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Badge Of Courage
(Part 9 in the 'Rosey Malone Series')
By
Sue M
"Starsky and Hutch, in my office." The familiar bark of their superior, Captain Dobey, greeted our favorite detectives that bright and early morning. Starsky and Hutch were both sitting at their desks, enjoying their first cup of coffee. They put their coffee mugs down, stood up, left the squad room and went to Dobey's office.
After they had both found a chair and were seated, Starsky asked, "And a good morning to you, Captain Dobey."
"Yeah, Cap'n," Hutch asked. "What can we do for you?"
Starsky decided to lean over and put his feet up on the desk. "Starsky, how many times do I have to tell you to get your feet off my desk?"
Starsky gave him his patented grin, "Sorry, Cap'n"
Hutch looked at his partner and just looked skyward as he shook his head. "Cap'n, anything you wanted?"
"Yes. I just got a memo from the Chief of Police."
"Yes, sir." Starsky looked at his superior.
"Yes, Apparently you two are being given a citation by the city."
"What?" Hutch asked with a note of surprise in his voice.
"Yeah." Captain Dobey handed the memorandum to Starsky who looked it and passed it on to Hutch "For the incident the other day at the school. For merits for bravery above and beyond the call of duty."
"Okay." Hutch said after he had read the memo.
"So I guess you two clowns had better be prepared to accept your citations the end of the week."
"No problem, Captain."
"Yeah, Boss. Does this mean we get a raise?"
"No, get out of my office? Dobey said roughly.
Starsky and Hutch laughed at their superior. They both rose up from their chairs and went back into the squad room. Starsky looked at Hutch and said, "Well, did you call Ashleigh yet?"
"No. I was thinking of phoning her today and see if she was busy tonight. Maybe we could go out for coffee or a drink. Nothing too heavy."
"Hey, that is a great idea. Why don't you call her at noon. She is probably busy with her class now." Starsky suggested as he looked as his watch.
"Yeah."
~~~~~~~~~~
Hutch did call her at noon and they made a date to meet after work about 7:30 for a cup of coffee. That gave Hutch a chance to get home, change, get something to eat and take a shower before he picked her up at her place.
They spent a very pleasant evening together, which stretched into several hours. They laughed and talked over several cups of coffee and dessert and when the time quickly became past ten o'clock and they realized the time, Ashleigh laughed and said, "I had a great time tonight."
"Can I see you again, " Hutch asked as he paid for the cheque.
"Of course, Ken. I would love to see you again." Ashleigh agreed.
"Listen, it is funny but I got the word today that my partner. David Starsky, and I have been cited for bravery above and beyond the call of duty for the school bus incident."
"You are kidding?"
"Nope, and we are supposed to be given special citations on Friday."
"Hey, that is great."
"Do you think you can come?"
"Well, I don't know. I do have a job to consider, but I think it is teacher's convention on Friday. I will see. I am really supposed to be at meetings all day, but I might be able to get away to at least come to it."
"That would be fantastic."
"Well come on. I think it is time I was getting home. I have to get up at 6:30 tomorrow. Morning comes early in my house."
"Sounds good. Well, I had a great time. Maybe after the ceremony we could go out and get a quick bite to eat."
"Yeah, I could always arrange to have somebody take notes for me. As long as I make it for the afternoon meetings, I don't think it matters that much."
"Okay."
Hutch paid for the cheque and they went to Hutch's car. He drove her home and walked her to the door. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and they said good night.
~~~~~~~~~~
"There's Daddy." Rosey Starsky said. She entered the communications center of the Los Angeles City Convention Center. The two children ran over to greet their father. Rosey walked over to her husband. "David, you look great." He had left for the ceremony before she had a chance to say good-bye. He had worn the same baby blue suit that he worn on his honeymoon. Rosey had always told him how great he looked. She gave Starsky a big hug. Starsky had been talking to Hutch when they entered.
"Hey, Lovely Lady," Starsky said as he returned the gesture of affection and gave his wife a peck on the cheek. "I am so glad that you and the kids could make it."
"Well, I would not miss this for the world." Rosey turned around and looked at Hutch. "Hi, Hutch" she said. Hutch had chosen to wear a medium blue suit that accented his beautiful baby blue eyes and his beautiful blonde hair.
Hutch gave Rosey a big bear hug. "Hey, Little Mama. How is my favourite pregnant lady doing?"
