Starsky wasn't certain how it had come about that they visited their former loves' graves together. When Hutch's ex wife, Vanessa, had been killed, her family had taken possession of her remains and arranged for her to buried in their family plot, too far away for Hutch to visit very often. But Gillian hadn't had any family, so Hutch had made the final arrangements for her. Terry'd had some relatives make arrangements for her, and they had accepted Starsky's suggestion of this park as her final resting place. He was grateful for that. Somehow having Hutch with him made his visits easier. Though he knew Hutch would have come with him anyway, if he'd asked, even if Gillian wasn't here. But this way he didn't even have to ask, and he was also here for Hutch.

The two detectives sat on a bench at the edge of the cemetery. Eventually, Starsky spoke.

"How long has it been?" he asked.

"Since Gillian?" Hutch replied. "Four years. Since Terry ... about three." Neither of them mentioned how their lovers had died.

"She loved you," Dave stated. Sometimes he felt it was necessary to remind Hutch of that fact.

"If only I'd known what she was into, maybe I could have saved her." It was something the blond man had said fairly often after Gillian's violent end.

"Listen, Blondie, it wasn't your fault. She was willing to give it all up for you - the films, the massage parlour, the whole bit. The Grossmans wouldn't let her. You know that."

"Yeah. I know."

The silence resumed for awhile, then Hutch said, "Penny for your thoughts."

The darker man smiled. "They're worth at least a dime. Inflation, you know."

So Hutch reached into his pocket, pulled out a dime and handed it to him. "I was just thinkin' of something Gillian said the last time I talked to her. She said it must be very nice to be you, to have two people love you so much."

"Two people? Meaning her and you?" Hutch asked.

Starsky nodded.

After another brief silence, Hutch spoke again. "Terry loved you."

Starsky smiled sadly. "I know that. Sometimes I find it so hard to believe that she died just because she went to buy a newspaper."

Hutch moved closer to him and put an arm around his shoulders. "If Prudholm hadn't struck then, he'd have found another time and place. Maybe even when the children were around."

"Sometimes I wonder if she knew. After she gave you the teddy bear and told you, in the letter, to look after me for her, I'm almost sure that she did."

"Knew what?" Hutch asked, puzzled.

"Knew that no matter how much I loved her, part of my heart would always - will always - belong to you." Starsky and Hutch were face to face now, their lips almost touching.

"Only part of your heart, Starsk?" Ken inquired, closing the distance between them and gently kissing his partner.

"Oh, Hutch," Starsky sighed when they moved apart. "Maybe then it was only part, but now you have all of it." They kissed again. "I love you, Blondie."

"I love you, too."

Eventually, realizing they were still in a public place, the two men reluctantly stopped kissing and stood up. They walked back to the two gravestones for a moment.

"You think they know?" Hutch asked.

"I think they knew before we did."

"Do you think they're okay with it?"

"I think they want us to be happy," Starsky answered. He searched his partner's face. "Are you happy?" he asked.

Hutch put an arm around him hugged him tightly. "Very," he answered, as he released Starsky and started walking to the Torino.

"Thank you, ladies," Starsky said. He blew a kiss to Terry and Gillian before hurrying to catch up to the man that he loved.

END