Synopsis: After the events of Sweet Revenge, Starsky is determined to re-join the police force. After being discharged from the hospital, he spends months in physical therapy regaining his strength, and runs five miles with Hutch every morning, but despite all his efforts, he’s turned down by the police review board. His only choice if he wants to remain a cop is to be placed on desk duty.

Crushed, he and Hutch decide to quit the force and pursue new careers, albeit separately. While Hutch finds success as a session musician working for local recording artists, Starsky attends bartender school, and Huggy hires him to work at The Pits.

Although they’re no longer together while they’re at work, they fall asleep in each other’s arms every night.

And on lazy Sunday afternoons, while Hutch waters his plants or dabbles with his paints and brushes, Starsky sits at the kitchen table with his pencils and his journal, and pursues a hobby he’s always been interested in: writing children’s books.

This is his first story.

Percy the Persistent

It was a glorious, sunlit summer’s day when the butterflies, tucked warm and cozy inside their chrysalises for the past two weeks, began to emerge.

Of the many siblings, Percy was the last to materialize. He was the smallest of the brood, but was not any less beautiful than the others. In fact, some would say that the colors and markings on his wings were amongst the most beautiful they had ever seen. There was just one problem.

One of Percy’s wings was tiny and deformed, because he hadn’t been able to properly hang upside-down after his chrysalis split open, and as he tried to take flight to join his brothers and sisters, he found he was unable to.

His sister, Pearl, flew back to where Percy stood on the ground. “There’s a splendid farmer’s field of wildflowers just a few hundred yards north. Don’t you want to join us there?”

“I can’t seem to fly,” Percy answered, unsure of himself.

“Oh!” uttered Pearl. “One of your wings is too small! Do you want me to bring back some nectar for you?” she asked.

“No, it’s okay,” Percy replied. “I’ll just walk there instead.”

“Okay,” said Pearl, flapping her wings as she waved goodbye and fluttered away. “See you there!”

Determined, Percy turned north and began the long walk towards the farmer’s field. When he finally arrived, several hours had passed and his siblings had long since flown away. Everyone except Pearl.

“There you are!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting all morning for you to arrive.”

Percy looked up in wonder at all the flowers that towered over him in the field. There were hundreds of them, perhaps thousands, including willowy wands of blue salvia, an ocean of star-shaped purple pentas, cascades of dainty white alyssum, and rows of flaming orange marigolds as far as the eye could see.

At the edge of the field, Percy spied the tallest of them all, a single sunflower that towered above everything around it as it extended its face towards the heavens.

Determined, he began to walk towards the soaring yellow stalk.

“Shouldn’t you find a shorter flower to drink from? How will you reach it?” Pearl asked.

“Just watch me!” Percy answered determinedly.

But by the time he’d managed to walk all the way across the field, Percy was exhausted. Settling into the crevice of a nearby rock wall, he decided to take a nap. Many hours passed as Pearl rested in the tall grass beside him.

Upon awakening, Percy noticed that the sun had begun to lower in the sky, and he grew concerned. “It’ll be dark soon,” he said, nudging Pearl awake. “I’m gonna sip from that sunflower now.”

“But Percy, how will you get to the top if you can’t fly?”

Percy knew he had a secret weapon. His legs had grown so strong after all the walking he’d done, that he used them to climb straight up to the top of the sunflower. When he finally reached its magnificent crown, he buried his head in the fragrant petals and began to drink in their sweet nectar.

Pearl was very proud of her brother. “Now I know why Mom and Dad gave you the name they did.”

“What do you mean?” Percy asked.

“No one told you? Percy is just your nickname. Your real name is Perseverance.”

“Oh,” Percy replied. “But how did they know?”

“Because you were the last one of us to emerge from your chrysalis. And despite having a tiny wing, they saw how determined you were to enter the world and join the rest of us.”

As the sun sunk towards the horizon, two large butterflies, silhouetted against the darkening sky, flitted and swooped above them. “We knew you could do it, son!” they cried, and then, taking one last adoring look at their children, they waved goodbye and flew away.

###

“Hey, Hutch!”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“C’mere and let me know what you think.”

Hutch leans over Starsky, wraps his arms around his partner’s neck, and kisses him. “Are you finished with your story?”

“Yeah.”

Hutch takes the manuscript from his partner, sits down beside him at the table, and reads it.

“This is terrific, Starsk.”

“You’re not just sayin’ that to be nice, are you?”

“Of course not. I’m so proud of what you’ve been able to accomplish and how much adversity you’ve overcome since you were…” but Hutch can’t finish the rest of the sentence as he wipes away a tear from the corner of his eye.

Starsky reaches for Hutch’s hand. “I couldn’t have done it without you, babe.”

“Me and thee, right, partner?”

“Me and thee. Always.”