"Hey, watch the bear hugs there, Hutch." Starsky looked concerned at Rosey.
"David, don't be such a mother hen. Hutch did not hurt me." Rosey said as she gave her husband a poke in the ribs. "I am doing just fine," she answered as she turned towards Hutch.
"Hey, Uncle Hutch." DAS said as he gave his favourite adopted uncle a hug around the waist.
"Hey, Sport, how is my favourite kid?"
"Doin' okay."
"Hey, Uncle Hutch." Barbara exclaimed. She hugged him around his other side. Hutch bent down and picked up his favourite niece.
"Hey, Princess." Hutch gave Barbara a kiss on the cheek.
"I like bear hugs, Uncle Hutch."
"Hint, hint." Hutch laughed and he gave her a great big bear hug.
"I don't have a baby inside me and you can give me them anytime."
Starsky looked at his daughter and said, "You had better not have a baby inside you, kid, or there will be some questions need answered."
Rosey laughed and gave her husband a small peck on the cheek.
Just then, Hutch, who had been watching the door, noticed that Ashleigh had entered the convention center and she had a girl who appeared to be about 6 or 7 years of age with her. The little girl looked exactly like her mother, with the same raven black hair. Hutch excused himself and went over to the door and greeted her at the door. "Ashleigh."
"Hi, Hutch."
"I am glad you could make it." Hutch said with a big smile on his face.
"Well, I was able to get away this morning. I had a friend of mine take notes for me and since it was a school holiday, I decided that Sami was old enough to learn a bit about civics."
Hutch looked at Samantha and said, "Hey this must be Samantha. Your mother told me a lot about you the other night when we went out."
"Oh, sorry, Hutch. This is my daughter, Samantha. Sami, this is Ken Hutchinson."
"Hi, Ken."
"Everybody calls me Hutch, so why don't you too?"
"Okay." Sami looked at her mother, "Mommy, you know, you were right. He is cute."
Ashleigh looked at her daughter with a stunned look in her eyes. "Sami."
"That's okay, Ashleigh. Sometimes kids say the darnest things." Hutch observed. He took Ashleigh's hand in his right hand and took Sami's hand in his left hand. "Come on, ladies, I have some people I want you to meet."
"OK," Ashleigh answered.
When they reached the Starskys, Hutch said, "Ashleigh, this is my partner in crime fighting and best friend, David Starsky and his wife, Rosey."
Rosey and Starsky, in unison, said, "Hi, Ashleigh."
Starsky looked at Ashleigh and said, "I remember you. How are you?"
"I am fine, thank you, David."
"Starsk and Rosey, this is Ashleigh Mayer."
"Hi, David. Hi, Rosey." Ashleigh answered. "David, all Hutch talked about the other night was you and Rosey. I am glad to meet you.
Rosey turned to Ashleigh. "Glad to meet you too, Ashleigh. By the way, there are our two kids," she said as she turned to Ashleigh. She pointed to the kids, "Our son is DAS and our daughter is Barbara."
Ashleigh looked at Sami and said, "This is my daughter, Samantha."
Sami looked at Starsky and inquired, "Are you a policeman, too,"
Starsky bent down and said, "Yes, I am."
"How come you are not wearing a uniform? I thought policemen wore uniforms?"
"I am a detective. That means I don't have to wear a uniform. Actually, I am a undercover cop. Hutch is an undercover cop too."
Ashleigh looked at Rosey with a laugh in her voice, and she looked directly at Hutch. "So, Rosey, do you have any dirt on this guy?
"Oh, no," Hutch laughed with a tone of despair in his voice.
"Well, you know, I might know a few secrets of the Blonde Blintz." Rosey teased.
"Ooooohhhhh." Ashleigh said with a bit of anticipation.
"Tell you what. How about we go out some night, maybe coffee or drinks or something. Girls' night out."
"Hey, that sounds like it would be fun. Being a teacher and a single mother, sometimes I don't meet that many people between taking care of Sami and marking papers, I don't get much time."
"Okay, then maybe in a week or so we can get together and maybe plan something."
"Sounds good."
Just then Starsky noticed Captain Dobey and his family coming through the entrance. He took Rosey's hand and said, "I want to say hello to Captain Dobey." Hutch came with Ashleigh and Sami. The two Starsky children tagged along behind. When they reached their superior, and greetings were exchanged, Starsky said, "Captain Dobey, you remember my wife Rosey and our two children."
Captain Dobey answered, "I sure do. Rosey, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you."
