Aftermath & Resolution by Katie Steuer (R)

[nickygabriel]

My last story rec will be a zine story (I checked and it’s allowed). This collection isn’t online, but you can still buy it. I won this zine on an auction and it’s one of the best things I've ever read.

Fandom: STARSKY & HUTCH
Pairing: none
Length: 162 pages
Author on LJ: not known
Author Website: not known
Why this must be read: Why? For me these two stories are perfect. I love first person POV, I love Katie Steuer’s style and I love that she sees the guys exactly as I see them. The first story takes place right after The Fix and this time it’s Starsky who needs Hutch’s help. In the second one – that takes over right after the first one we learn so much about Starsky’s past that for me it’s my personal canon. It’s the most incredible explanation why Starsky was sent to California when he was a kid.

Why didn’t he tell me about it? Why didn’t he warn me that Sabetelli was here?

The mention of that man was enough to make my heart thud wildly. I wanted him in jail for the rest of his life. I wanted to feel safe again. To freely open the door to my apartment without rearing attack. To sleep easier, knowing he could never threaten me again.

Why would Hutch bring me here without tellin’ me about Sabatelli? Why would he do this on his own?

Then it hit me. So obvious, it had t to be true. Because Hutch’s leaving. He’d brought me back here, forced me to come, not knowin’ that Ma wouldn’t want me either. He held the return tickets: there were only two, yet he’d clearly planned to arrest Sabatelli. To take him back to LA.

I knew it all along. Everybody leaves. Sooner or later, everyone leaves you.

There was a roaring in my ears. The shapes in the kitchen seemed distorted, out of focus. I got up, pushing my chair back, barely aware and not caring as it tipped over. I was cold, so cold, yet part of me burned angrily. I never thought he really would... I’d put my trust in him. Felt he was the only thing in this whole world I could be sure of. Could depend on.

But I was wrong. And now I had nothing left to hold on to.

Except I wasn’t an eight-year old kid anymore, too scared to open his mouth. Hutch would hear what I had to say, and just what I thought of him before he left. He’d listen, if I had to tie him to the bed.

I took a step and stopped. Oh, God, this was like gettin’ shot. The same stunning impact, the initial numbness. And then, as the shock wore off, the overriding pain. How could he do this to me? I felt like I was dyin’ inside, too badly wounded to live.

Link to the publisher’s site here: Starsky and Hutch Special Gen Collection #4

Comments

[tingalayo.livejournal.com]

This set of stories is a guilty pleasure for me...and while I can't buy all of it, I do buy why Starsky was sent to California as a kid.

[nickygabriel]

At first I couldn't buy Hutch's behavior at one moment, but after reading it a few times I can see his reasoning. And yes, I love the explanation of Starsky's past, too!