
Hang your stockings and say your prayers,
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus!
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
He's got a bag that is filled with toys
for the boys and girls again.
Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle,
What a beautiful sight.
Jump in bed, cover up your head,
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

As he sang, the rest of his fellow cops joined in the carol, and they all began strolling down the street.  Soon they were knocking on doors and singing for all who would listen.

And thus began the first annual Christmas Carol event of the Bay City Police Department; a tradition that continues to this very day.

Merry Christmas!

The end