"Thanks, Captain Dobey."
"You remember my wife, Edith, and our two children, Carl and Rosie."
Rosey answered, "I sure do."
"I guess congratulations are in order, Rosey. How are you feeling." Mrs. Dobey asked.
"Pretty good, thank you," Rosey answered.
Starsky put his hand on Rosey's stomach, "We are doing really well."
Rosey looked at her husband and gave him a big smile, "I have finally gotten over morning sickness, but am still feeling a little bit tired."
"Yeah," Edith agreed. "I remember my pregnancies."
"You are still waiting for the results of the amniocentesis, aren't you?" Captain Dobey asked.
"Yeah, probably a couple of weeks."
"Well, the best to you. I will be praying for you that all will go well." Edith told Rosey.
"Thank you, Mrs. Dobey, I appreciate it."
"Please, you don't have to be formal with me. You don't have to call me Mrs. Dobey, Edith will do just fine."
"Okay, Edith it is." Rosey agreed.
Starsky looked around at the platform where the ceremony was supposed to be held. "Well, it looks as if it is going to start soon." He took Rosey's hand and said, "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you and the kids some seats." Rosey took her kids' hands and they followed their father.
Rosey looked at Ashleigh. "Come on, Ashleigh, let's sit together." Ashleigh took her daughter's hand and followed the Starskys.
Edith asked Rosey, "Why don't we sit together?"
"Sounds good to me," Rosey answered,
The auditorium was starting to fill up. A lot of the press from the different media outlets were there - TV cameras, radio stations, newspapers.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Good morning. This is Brian Appleton. from KTLA-News. I am at the Los Angeles Convention Center to cover the press conference. Our Mayor, Dennis Gorksi, has announced special policies to combat the high rate of crime in our fair city." Brian was about 5'8". He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had worked in the news media for a number of years. "Our deputy mayor, Charlene Pitts, is scheduled to begin the press conference momentarily and we will cover the event live."
"We are here this morning to honour some brave police officers to went above and beyond the call of duty," the Deputy Mayor, Charlene Pitts began. Starsky looked at Rosey who had a big smile on her face. She could not help but be extremely proud of her husband.
"The City has also decided to take a bite out of crime." Ms. Pitts continued. "Mayor Dennis Gorski has appointed a commission to tackle the high rate of crime in our city. This commission will oversee ways in which we can reduce the high crime rate.
"All of these distinguished guests on the podium" she turned around as she came to that part in her speech, and she pointed to all of the people on the platform behind her, " are here because they have shown exceptional bravery. Would the Chief of Police please come forward to help me to recognize these unique individuals?"
The Chief of Police, Scott Mayfield, came forward. Scott had been a member of the city police force for a number of years. He had entered the police academy upon graduation from high school and had worked the inner city since his graduation. He was about 6 feet in height. He had dark brown eyes and his once brown hair was almost grey in colour. He was average weight.
Ms. Pitts had no sooner motioned for the Chief of Police to come forward then popping sounds could be heard coming from the back of the auditorium. Scott spoke into his microphone, "Wow, I don't know what that was, but it sounded like gunfire." He turned around. From the back of the auditorium, he could see masked individuals. "There are about four or five people with ski masks on who have just entered the room. We will keep on this story as long as we can. KTLA is the foremost news leader in Los Angeles."
Shouting and yelling could be heard coming from the back of the auditorium.
One person, who appeared to be the leader of the gang, began to shout their demands, "This is what we think of your new war on crime. " The intruders started to fire at the podium. All of the armed police, including Starsky and Hutch, began to draw their weapons.
KTLA continued to carry the story. Scott wisely did not say anything into his microphone. Instead, he let the unvited guests to take center stage.
In the volley of gunfire that took place, several of the distinguished guests were hit. Michael Thompson, for the LA Times, shouted for someone to call an ambulance.
Rosey watched in horror as one of the bullets hit her husband. The armed men finished firing their rounds and quickly retreated from the room. In the melee of the gunmen leaving, they threw some grenades and also some explosives that were set to go off at different times. During the massacre and the confusion, it was going to be difficult for the emergency services to get through.
Hutch watched helplessly also as Starsky slumped over in his chair. He watched as the blood from the wound in Starsky's chest began to form a red stain on the front of his suit jacket. Hutch quickly cradled his partner's limp body in his arms.
