Sanctuary (Starsky & Hutch story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Sanctuary
Author(s):	Charlotte Frost
Date(s):	1999
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Starsky & Hutch
External Links:	online here
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Sanctuary is a slash Starsky & Hutch story by Charlotte Frost.

It was printed in Heart and Soul #5 and later online.

The Author Comments

Where to begin? *g*

I’ve always been partial to “reunion” scenes. I love the idea of the guys (whatever the pairing) being so, so happy to see each other again, or one rescuing the other (when the other has lost hope), etc. So, I remember that those sorts of fantasies (going to back to when I was a teenager in the 70’s) is how this all began.

Once they get past the h/c part….

Let me jump to just a few months ago. I ran into an LJ comment somewhere, where the person said that Sanctuary was “what happens to a story when it’s written by a schizophrenic author” (or something like that). The story read like it was written by two different people.

You know what? I agree.

The co-author? God.

Really.

I was as aghast as some of the later readers were when I was writing this story. I didn’t understand why these images were dominating my mind. Even when I was out seeing clients, and driving along the road, I was “seeing” Starsky’s face buried between Hutch’s asscheeks, and that sort of thing.

And as I gave words to the all-encompassing images, I kept thinking, “Well, it’s not like I’m actually going to publish this.” Or, if I did publish it, it would have to be under another name.

Then I just happened to mention a few details of what I was writing to an editor friend of mine that I was corresponding with at the time. She *loved* the idea and couldn’t wait to read it.

Oh.

When she did read it, she insisted that the sex part was the main theme of the story, and I needed to turn the h/c part, way, way down and edit a bunch of it out. No way. I could understand her point from a story structure standpoint, but I knew my readers. They would love the h/c. I held my ground and am glad I did.

In the end, of course, I published it under the C Frost byline. I knew that lots of people weren’t going to like the story, at least not after the h/c part. And I was right.

But what shocked me was the number of people who did the like story; and particularly the handful who ranked it as one of their most all-time favorites. ( To this day, I can’t help but wonder what’s “wrong” with them. ;-))

As soon as the story was done, I could no longer “feel” the place I’d been when I’d written it. It’s one of the two occurrences I’ve had where I felt some unseen force was behind the creation of the story and I was just a conduit. (The other occasion with a Sentinel story.)

A good friend of mine, who loves “Sanctuary”, says that she thinks one of the big problems with people not liking it is that they don’t “get” the humor in the sex part of it. I agree. I was also puzzled, right out of the box, by those who actually seemed to believe that Starsky was “making” Hutch do things – as though Hutch had no say in the matter. Huh? Hutch was a grown man, quite capable of putting a stop to events at any time. But he was enjoying himself too much to do so.

I do remember the first time I saw “Sanctuary” labeled as bdsm. I had no idea what that meant. While I well understand the feelings of those who don’t care for the story at all, I didn’t appreciate it being reduced to a label – especially a label I couldn’t decipher. (I’m less sensitive to it now, because I know that fans love their labels – sometimes to the point of psychosis.)

Reactions and Reviews

There's some themes in this that might not fit in with your view of SH. BDSM warning…. Why this must be read: It's about being who you're not in order to deal with who you are. A kidnapping and mental torture have terrible effects on Starsky's psyche and the one person he needs has to be there for him in ways he never has before. Making sure Hutch is real is Starsky's way of making sure he's still real. It's what he needs, it's what he wants, it's what Hutch must be willing to give.