Rosey tried to get through the crowd which were gathering around the slain people. She rushed to her husband's side. Hutch ripped open Starsky's suit coat and tried to stop the bleeding as best as he could.
Both Ashleigh and Edith came to the aid of the frightened Starsky children.
Hutch tried to feel for a pulse for Starsky. There was a small, weak one. Hutch put his arms around the sobbing Rosey. Rosey began to hold her husband's body in her arms. "David, please. You can't die" she said between sobs. "I need you. The children need you. This baby needs you. Please David, I love you."
Scott moved closer to the platform. He noticed several a crowd of people were congregating in a corner and it appeared as if they were praying. When they were finished, he went over and asked if he could talk to one of the individuals. He talked into his mike, "Let me just go over here and talk to one of the eyewitnesses to this tragedy. Excuse me, ma'am, can I have a word with you?" He asked one of the ladies. This lady was an average looking black woman. She had long dark hair. She was of average weight and average height.
"Sure."
"I am Scott Appleton from KTLA."
"Hello."
"May I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure, go right ahead."
"Can I ask you why you came here today?"
"Certainly. I have always been a supporter of the Mayor. I thought in my own small way, I could show him that I support him."
"How do you feel about his proposed commission on crime?"
"I think it is a great idea. We have too high a crime rate in our city. I think it is a step in the right direction."
"Do you feel that these proposals will help bring down the crime rate?"
"I think that it will."
"How do you feel about the attack by organized crime?"
"I don't agree with it. All it is doing is bring up the rate of crime and make people more weary of the high rate of crime."
"OK. Thanks for talking to us."
"You welcome. My family and I watch KTLA all the time."
"Good to hear."
~~~~~~~~~~
When they finally got into the convention center, the paramedics began to work on Starsky. He had a really low pulse. When they got him stable, Hutch helped them place him on a gurney to transport him to the hospital in the ambulance. Hutch turned to Rosey and offered to drive her to the hospital. Hutch put his arms around a shaking Rosey and walked her to the kids and the rest of their friends were. Edith offered to take the Starsky kids to her house while Hutch took Rosey to the hospital. Ashleigh said that she would come to the hospital as soon as she could. She said her mother would probably take care of Sami if she asked her to do so. Hutch decided to take his car to the hospital. The two Starsky cars were safe where they were and could be picked up at a more convenient time.
~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later, Rosey, Hutch and Ashleigh were sitting in the waiting room at the hospital when an older and tired looking doctor entered the room.
"Mrs. Starsky?" he asked.
Hutch, who knew that Rosey was still in shock, got up from his seat. "I am Ken Hutchinson, Detective David Starsky's partner. Can I help you?'
"Yes, my name is Doctor Hugh Greig."
"Hello, Doctor." Hutch shook his hand. "How is Starsky doing?"
"Well, he is holding his own right now. He is a very strong man. He did sustained substantial damage. One of his lungs was collapsed and he did lose a lot of blood."
Rosey came over to the doctor. "This is Rosey Starsky, Detective Starsky's wife." Hutch said as he looked at Rosey.
"Hi, Mrs. Starsky."
"Hi, Doc. How is my husband?" Rosey asked.
"Just as I told Detective Hutchinson, he sustained some damage. The bullet entered his body and punctured his lung, causing it to collapse."
"What is the prognosis?"
"It is hard to say. It may be at least twenty-four hours before we will know."
Hutch put his arms around Rosey. He knew how she felt. Ashleigh, who had been sitting in her chair, came over and joined the other adults."
"When can we see him?" Rosey asked.
"He is in recovery right now, but probably in an hour or so, he will be moved into ICU. as soon as we can find a room for him."
"Thank you, doc."
The doctor left the room and went back into the recovery room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Rosey looked at the figure in the bed as she entered the room. Starsky's violet eyes were closed. His curly hair was wet with sweat. He looked like a little boy sleeping.
Hutch stood with his hand on her shoulder. He said as Ashleigh and Rosey entered the room with him, "Rosey, don't worry. Starsky is not going to die. We must think nothing but good thoughts."
"Hutch, what would I do without you?"
"Probably struggle along, I guess."
Rosey laughed and said, "Hutch, you are the best. " She turned around and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. She then went over to the left hand side of her husband's bedside and took his left hand in hers. "David, it is Rosey. I am here. I love you. I will stay here until you wake up. I know that you can hear me."
~~~~~~~~~~
Hutch had been dozing off in the chair when suddenly he felt a small movement in his hands. He opened his eyes and he could feel Starsky moving his hand. "Starsky, are you okay?" Hutch looked at his partner's eyes and Starsky was starting to open them. Just as Starsky looked at him with a puzzled look on his face, Hutch explained, " You are hooked up to all of these machines because you were unconscious for all of this time." Hutch pressed the buzzer beside the bed. "Starsky, I am going to call the nurse. So don't try to take the stuff out of your throat."
Just then the nurse appeared. "Yes, did you press the buzzer?"
"Yes, he just woke up."
"Great. Do you mind leaving the room while I take a look at him?"
"Nope." Hutch turned around and looked at Starsky, "Starsky, I am gonna go and call Rosey. and tell her the good news." While the nurse examined Starsky and then informed the doctor that he had woken up, Hutch called Rosey and told her he would be by in half an hour to pick her up.
~~~~~~~~~~
Rosey entered the room. Starsky was still lying in the bed. His eyes were closed. Hutch accompanied her and gave her a chair to sit down in. Instead, Rosey leaned to talk to her husband in his face. She took his hands in hers. He opened his eyes and she whispered in his face, "Hi, Copper. Glad to have you back." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He tried to say something, but she said, "Don't say anything. The baby is fine." She smiled at him. "I would have love to have been here when you woke up but the doctor and Uncle Hutch knew I needed my rest. After all we have this baby to consider too." She put her hand on her stomach.. She took his hands up to her lips and kissed them. "But I will be here later on today, The kids miss their daddy and as soon as they move you into a regular room, I know that the Gruesome Twosome will probably come in to see their old man. " She leaned over and gave her husband a kiss on the lips. "I love you, David."
~~~~~~~~~~
It was weeks later. Starsky had been released from the hospital, but was still a few weeks' away from returning to full time duty. Hutch was on desk duty and also visiting community groups with his job. Because Hutch knew Rosey wanted moral support when she went to the doctor to get the result of the tests, he accompanied her to the ob/gyn.
When they got to the office, the waiting room had several other pregnant women ahead of her. She announced her arrival to the receptionist and the secretary told her to take a seat and that the doctor would be with her in a few minutes.
When her name was called, Hutch came with her into the examining room. She sat on the examining table and he sat down on a chair that he found. When her doctor, Dr. Fernie, entered the room, he asked Rosey how she was. Dr. Fernie was an older doctor. He appeared to be in his mid-50s and had short hair beginning to gray around the temples.
"I am doing fine, Doctor Fernie. This is a friend of our family, Det Sgt Ken Hutchinson. He is my husband's partner."
Hutch stood up and shook hands with the doctor.
"How is your husband doing, Rosey? I saw that thing on TV where he got shot."
"He is going quite well. He was released from the hospital and is at home recovering. He will be returning to work probably in a few weeks."
"That is good. Rosey, what can I do for you today?" Dr. Fernie asked as he took Rosey's file from the file folder in the door.
"I am here for my regular appointment and also I wondered if you had the results of the tests."
"Let me see here, Rosey..........Hmmm........Yes the results of the tests are here."
"Well, doctor, what is the verdict?'
"Negative."
"What does that mean?" Rosey asked.
"It says that there is a 99.99 percent chance that the baby will be born without any complications from the drugs that that guy gave you."
"Doc, that is great." Rosey looked at Hutch who was wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Okay, as long as you are here, let us take a look at you - your eyes and ears and listen to your heart and lungs and take your weight, okay."
"Sure. Doc." The doctor came over to the examination table and he took his stethoscope and listened to her heart and lungs. He also took his little light and looked at her eyes and ears. He also checked her blood pressure. He then told her to get off the table and he would check her weight. He checked her weight and said he was very pleased with what he saw. She had only gained a few pounds He was very pleased with the results and told her to keep up the good work - by not gaining too much weight. He also told her to give his best wishes to Starsky.
Hutch and Rosey left the doctor's office but before they went back to Hutch's car, Rosey made one stop at the receptionist's desk to make the next appointment for a month later.
Rosey got the appointment and Hutch left the doctor's office with her.
"You know, this calls for a celebration. I know how anxious you and Starsky were about this baby. Tell you what? I'll talk it over with Ashleigh and maybe we can get together and order something."
"Hutch, that sounds like a great idea."
"Okay. Well, I am going over to see Ash at noon so I will mention it to her then."
"Hutch, thanks for everything."
"Hey, don't even think about it. You know how much this baby means to me, too."
She gave Hutch a hug.
"Please come inside when we get to my place. I want to be the one to tell David."
"Hey, I would want to miss this for the world. I want to be there to see the look on his face when you tell him."
By this time, Rosey and Hutch had reached Hutch's indescribable car and he drove her home.
~~~~~~~~~~
"David, are you around?" Rosey asked as she and Hutch entered the house. They were greeted at the door by the stampede of kids and pets. Starsky had been sitting on the couch having a cup of coffee with his mother. DAS and Barbara were watching Sesame Street.
Rosey went over to the couch and gave his husband a kiss on the cheek. as she sat down.
"Well, what did the doctor say," Starsky asked with a lump in his throat.
Rosey looked in his violet eyes. "He said everybody is fine. I am doing great."
"Did he have the results of the test?" he asked with a note on concern in his voice.
She teased," Yeah, that, of course."
He inquired with a note of nervousness in his tone of voice. "And..."
"Negative."
"Does that mean what I think it means?"
"It sure does."
He put his hand on her stomach. "You mean our baby is gonna be okay?"
She put her hands on top of his hands which were still on her stomach. "Yes, David. About 99.99 per cent chance that this baby is gonna be okay."
"Honey, that is terrific."
"Yeah, I know it is." She could feel the tears of joy filling up her eyes. She moved over beside her husband and she looked into his violet eyes and she could see tears too. She took him in her arms, "I love you, Copper."
"I love you too. Lovely Lady."
She looked over at Hutch who was wiping tears from his eyes. "You know," Hutch started. "I suggested something to Rosey on the way here. Ashleigh and I don't have anything planned for tonight. I will be going by the school at noon. I was thinking maybe how about we all get together tonight and order something."
DAS, who had been listening to the whole thing, "And Sami, too."
"Of course, Sami, too." Rosey chimed in.
"I would love to stay here and enjoy this happy little family, " Hutch said, "but I have to go and get some paper work done. I have a couple community groups lined up within the next few days."
"Yeah, Hutch, talk to you later." Rosey said. She walked him to the door.
"I'll give you a call sometime this afternoon regarding what Ash says. But knowing her, she will probably go for it."
"Okay, Hutch. Thanks for taking me to the doctor." She gave him a hug.
"Anytime, Rosey, anytime." He looked at the rest of the Starsky clan in the living room and said, "Bye, guys, see you guys later."
"Yeah, bye. Uncle Hutch." "Bye, partner." "Bye Kenneth." could be heard coming for the living room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hutch arrived at the school at noon. Ash was in the teacher's room. When he told her about the results of the tests on the baby, she was happy for Rosey and Starsky. When he told her about the tentative plans for that evening, she agreed. She said it was a great idea and she wanted to be included in the plans. This would be the first opportunity for her to get together socially with the Starsky family and she wanted to get to know the most important people in Hutch's life that much better. She also agreed that Sami should be included in the evening. If she continued to see Hutch, they both felt Sami should be given a chance to get to know the Starsky clan also.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was about six thirty by the time Hutch, Ashleigh and Sami arrived at the Starsky house. That gave Hutch and Ashleigh a chance to take a shower and change their clothes.
When everyone was settled in the living room, Rosey asked them if they had any preferences as to what people might like.
Hutch gave everyone an evil grin, "Starsky loves pizza, so I know he will vote for pizza."
Starsky just shrugged his shoulders, "Can't help it."
Rosey came out with a great idea. "There is a place that recently opened around the corner and they sent around a menu in the mail the other day." She got up and went to a drawer in the desk in the corner and came out with a menu. She passed it around .
Everyone agreed that this was a good place to order from. They had a variety of things - pizza, wings, ribs.
Rosey laughed when the menu came back. "I don't know about Sami, but with my kids, it is better to order a few things because if they see something that someone else is having, sure as shooting they will want it too."
"Yeah, how did you know? I think all kids are the same, they want what everyone else is having." Ashleigh agreed with a laugh.
"And also everyone can sample everything."
So they just decided to order several things - ribs, pizza, wings, bar-b-qued chicken. They also ordered pop to go along with the dinners.
While they were waiting for the restaurant to deliver the food, Rosey could not help but be contented with her life. She finally knew that the chances the baby she was carrying would be born within the next few months normal. Her husband was recovering nicely from his injuries. She had made a new friend in Ashleigh. Yes, her life was going really well.
THE END